Every year, the Symrise team heads to the Summer Fancy Food show at the Jacob Javitis Center in New York City to get a sneak peek at the upcoming beverage trends from producers all over the country. Here are a few of our favorite product categories that we came across this July.
Stay up-to-date with the latest trends from industry events and conferences!
Drink Your Vinegar
An abundance of drinking apple cider vinegars (ACV) made an appearance at this year’s show to quench our thirst with a little burn. Brands took the ‘ACV health shot’ trend to a larger scale by applying the wellness properties of ACV in ready to drink beverages. We saw a wide range of vinegar drinks from shrubs to vegetable vinegars, such as Flora Health’s Red Beet Apple Cider Vinegar. The earthy notes from the beets made a great compliment to the tang of the vinegar.
We also enjoyed UpMountain’s Original Switchel, made with ACV, ginger, and sweetened by maple syrup. Switchels are making a long overdue comeback. They were once a popular drink with American farmers who drank the tart beverage as they worked their fields during hot harvests. You don’t have to even need to garden to enjoy these tasty drinks.
Botanticals Appeal To Drinkers and Non-Drinkers Alike
Tonics and mixers are being used for cocktails and mocktails alike, appealing to a wide range of consumers. Brands are offering exciting and delicious products catered to sophisticated palates but not necessarily alcohol drinkers. This will be really important as early data suggests that GenZ is drinking less booze than the millennial cohort.
PART 1: Top 9 Summer Fancy Food Show Trends You Need To Know
Many of the drinks that we saw were designed to be low-calorie, hopping on the healthy bandwagon to avoid being just a fancier carbonated soft drink. Navy Hill has a small line of botanical flavored tonics, including Juniper, which would be a great base for a gin and tonic but also a refreshing thirst quencher. Navy Hill even has electrolytes to add additional layer of functionality.
Botanicals made a big splash in mixers as well. Hella, a cocktail mixer company, showcased their Bitters and Soda, a refreshingly carbonated aperitif made with a bouquet of flavorful botanicals. Hella offers two versions of this spiced beverage—one with added sugar or a Spritzer, as well as a dry product that only has 5 calories. Both can be consumed alone or with added alcohol for an instant cocktail.
Citrus Gets Global Upgrade
Citrus flavors are a staple in the beverage world and we were excited to see new global citrus flavors hitting the convention. Calamansi is an Asian citrus hybrid (orange + kumquat) that’s commonly referred to as a golden lime. With a powerful sour punch, this fruit is rich in vitamin C and A, antioxidants, electrolytes, potassium and calcium and acknowledged for its many health benefits. At this year’s Fancy Food Show, Brooklyn Crafted expanded beyond its claim to fame carbonated ginger beers/ales with the launch of a calamansi-based drink line. Mansi, another calamansi drink brand, highlighted their partnership with farmers in the Philippines who produce their citrus fruit. They offer a straight calamansi beverage as well as a blended calamansi and tea beverage, reminiscent of an Arnold Palmer.
Beverages quickly evolve within the North American market and consumers are always looking for the next new thing to excite them. Fortunately, the Symrise team is here to help you stay at top of the latest trends and flavor experiences. Reach out today if you’re interested in learning more about what we believe will be the most popular beverages and flavors from 2019 and beyond.
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