New mint blends to beat high costs

The two new products, which are part of the company's EleMints brand, are described as North American mint oil blends and global mint oil blends, and are designed to appeal to a variety of tastes.

According to Chuck Dodson, director of consumer insights and marketing at A M Todd, the North American blends are proprietary combinations of Mentha piperita (peppermint) and a new variety of Mentha canadensis , both of which are grown in North America.

"These blends exhibit odor and flavor profile characteristics typical of Mentha piperita," he told FoodNavigator-USA.com.

The global blend is a combination of oils from North American and Indian mint varieties.

Dodson believes the key to the success of these oils will be their relatively low cost.

"The cost of inputs - labor, fuel, fertilizer, financing - have increased sharply, and mint farmers are making more profit in the US from growing less expensive crops like corn and wheat.

The result is mint acreage has been reduced, and that prices have increased," he said.

"We have created these North American blends that have the taste and aroma characteristics of Mentha Piperta but which are high yielding varieties and which therefore cost less to produce," he added.

The decision to produce two different blends was also key, he said.

"There are some customers who want to 'buy American'," he said, suggesting that they were willing to pay a little more for the privilege.

But the global blend, using lower cost mint from India, where there are no supply problems, was important because "some customers want the taste and aroma, but do not require 100 per cent North American oils to be the source" , he added.

A M Todd has operated in the Indian market for more than 10 years, working through a network of mint farmers who are contracted to supply the company with mint over a long period.

Dodson said the company was continually looking for new ways to improve the quality - and the quality:price ratio - of its oils.

"Our plant science research program has been researching all aspects of the Mentha genus and new variety development begins at the cellular level to physically grow new plants, enter the greenhouse evaluation phase, pursue complete regimes of field testing and finally enter full commercialization."

He explained that the process will take two to three years.

Then, once new varieties have been developed, the plant science team works with flavor chemists to see how the new plants can best be used.

"We are developing unique new plants having excellent yields such that the cost of production offers growers some economies that can be passed on to our customers."

But he stressed that the plant research did not involve genetic modification (GM) of any kind.

"Non-GM techniques were used to create hybrids of high quality mint blends that meet our standards and the requirements of our customers in terms of taste, aroma and cost," he said.

A M Todd sells mint oils to confectionery, gum, beverage and oral hygiene product manufacturers.