2007 Flavor and Trends Summary

Posted: August 21, 2007

While walking the floor of this year’s Institute of Food Technologists Expo, Chuck Dodson, director of consumer insights and marketing at A.M. Todd, took notes on some of the more interesting displays and insights—ingredients, flavor combinations and trend analyses. Here, Dodson shares his observations of flavor highlights.

Unique Ingredients

Dry powdered alcohol: Alcohol encapsulated in dextrin by spray drying. Material contains 30% dry weight alcohol. Senba USA

Featured Flavors 

• Wolfberry/lime beverage; mango ginger beverage; cinnamon pear ice cream. Wild Flavors
• Lychee pineapple beverage; blackberry pomegranate beverage. AFF International/Mastertaste/Manheimer Fragrances
• Chocolate peanut butter pie milk beverage. David Michael Flavors
• Kiwi cucumber with kefir lime leaf relish; pineapple wasabi mustard; strawberry guanábana beverage. Bell Flavors & Fragrances
• Blueberry/goji/acai 100% juice blend; lychee pear tea; melon shiso candy chew; pistachio coconut candy chew. FONA International
• Sweet potato smoothie. Virginia Dare
• Maple walnut frappuccino. NutraGenesis
• Cucumber mint green tea. Blue Reef 
• Horchata tea. Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co.

Flavors/Fruits Discussed in Presentations, Discussions on Company Literature 

• Bissap—African hibiscus
• Baobab 
• Matcha—green powdered tea 
• Fig 
• Guanábana (soursop) 
• Caja fruit—a strawberrylike flavor 
• Prickly pear 
• Buchu 
• Honeybush (rooibos) 
• Marula fruit