Author: itsflavours

How to naturally reduce sugar in RTD milk and plant-based drinks with no impact on taste or texture.

Plant-based drinks are really taking on the mainstream. Over the last couple of years the quality of the products has increased massively – with an extensive choice now presented to consumers.

Take a look down supermarket aisles and you’ll see a whole selection of options: oat, soy, almond and coconut to name a few of the most popular. Then within each of these categories there is a further selection of eye-catching brands and flavours to try.

Traditional milk products shelf space is now being reduced as the alternative plant-based drinks grow in popularity.

What’s the issue with sugar in milk and plant-based drinks?

Many of the big brands in the plant-based sector like Oatly and Minor Figures do great work presenting no added sugar options in their core milk range. The main issue comes with the flavoured drinks and the plant-based milk options presented in coffee shops. Most of these products often have heaps of added sugar.

The issue looks to become a bigger headache with the rise of premium RTD products hitting the market. This area is spearheaded by the RTD coffee market that has grown 20% over 2020. With RTD premium drinks comes the need for powerful flavours and indulgence, all of which sugar is the go-to ingredient.

The issue isn’t just exclusive to plant-based drinks, as traditional RTD milk beverages also suffer from the same high sugar levels.

Consumers demand a healthier option

Milk and plant-based drink manufacturers can’t ignore the calls for lowering sugar content. Nearly half (46%) of consumers are concerned about the level of sugar in food and drink as an FSA survey found.

This is especially true in the plant-based sector, where a major appeal of the products is their added health benefits.

Natural flavourings can boost sweetness

The team at I.T.S. has developed a solution that will help dramatically reduce sugar in not just plant-based drinks, but also traditional milk drinks. We use natural flavourings to boost and enhance the sweetness in the applications.

Our new product, SweetLITE Body not only boosts sweetness but also enhances mouthfeel to make up for the lack of depth sugar provides to the mouthfeel of a drink.

We’ve proven to reduce sugar content by up to 50% in milk and plant-based drinks. The best part is the ingredient is 100% natural and declared as a natural flavouring on the packaging.

Get in touch to request a sample of our sugar reduction solutions.

Take a look at the savoury flavour trends you just won’t be able to ignore.

Food has become much more than just part of your daily routine. Food is now a journey, a destination, an experience. People’s love of food starts at the most essential part – flavour. Taste is quite simply, everything.
 
Flavour trends move quicker than ever. Brands and consumers are constantly on the lookout for the next big flavour experience. Well, have no fear, we’ve done the hard work for you.
 
Our team of technologists have put together a new Savoury Flavour Trends Presentation that will give you all the knowledge of what flavours you need to be experimenting with as we head towards 2022.
 
Whether you’re looking for flavours in meat replacements, savoury snacks, meat and seafood products, or sauces and condiments – we’ve got the top flavour tip for you.
 
The booming plant-based market has excelled the demand and innovation of savoury natural flavourings. We supply and manufacture a wide range of savoury natural flavourings and seasonings to meet all requirements.
 
Get in touch today to request free samples of our Savoury Trends and a copy of the Savoury Trends Presentation.

NATURAL FLAVOURS THAT TRANSFORM LO & NO DRINKS

With over 10 million UK adults now teetotal, the beverage industry is moving quickly to develop new premium low and no products.

With the rise in low and no alcoholic drinks, developers are looking for ways to keep that extra something special in the drink, even without alcohol. If consumers are going to give up their alcohol, they are going to want more than a glass of fizzy orange. This is where sensations come in. Adding sensations works to help give products that extra bit of sophistication and depth to keep that “grown-up” feel to your evening drink.

LOW AND NO BEVERAGES ON THE RISE

Recent stats have shown that 19% of the UK adult population are now teetotal – that’s over a whopping 10 million people. Leading spirit brand, Bombay Sapphire is preparing for this growing trend and have estimated the sector to grow a dramatic 400% over the next 4 years. That is a lot of people looking for new and interesting alternatives to their gin and tonic.

For a sector that is based around social occasions and celebrations, it’s crucial beverage brands adapt quickly, and keep their low and no products on-trend.

SENSATION FLAVOURS KEEP LO & NO BEVERAGE INTERESTING

Our team of Flavourists have been quick to address this shift in consumer behaviour and have been working with brands on ways to help add that sophistication and something special to their beverage products.

We have developed a unique range of natural flavourings that can ensure beverages continue to add excitement and experience. Our sensation range of natural flavourings can help add much-needed mouthfeel, heat or even coolness to beverage products.

