Craft Soda: The Next Big Thing
Craft beer hit the market in a very big way, virtually changing the brewing industry overnight. And with that major change, came others in the beverage industry – namely, the rising popularity of artisanal and craft soda flavors, which can provide consumers with a wide range of more exotic flavors, unusual but delicious flavor combinations, and other new options such as all-natural and organic sodas.
The first place to start looking at craft soda flavors is with traditional soda options such as cola, root beer, and cream soda, just to name a few different options. While the recipes for these types of sodas may be more or less the same from product to product, there are plenty of ways for a flavorist to put their own spin on things and to create something a little bit different. The ability to create all-natural versions of these classic sodas is also crucial, especially in a buyer’s market that is increasingly searching for healthier beverage options.
Craft soda volume reached 88.8 million gallons in 2016 up from 77.55 million gallons in 2011, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. This subset saw close to 5% year over year growth, compared to the rest of the carbonated beverage industry, which dropped 0.85%.
Various fruit flavors are also making their way into the craft soda market, either combined with these traditional flavors (as is the case with cherry cola) or used alone. Peach, pear, strawberry (which can be recreated with Advanced Biotech’s Natural Strawberry Furanone) and pineapple (which can be recreated with Advanced Biotech’s Natural Butyl Butyrate) are just a few options when it comes to delicious fruity soda flavors.
Combinations of different flavors are also important to the craft soda creation process, and one of the most popular combination options is ginger. Ginger ale alone is a delicious choice, but paired with other ingredients such as lemon, it can be something truly special. Flavorists should be sure to check out the many flavors available and to experiment with new combinations in order to really harness the power of craft sodas. They are proving to be the next big thing.