The American arm of Danish food ingredients company Danisco this week announced the launch of a flavour concept designed to target the ice cream and frozen novelty segment.
According to the company Elevations 900 is a twin textured/dual flavoured novelty idea that features a sorbet covered sherbet bar in three flavour combinations aimed at children from six to fifteen years of age.
In the US Danisco estimates that the ice cream market is approximately worth $170 billion (€173.2bn) in family spending and that children, particularly persuasive, can heavily influence the purchasing choice of parents.
The concept from Danisco is designed for both younger children and "tweens", those in the 10 to 15 age range. For the younger children, Danisco's twin textured novelty bar in 'vibrant colours' combines the sweet flavour of strawberry sorbet and the ripe taste of blue raspberry sherbet. Not only is this a popular flavour combination, the vibrant colours appeal to kids too.
"Our research indicates that the number one colour kids prefer in terms of food products is blue," said Cathy Miller, Technical Applications Director - Ingredients, Danisco. According to Danisco the second recommended flavour combination for young children is green apple sorbet coated in grape sherbet.
For the taste palette of the older "tween" set, Danisco's twin textured bar combines the flavours of cola sorbet with the fruity zest of cherry sherbet. "There aren't a lot of products out there that specifically target this 'tween' demographic," added Miller. "We went with the cherry-cola combination because our research indicates that this is among the most popular flavour of cola among older kids."
Danisco claims that the emulsifier/stabiliser blend used in Elevations 900 provides a variety of benefits to the dual flavoured/dual textured bars. When used in the sorbet, it, according to Danisco, controls ice crystal size, provides heat shock protection and offers a clean flavour release. In terms of its use in the sherbet centre, it can help to achieve a smooth texture, provide heat shock protection and offer a clean mix to accommodate flavour variations.
According to Miller, no special handling conditions are required for either of the emulsifier/stabiliser blends - they can be incorporated in the same manner as the stabiliser currently used by the food manufacturer.