Go Tropical: Fruit With Flair

By: iTi Innovation

 

The iTi Innovation team recently attended a webinar which highlighted tropical flavors as being both longstanding and groundbreaking!. The familiarity of an established product format mixed with an exotic flavor lets consumers feel eager to taste new foods and drinks, without stepping too far outside their comfort zone.

Tropical flavors like mango and coconut are well known, established, and enjoyed; especially in the beverage and sweets industry.  But what about the savory area? Mango and coconut can be combined with sauces and salsas to generate familiar products with new twists! Change up your product line by adding mango into already spicy habanero salsa to make a sweet and spicy condiment or combining coconut cream and chili pepper for a spicy cooking sauce.

These fruits work well in confectionary products too! All ages enjoy a sweet treat every now and then.  Passionfruit pairs wells with both white and dark chocolate.  The sweet yet tart passionfruit complements and helps cut the sweetness of the white chocolate, while dark chocolate acts as a nice balance for passionfruit’s sharp flavor.  Try blending the exotic flavor of mangosteen, with more familiar banana in a gummy product or dessert sauce, which is sure to pleasantly surprise anyone’s taste buds. This will allow consumers to feel more comfortable when experiencing new flavors.

By combining exotic fruits in a more familiar application consumers are more apt to try your new product. Perhaps start by offering the flavors as limited time offerings to test consumer acceptance and create brand excitement. We suggest pairing coconut water with passionfruit, acerola, mangosteen, or açaí in mocktail or cocktail mixers to be enjoyed in the summer heat.

 

Check out our applications page for more ideas on how to add a tropical twist to your product line!


Tags:  acai acerola dragonfruit mangosteen