Hard Seltzer News recently interviewed Kathy Oglesby, Head of Flavor and Fragrance at Blue California.  This is that entire interview transcript, where Oglesby shares insight on how hard seltzer producers can appeal to health conscious consumers by carefully selecting ingredients.

KO: I’m Kathy Oglesby, Head of Flavor and Fragrance at Blue California. Blue California has been in business for more than 25 years and is one of the most entrepreneurial, successful natural ingredients suppliers and science-based business incubators in the industry today. Our headquarters is in beautiful and inspiring Southern California, between two canyons. We use the technology platform approach to our work, and in addition to our growing flavor and fragrance division, we excel in health and wellness ingredients and work in sugar reduction through our affiliate, Sweegen. 

From our market evaluation, we found opportunities to build flavors that are really designed to work in these high-performance products. 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. We found many funny lingering and unbalanced flavors in the market, and we thought this was a challenge we should take. So, our idea was a Destination Flavors portfolio. 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. So, the flavor lineup is a mix of mainstream favorites like mango, raspberry, cherry and lime — which we tried to make best in class — and some more innovative flavors like prickly pear. That’s a California favorite. I can see prickly pear from my window here! And also, tropical and citrus blends and a peach. They mix and match together really well, so brands can even design their own signature taste profiles with these flavors. 

 

HSN: Thanks for joining me today, Kathy! Can you tell me a little bit about your background and what Blue California does?

 

KO: Sure, I’m happy to. My story’s pretty easy to tell. I’m a kind of, I don’t know, a serial innovator. I started my career in the beverage industry which I really love. I’ve always loved drinking. I’m a person who drinks more calories than they eat off of their plate. 

 

HSN: Oh my gosh, me too, me too!

 

[Laughter]

 

KO: But, I’m a chemist and actually a self-trained flavorist. I cut my professional teeth developing zero-calorie colas and citrus flavored products for the Coca-Cola Company, actually. And, after that, I moved into innovation in commercial roles in the ingredient industry and biotech and worked with all types of companies — from very big Fortune 500 companies and also some very small startups and stuff. And, you know, leading this Blue California flavor and fragrance division is just perfect for me because it lets me use all of the broad experience that I have but it also…It’s driven by my passion which is natural and sustainable solutions for the market and world. I’m really a naturalist and an outdoor lover, and yeah, that works for me!   

 

HSN: When did the company take an interest in hard seltzer flavorings?

 

KO: Well, it all started when we moved into our new creative center in September. Our sister company Sweegen had already targeted this fast-growing segment, and it appears to be moving towards zero added sugar. So, with my zero sugar heritage, the need for a super clean true to fruit profiles and Sweegen’s leadership in sweet taste solutions, we were destined for hard seltzer from the very start. 

 

HSN: Can you talk a little bit about Blue California’s dedication to natural ingredients and sustainability? And what are the challenges of that? I just, I wanted to also know why aren’t other companies doing this? What makes it that extra little thing, or BIG thing you do? 

 

KO: Well, our dedication to natural and sustainable ingredients is really what makes us unique in the flavor and fragrance industry, and the unique aspect is that it’s our entire business. It’s not just a piece of it. So, we’re really laser-focused in what we’re doing as far as natural and sustainable goes. We’re on consumer trend but also on market trend, and when you look at the other flavor companies that are working in this space, many of them are hundreds of years old. And so, their natural and sustainable effort and their clean label effort are just a small part of what they do, and they have that hundred years of history behind them that are not as natural and not as sustainable. So, our solutions hit every sort of leading-edge quality that consumers are looking for. Som they’re sustainable, they’re plant-based, they’re natural. 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 and creating almost zero demand for petroleum products. The challenge is, really, for this product, is the right technology — which we have. And, our portfolio of captive materials keeps us focused on tonality excellence, and our range is expanding every day. So, while we don’t have hundreds of years of traditional flavors in our libraries, we’re strategic in our growth plan and listen to the market.

