Flavour Creates Opportunity in Single Serve
The “cutting edge” is an exciting, and sometimes terrifying, place that companies try so desperately to reside. It is where ideas are put to work – hopefully with successful outcomes. The beverage industry is one of those that is most comfortable in this position because outside of quality and consistency, beverages must continue to be innovative.
Single-serve coffee and tea pods have reshaped the beverage industry over the past 15 years. The global coffee pod and capsule market is predicted to record a CAGR of 7.1 percent during the forecast period 2019-2024, according to APNews.com. Coffee pods, specifically, have remained strong sources of growth in North America, but while still strong, that growth has slowed considerably over recent years. Sure, competition has increased with the additional offerings ofRTD/Cold Brew, single-serve pour-over, and coffee shops. Although pod sales have slowed as the category has matured, brands are seeking ways to differentiate. And with private-label brands now making up 21.6 percent of the United States single-serve pod market, according to trends forecaster, Culinary Tides, the potential for new and inviting flavours has never been better.
According to certified flavourist Kevin Berdak, “preparing flavouring for single serve coffee is not the same as flavouring a bag of coffee. Single cup coffee is often ground finer than drip coffee so that more flavour can extract in a quicker amount of brew time. As a result, the flavour component has to be modified for quicker extraction therefore the flavour usage rate is often higher, at four percent versus three percent on average.”