Taste and nutrition company Kerry has release a range of botanical ingredients suitable for the low- and no-alcohol beverage market. Botanicals Collection ZERO is an extensive range of high-quality, authentic botanical extracts containing zero per cent ethanol
The portfolio currently includes 15 standard products (and 35 specialised ones) including juniper, rosebud, elderflower, cocoa, turmeric, and cinnamon.
Kerry said there is ongoing product development to add to the range.
It said that the Botanicals Collection ZERO means beverage producers can create sophisticated low-alcohol spirits and no-alcohol options with the taste of gin, rum, cocoa, ginger and others, all while meeting emerging clean-label and quality requirements.
Flavour Ingredients global development manager Michel Aubanel said consumer expectations are currently not being met by mocktails and other no-alcohol options as they often resemble juices rather than alcohol. “Increasingly, consumers want the upscale experience of the glass, ice and taste, but without the alcohol content,” Aubanel said.
The global trend to moderate and control alcohol intake shows no sign of slowing nin the foreseeable future, Kerry said. Consumers want authentic-tasting drink taste options beyond simply soft drinks, making low-alcohol spirits or no-alcohol beverages a growth market, with trade sales in the area expected to record a 41 per cent increase over the period 2015–21.
With botanical extracts in alcohol beverages already a US$500 million business and growing by nine per cent per annum, producers that can offer tasty and healthier upscale beverage choices will see a significant and growing market opportunity in the years to come, it said.
According to Kerry, Botanicals Collection ZERO is fully traceable, clean-label, halal-certified, kosher-suitable, ethanol-free and also free of any alternative solvent. The portfolio allows manufacturers to maintain a low (or zero) alcohol content and permits a “0.0%” claim.
“In comparison to other ethanol-free technologies, the Collection ZERO range is more stable, with no haze, no sedimentation, and a fresher botanical taste and mouthfeel. Kerry’s extensive expertise and experience in natural extraction fosters innovative “fusion distillates” that are based on a proprietary capability to blend natural botanicals (leaves, flowers, seeds, etc.) and then magnify taste by running a distillate following a period of slow maturation. This allows for tailored extracts or blends that can be made to order to suit specific local and regional tastes and requirements,” it said.
The range contains more than 45 single distillate profiles and five fusions distillates that can be blended and tailored to suite specific markets and create unique winning tastes. Some of the available botanical taste sources include juniper, ginger, rose bud, chamomile, lemon, mint, orange, dandelion, cola nut, rhubarb, burdock, elderflower, black tea, cocoa, cumin, fennel, turmeric, and cinnamon, among others.
