It’s the season for innovation.
What better way to enjoy the sunshine, than an ice-cold and refreshing drink?
The beverage industry is forever innovating, with lots of new products being launched in retailer shelves over the summer months. Stuck in a rut and not sure what new flavours to launch in your beverages? Read on to see what we’d recommend….
Copper Chlorophyllin
If you are looking for a bright and stable green to add to your summer drink, look no further! Copper chlorophyllin is one of our favourite green options, achieving various shades of green from light and minty, to dark and woody. The E-number will need to be declared on the BOP; for example ‘Colour: E141 (ii) Cu Chlorophyllin’.
Pair this with a zesty lime flavour to create your next summer drink, guaranteed to fly off the shelves! Citrus flavours in beverages have always been a crowd-favourite, so it doesn’t come to much of a shock. We have a wide portfolio of citrus flavours, so get in touch with us today to request a copy of our portfolio now.
Convenience is key, which is a big driver in the ready-to-drink cocktails trend. They are an easy option to enjoy alcoholic beverages, such as for garden parties and picnics. Introduce an on-the-go mojito to your range by combining copper chlorophyllin extract with our mint and lime flavours, alongside your alcohol base to create a cool and refreshing drink!
Safflower Extract
Safflower extract is a colour from our clean-label range, and can be labelled on the BOP as ‘Safflower Concentrate’. It is a popular product for a lot of our beverage manufacturers, providing a clear lemon-yellow shade. If you’re looking for a cloudy yellow shade to make your product appear more natural, consider pairing alongside our neutral cloud agent.
Thinking outside the box, consider using safflower extract in a lemon iced tea, or even a pineapple and mango smoothie. Looking into summer flavours, we recommend using this in a passionfruit flavoured drink – this is certainly a flavour rising in popularity!
Spirulina Extract
Are you eager to try something new in order to make your product stand out on the shelf? Blue is a very rare colour to find in the beverage industry, so the uniqueness of a blue drink does catch consumers’ eyes.
As consumers are looking for new exciting experiences, we recommend combining our spirulina extract with a blue raspberry flavour for a refreshing slushie. For age-appropriate consumers who are still looking for a little fun in their lives, consider using this in a frozen blue-lagoon cocktail!
If you’re looking to use this in your beverages this summer, it is important to bare in mind that spirulina is not stable in acidic pH. Read about the stability of spirulina extract here.
Natural Beta Carotene Extract
Another popular colour to add to your beverages this summer is Natural Beta Carotene. It delivers a tropical orange-yellow shade.
People have realised that they don’t need to travel across the globe to experience exotic flavours, and can in fact delve into new experiences from the comfort of their own homes. For example, try our yuzu flavour alongside our ginger extract. Health-conscious consumers will certainly be keen to try this combination!
Grapeskin Extract
With Magenta being the colour of the year for 2023, our grapeskin extract makes a great addition to your beverage for a pink/purple hue to keep on this trend. Plant-Ex have manufactured a clean label grapeskin extract, to suit consumer requirements who are becoming more conscious of labelling. This means you can label it as ‘grapeskin extract’ on BOP, therefore consumers across the globe can easily recognise and feel safe consuming the ingredients.
Bring moments of joy home by using our strawberry flavour to create a frozen strawberry daquiri – it will also work great for non-alcoholic mocktails for sober curious consumers, all while keeping the flavour delicious.
If you’re looking to use grapeskin extract, please bare in mind you will need to declare a sulphites allergen on the back of pack.
Black Carrot Extract
Watermelon beverages are an extremely popular flavour in the summertime all over the globe. Using our black carrot extract is a great way to replicate the fruit itself without the added chemicals, keeping a clean-label BOP.
Consumers tend to associate the colour red with fruity, berry or sweet flavours, so adding black carrot to your fruit flavoured beverages is a great way to increase consumer appeal. We also recommend using our black carrot extract in your fruity ciders for summer releases – a strawberry and lime cider will go down a treat this summer!
Orange Blend
As citrus fruits become more and more popular, try our natural orange blend to add orange hues to your drink. Plant-Ex’s orange blend is made by combining radish and safflower extract, therefore due to the anthocyanin content this colour is only suitable for beverage applications with a low pH. If you’re looking for a clean-label back of pack with no E-numbers, this is certainly the colour for you!
Thinking outside the box is what we do best; upgrade your orange flavours to blood orange to create a citrussy, tart, blood orange fizzy soda! Blood orange has certainly increased in popularity this year; traditional orange flavour is sweet and citrussy, whereas blood orange has a slight bitterness.
Burnt Sugar Syrup
Traditionally, caramel colours and brown drinks are associated with cola, cider, beer, or other alcoholic beverages. We’d recommend different caramel colours depending on the target shade, however our most popular is E150a Burnt Sugar Syrup. This product does not need to have its E-number declared on the back of pack, however it doesn’t deliver a very deep brown shade so is more appropriate for ciders and beers.
Enquire today for more information about our caramel colours.
Clouding Agent
As mentioned earlier in this blog post, clouding agents are used by beverage manufacturers to give a more natural appearance to your soft drinks. For example, a cloudy orange juice is going to look more natural compared to a clear orange juice. This is because if a consumer were to squeeze an orange, it would be cloudy.
Interested in what else we can offer your company? Request a copy of our colours portfolio today!
