Retro soda meets spice: Innova’s top drinks trends in Americas, Europe

The quotes are Innova’s own from literature presented at Anuga. Check in tomorrow to get the research firm’s gen on trends in the Middle East, Africa and Australasia.

NORTH AMERICA​:​

Retro Soda:​ Lemonade, pink lemonade, root beer and cream soda have been ‘reincarnated’ in blends and in alcoholic drinks.

Differentiated Flavors:​ Blue raspberry, white peach, huckleberry, kombucha tea and dark chocolate ‘demonstrate the trend towards the use of more flavour specifically to differ from the norm’.

Fruit Flavors:​ Cherry is gaining ‘superfruit’ status, with red and black cherry flavors emerging. Watermelon is growing and cactus/prickly pear is a ‘new generation superfruit flavour’.

Citrus:​ Increasingly used for alcoholic drinks, lime is being paired with cherry and berry flavors.

Vegetable Flavors:​ Celery, cucumber, beetroot and kale (2012-) complement fruit flavors in juices, smoothies and teas, and add ‘health-giving phytochemicals’.

Hot & Spicy Beverages:​ Black pepper, pepper and chilli lend spicy heat to both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in North America.

LATIN AMERICA​

Superfruits: ​Starfruit/carambola, guanabana/soursop, pomegranate and mangosteen are fast-growing flavors in concentrates, while juices are used in sports, energy drinks.

Pink Grapefruit: ​On trend in flavored waters, sports and energy drinks.

Blackberry: ​Establishing a niche in juices and energy and sports drinks.

Coconut: ​‘Coconut’s health halo has spread to Latin America, where there are increasing numbers of coconut-based drinks.’ ​

Tropical Fruit: ​On the rise in sports and energy drinks.

Lemonade: ​Used increasingly to flavor juices and other non-carbonated soft drinks.

WESTERN EUROPE​

Spices: ​Ginger, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon are popular in RTDs and herbal tea

Berry​ Varietals: ​Chokeberry, elderberry, lingonberry and bilberry feature strongly, principally in new juices, teas and alcoholic drinks.

New Generation Superfruits: ​Guanabana/soursop, cloudberry/aronia, cactus/prickly pear, blackcurrant. As per the US, new superfruits are increasingly used in soft drinks, spirits and liqueurs, tea and beer.

Cherry: ​Morello, sour, black and red cherry varietals are especially common in juices.

Herbal Flavors: ​Coriander is seeing success as a beer flavour and lemon balm is emerging in tea, while herbs are cropping up in CSDs, spirits and liqueurs and tea.

Honey: ​Featuring in flavoured beer, spirits, liqueurs – its flavor especially suits that of brown spirits.

EASTERN EUROPE​

Tropical Fruits: ​Passion fruit, guava, kiwi and mango crop up in tea and other soft drinks.

Coffee & Tea Flavors: ​Latte macchiato, latter, mocha, chamomile are rooibos represent the “widespread flavour differentiation”​ for tea and coffee worldwide.

Tangerine/Mandarin: ​Mainly used to flavour CSDs and juices.

Superfruits: ​Goji, sea buckthorn and pomegranate are increasingly used to flavour juices and tea.

Herbal Flavors: ​Mojito is a growing flavour in non-alcoholic drinks, while peppermint, spearmint, mint, sage, echinacea, nettle and lemongrass are found mainly in herbal teas, iced teas and other soft drinks.