 

HSN: Yeah, I was just wondering if, just because you are natural and sustainable, that you do appeal to hard seltzer and cocktail focused [producers] because a lot of them are moving away from the kind of scary definition of “natural flavors.” You know, the Wild West of FDA, what they consider to be “natural flavors,” aren’t always so natural. So, a lot of those companies are moving away from that. So, I think your company seems like an awesome fit for a lot of hard seltzer brands who are looking to kind of get away from that kind of faux natural flavor type of labeling.        

 

KO: Thanks so much for that. I mean, we really see it the same way. And you know, nearly every brand’s consumer is concerned about the environment, and our portfolio really hits the mark in the fact that it doesn’t create any demand for petroleum products, and that we focus on creating everything with as little as possible waste. The approach is called molecular precision which sounds a little nerdy, but in one respect, it’s really how we design our flavors and fragrances. It’s this sort of Bauhaus design principle of less is more. Consumers are looking for natural products, clean labels, pure, clean natural ingredients. That means that every component of our flavors has a reason for being there, and molecular precision is also about having the molecules that are exactly what nature makes. This is especially important for alcoholic beverages and cocktails — hard seltzer not so much because it’s more of a clear alcohol base — but for cocktails, the key is premium taste, and you’ve got to have exactly the type of molecule that is created in fermentation to really have that premium taste. 

 

HSN: I wanted to ask if you could expand a little bit on your partnership with Sweegen. When did that start? What do you guys do together to make the product? 

 

KO: Sure! Well, Sweegen — who are industry leaders in zero sugar and sugar reduction solutions — and my company, Blue California, we’re part of the same group of companies, and we’re vertically integrated in the sense that we control everything from our research all the way through our manufacturing. So, we’ve got a great, powerful supply chain, and the fact that we’re in the same group, we can collaborate really closely and easily. We are literally next-door neighbors and definitely strategic partners. We see them and work together on shared objectives every day and are perfectly aligned on bringing clean natural and sustainable solutions to the market.         

 

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HSN: So, when did the company start doing hard seltzer flavorings about would you say?

 

KO: Well, we are a new company and we just started doing it. So, the difference that we bring is we have a fresh look, a fresh technology, but seasoned industry talent. We have experts on our team, and we’re taking a fresh look at the market — a great combination!

 

HSN: What advice do you have for newcomers and budding entrepreneurs who are looking to start in the hard seltzer industry?

 

KO: Well, I guess the first advice I would have for them is [to] come to Blue California! We have also the right technical formulation approach for hard seltzer, which is important when you’re just getting started. We understand the challenges of manufacturers. In fact, our team has [been] put together with talents not just from the flavor industry, but also from the consumer product industry. So, we’ve walked a few miles in your shoes and are really collaborative. We love to work with companies with a fresh look that matches our fresh look. So you know, it’s really, really a great experience to work together. We know that there are going to be some fermentation notes, for example, coming from your base that maybe you can’t avoid, and we can work with you to make the best out of that situation. And also, sometimes there are challenges in manufacturing capabilities. So, we formulate user friendly. You know, people who are entering the market very much either don’t have control of their supply chain or don’t have flexibility in their manufacturing, so we can work with you on that because we’ve been there. 

 

HSN: Is there anything else you wanted to add? Anything you think our listeners should know about Blue California?

 

KO: Yeah, definitely. What I’d like everybody to remember is our name, Blue California. We’re new, but we’re up to the challenge. Our talent’s strong and we love hard seltzer. We formulated to be the best in class on all of our flavors. We’d love also to hear what flavors you’d like to have that we don’t have yet. We listen to the market, so check out our Destination Flavors page and let us send you some ready to drink samples. Cheers!

 

HSN: Yeah, I like that idea of Destination Flavors just because people have not been able to go on the vacations they want to go on, haven’t been able to travel. So, it’s a nice little treat. Thanks so much for joining me today Kathy and talking about Blue California!

 

KO: Thank you for giving us this opportunity, it was fun! 

Stephanie Meade
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