NATURAL FLAVOURS THAT HELP YOU FEEL THE BURN

One of our most successful sensation flavours has got to be our “heating” range. This flavour gives the sensation that something is spiced or provides a strong alcohol feeling, with the burning effect once it’s been swallowed. These work really well in products that are looking to carry through that unique impact of alcohol.

Natural flavours can also help add complex flavours profiles like smokiness or bitterness – two key flavours you’ll find in alcoholic beverages. 

BOOST ALCOHOLIC FLAVOUR NOTES

Along with our non-mint derived cooling flavourings, the heating flavours match perfectly with our alcoholic booster flavourings. You can now develop an alcohol-free beverage with unique alcoholic flavour profiles and also add the extra layer of heat sensation.

From whisky, gin and rum to even more complex cocktail flavours like Negroni – we have a flavour library that covers all basis.

BUILD YOUR FLAVOUR PROFILE

Let’s face it, what would the beverage development world be without natural flavours? From citrus and tropical, to your classic core lemon and lime. Make sure your flavour packs a punch before going to market. 

Get in touch to request a sample of any of our flavourings to talk through in more detail with our team.

We give you the low down on why you should be trying Cherry Blossom.

Now, we know what you’re thinking – Cherry Blossom is the flavour of spring and we’re in August. Well, we are never ones to play by the rules and we think Cherry Blossom is so tasty it works equally well beneath the sun’s rays of summer as it does in blossoming spring.

Widely recognised as Japan’s national flower, Cherry Blossom offers both a floral and fruity scent which works perfectly for refreshing summer products. It’s a subtle flavour profile which still manages to hold its own when paired with other flavours.

Cherry Blossom has one of those unique flavour profiles that brings together many different sectors and applications due to its versatility. Refreshing drinks, light ice creams or innovative bakery – Cherry Blossom is a great flavour no matter what sector you work in.

It’s also a flavour that ticks multiple flavour trend boxes, with both Eastern flavours and the popularity of floral. You’ve probably seen Cherry Blossom in many big brand launches over the last year. Coca Cola, Häagen-Dazs, Nestle and Starbucks have all jumped on board with this appealing, colourful and tasty trend.

It’s certainly a flavour you need to at least try out, so get in touch and request your free sample of our Cherry Blossom natural flavouring. Available in both liquid and powder flavouring.

Natural flavourings can offer much more than just making food and drink taste great. Find out they can also make things healthier.

As experts in natural flavourings, we use them for many different things. The most obvious is of course to make things taste great. We’ve been making just about anything taste great for years. From cakes and biscuits, to ice cream and cheese – not to mention all the delicious beverage flavours we come up with.

But natural flavourings can be used for so much more than just enhancing flavour in food and drink. These clever little flavourings can also do all sorts of wonderful things like improve mouthfeel, prolong freshness, mask nasty tastes, reduce salt content and of course, help with sugar reduction.

Why is reducing sugar so important?

Back in 2016, Public Health England reacted to the public health issue of obesity within the UK. The government took steps to put pressure on just about anyone that was manufacturing food and drink to reduce their sugar content by 20%. This was going to be no easy challenge for the food and drink industry, as sugar not only greatly impacts on flavour, but also impacts issues like shelf life and texture.

How do natural flavourings help with sugar reduction?

Now, enter the flavour industry. The flavour industry quickly realised that flavourings could be part of the answer to the sugar reduction crisis. If a flavouring can make something taste of strawberry, why can’t it also make it taste sweeter?

Natural flavourings would present a much more appealing option to reducing sugar content than traditional artificial sweeteners that have been used for many years. Here is a product that is 100% natural and can help to dramatically reduce sugar content in just about any product.

Presenting the I.T.S. SweetLITE™ solutions

At I.T.S. we are incredibly proud of our range of sugar reduction solutions. Our SweetLITE™ range provides a full scope across bakery, dairy, beverage and just about any application. The solutions help to offer customers sugar reduction claims of up to 50% and can also be declared as “natural flavourings” on pack. Not only do these not impact on taste but they can also improve mouthfeel and texture of products.

We realise that sugar reduction is never a one size fits all approach, this is why we have put together such a wide range of solutions, which is ever-growing as we develop to meet the needs of our customers.

Don’t believe the hype?

Now, we’re not saying we are the only flavour house that can offer you sugar reduction in your products, but we’re saying we are comfortable that you’d be hard pushed to find more effective solutions.

Our SweetLITE™ range has often been benchmarked against competitor technologies and more often than not comes out on top. It’s just something we’re good at and also incredibly passionate about.

Get in touch to find out more and how your products can benefit from our sugar reduction solutions.

Request a sample of our sugar reduction solutions.