To fill a growing need in the hard seltzer industry, Blue California Flavor and Fragrance division has created a low sweetness hard seltzer-focused flavor portfolio for 2021. The collection, Destination Flavors, takes inspiration from the fruity flavors of Spain, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Thailand, The Caribbean, Mexico and California.
In an exclusive interview with Hard Seltzer News, the Head of Flavor and Fragrance at Blue California, Kathy Oglesby, spoke about the development of the 2021 Destination Flavors collection and what makes their flavors perfect for hard seltzers.
“From our market evaluation, we found opportunities to build flavors that are really designed to work in these high-performance products,” explained Oglesby. “When you have no or almost no sweetness, the flavor must be perfectly balanced and refreshing, but, at the same time, the flavor has to stop suddenly to really be a seltzer, and it has to leave a good taste in your mouth.”
To achieve this effect, the resulting flavors are low in sweetness and contain zero added sugar. Blue California designed the flavors with help from their partner company, Sweegen.
As many hard seltzer brewers have discovered, successfully brewing an alcoholic beverage that is genuinely “taste-free” can be a daunting and time-consuming challenge — especially for those brewing from malt. Blue California spotted these weaknesses in the hard seltzer market and became motivated to help brands.
“We found many funny lingering and unbalanced flavors in the market, and we thought this was a challenge we should take,” said Oglesby.
Blue California has tackled this challenge with their Destination Flavors — a fitting flavor concept during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly reduced travel.
“It was inspired by the idea that you can’t always go someplace exciting when you want, but you can close your eyes — at least I can, most people can! — and be delivered there by a tasty cocktail,” Oglesby said in the podcast.
So, Blue California highlighted fruit flavors from around the globe. The collection includes spins on some well-loved classics — Russian raspberry, Thai mango, Brazilian lime and Japanese cherry — as well as some more unique flavor profiles such as Mexican prickly pear, Spanish peach, a Caribbean tropical fruit blend and a California citrus blend.
Alongside their dedication to coming up with creative low-sweetness solutions for hard seltzer brands, Blue California is also dedicated to sustainability and using all natural ingredients in their flavors. As more and more hard seltzer brands look away from inauthentically labeled “natural” ingredients in their products, Blue California fits right in with what is on-trend for both brands and consumers.
“Our solutions hit every sort of leading-edge quality that consumers are looking for, so they’re sustainable, they’re plant-based, they’re natural,” said Oglesby. “They’re clean, and that means that they’re free from artifacts that you get from agricultural products in the chemical industry, certainly non-GMO, and they’re significantly less demanding on Earth’s natural resources than more traditional products, [sic] creating almost zero demand for petroleum products.”
Oglesby encouraged brands seeking flavor solutions to reach out to Blue California for product samples. She emphasized Blue California loves working closely with brands, and brands can experiment with what works best for them and their products.
“[The Destination Flavors] mix and match together really well, so brands can even design their own signature taste profiles with these flavors,” Oglesby said.
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