Create Flavours favours nut-free nut flavours
The company said a confluence of in-house technologies and natural ingredient options facilitated the new range which, “opens up a new development channel which many of our dairy confectionery and bakery customers are keen to exploit.”
Commercial director Damian Bellusci told FoodNavigator.com the range was tapping into the market for people with nut allergies as well as the trend toward ‘natural’.
The full range consists of peanut, hazelnut, walnut, macadamia and almond and comes from the natural flavours division six-year-old Create established in November, 2007.
“The natural nut free range opens up a new avenue for many of our customers, who due to the allergen restrictions have adopted a nut free policy at many of their production sites,” Bellusci said.
He added that both retailers and consumers were scrutinising ingredient lists more closely creating pressures such as those to remove potentially allergenic ingredients as well as the more general shift to all things natural that is growing many western markets.
Difficult ask
Create spent more than 12 months developing the nut-free nut flavours, a process the company described as “extremely difficult”.
“Natural nut free peanut and hazelnut flavours have historically been extremely difficult to create,” said managing director Jon Jones in a statement. “However…Create Flavours has developed the first ‘true to type’ natural nut free peanut and hazelnut flavours. The development process has helped Create Flavours expand its working knowledge of nut flavours and consequently helped to improve its current natural nut flavours.”
The nut-free flavour ingredients are available in liquid and encapsulated forms and sell at between £20 (€24.59) and £25 (€30.72).
All natural
Natural flavours are the fastest growing part of Create’s business and Bellusci said the majority of its trade would come from natural flavours within 2-3 years.
“This market is growing incredibly quickly and much of our attention is being taken up servicing it,” Bellusci said.
Other flavours from Create’s natural division include ‘spice rack’ flavours such as ginger.
Its main market is the UK but it has a presence in Ireland, Scandinavia, continental western Europe, the US and Russia. It is developing several eastern European markets.
The company would not reveal figures but Bellusci said Create’s turnover grew by 50 per cent in 2007 with similar growth recorded so far in 2008.
