Whether it’s a relaxing cup of tea, an invigorating wake-me-up coffee, or a refreshing citrus drink, there’s a good chance that Givaudan is behind the flavour you savour in your favourite beverages.
As our biggest segment, accounting for one third of annual sales in Flavours, this huge market is now more fluid than ever.
A fast-flowing global sector
The beverages sector constitutes soft drinks, fruit juices, instant beverages, and more. The world enjoys literally tens of thousands of different brands and unique flavour experiences in beverages. Despite being an already highly dynamic category, the pace of innovation in beverages is speeding up.
One of our insights into the beverages market that explains its rapid pace of innovation and evolution is the fact that people are very open to trying new drinks. It’s an inexpensive way to discover an enjoyable experience, so for example, consumers are willing to buy a new ready‑to‑drink tea in a flavour they’ve never had before, and this has led to a lot of creativity in the beverages space.
For Givaudan this means that customers constantly rely on our pipeline of innovation to create and respond to trends.
Experiencing new and healthier beverages
Today there is an openness to merging trends across the world. What we see is a cross-fertilisation of influences going back and forth between North America and Europe, and emerging markets in the Middle East and Asia. People are ready to embrace new taste sensations, from near to home and further afield. In developing markets economic growth and greater mobility of people is driving the thirst for new beverage experiences.
Health and wellness is also at the front and centre of consumers preoccupations. The demand for healthier beverages is steadily increasing and goes from naturally enhanced functionality to sugar reduction while making no compromise on taste and visual appeal.
Learn more in our podcast series dedicated to healthy beverages
Coffee and tea – a deep dive into the Asian marketplace
In Asia, Givaudan is at the forefront of understanding the explosion in consumer desire for new beverages. Take the burgeoning coffee market in Asia. Where teas have dominated in this region historically, coffee has been the preserve of the western world, up until recently. In countries such as China, the Philippines and Singapore, supermarket shelves are beginning to burst with a plethora of ready-to-drink 3-in-1 coffees. Available in single serve ‘sticks’, 3-in-1 coffees contain mixed powders made up of coffee, milk and sugar. Tear off the top of the stick, add hot water and there is everything a consumer needs to make a cup of great‑tasting coffee, for a quick moment of pleasure in a busy life.
Rehydration is a hot topic
Another area of unique beverages evolution in Asia is how consumers choose to rehydrate. Asian countries are typically very hot, so the need to rehydrate often throughout the day is important. Water is still loved of course, but consumers want flavours that connect to their identity and ‘lifestyle’. This is an opportunity for Givaudan to draw on our local flavours expertise and consumer understanding programmes.
Time for tea
Talk of beverages in Asia cannot ignore the tea market. While people throughout the region love tea, China remains the regional mecca of tea, and Givaudan, within its TasteTrek® programme has undertaken several Tea Treks to Chinese tea fields. These Treks have allowed us to uncover the nuance and sophistication of China’s famous and delicate tea brews. Tasting some of the very best teas is like ‘having angels dancing on your tongue’ as one of the Givaudan team members explained. This gives Givaudan a real strength in this area as we have studied the very best at the source. Local people tasting these new teas are both surprised and delighted to see that we understand their regional teas so well. Combined with consumer understanding, it has greatly enhanced our know-how in tea varieties enjoyed in the West, and other parts of the world.
New tea trends
Heritage not withstanding, today’s younger Chinese generations are taking this traditional favourite and reinventing it. All kinds of cool little teahouses are springing up throughout China and across Asia, offering multi-layered tea experiences such as Matcha Lattes (Japanese green tea with milk), tea with tapioca balls, or with fruit juices, and even tea with probiotic yoghurt drinks.
As tea trends explode across the region, Givaudan is able to bring fresh thinking and new insights to market, thanks to our experience, learning and consumer understanding. Our customers are able to draw on this extensive local and global knowledge in order to innovate, diversify and offer fusions with different beverage bases. Givaudan has the ability to help create exciting new drinks, delivering the many moments of delight consumers are looking for during each and every day.