PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2012

PREFORM PRODUCTION 38 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 09/12 www.petpla.net New ways to new beverage concepts at drinktec 2013 The taste of nature New beverage concepts The Special Area is a separately designated and designed area located in the exhibition section featuring raw materials, additives and agents. Beneo, manufacturer of functional ingredients, will be demonstrating ideas for a better balance in energy- boosting products: “Consumers are increasingly focusing on drinks con- cepts that release a steady supply of energy, avoiding the so-called ‘boost and crash’ effect. It is ingredients like ginseng or Palatinose (Isomaltulose) that rate highest on this criterion, as they are natural products that also offer nutritional benefits,” explains Jens Böhm, Marketing Manager for Beneo. The area has its own catering area enabling on the spot sampling of innovative drinks. Sweet = Good A good taste has always been the supreme imperative governing the development of beverages and liquid foods. But what exactly do we mean by ‘tastes good’, or indeed by the word ‘taste’ itself? The tongue can distinguish precisely five types of taste: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and satisfyingly meaty. Everything else about ‘taste’ comes from the eyes and the nose, which are incomparably more sensitive. All these sense impressions trigger emotions or memories, which our brain processes into an overall judgment. It’s because of the emotions that taste becomes a complex matter after all. For example, ‘sweet’ stands for ‘good’, and probably has done ever since our primeval forebears came out of East Africa. Sweet foodstuffs thus almost automatically trigger that “I like it” response, deep inside us. However, partly as a result of changing con- sumer lifestyles, new requirements keep emerging, as do new concerns motivating alternative approaches. These concerns come with category labels such as obesity, dental health, diabetes, glycaemic index or ‘natural’. These subcategories represented in Hall B1 range from calorie-free sweet- eners through natural and almost blood sugar-neutral substitutes for sugar, special sugar combinations for sports use and classics like sucrose all the way to brand-new alternatives. The EU approval of steviol glycosides as a food additive (E 960) first and foremost enables the sweetening of drinks using new concepts based on stevia. Obtained from the leaves of a plant named stevia rebaudiana, steviol glycosides are up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, and calorie-free. At drinktec 2013, taking place at Munich´s trade fair centre from September 16 to 20, 2013, there will be a special exhibition area dedicated to New Beverage Con- cepts: the “Special Area New Beverage Concepts” in Hall B1 drinktec in cooperation with Dr. Harnisch International Publications, Nuremberg. We would now like to take a look at some of the trends that may feature as far as the flavours and beverage ingredients are concerned.