New insights from Symrise show that “no additives,” “health attributes” and “contains real ingredients” are among the top drivers of naturalness perceptions. This was found in a recent survey across four product segments: flavored water, ready to drink (RTD) tea, drinking yogurt and ready meals. In Asia-Pacific (APAC), as well as in other regions, the new era of naturalness is evolving fast and in diverging directions. While a broad variety of aspects contribute to a natural product perception, consumer expectations on what “natural” means to them can also differ from region to region. It ranges from knowing exactly the type of ingredients, wher the ingredients come from and the preparation method.

In the last two years, Symrise has conducted a global study on the perception of naturalness covering Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East as well as Latin America. More than 13,500 consumers have been engaged globally in five field research run by the Sensory and Consumer Insights department at Symrise. The studies have explored the attitude and perception of consumers around naturalness in foods and beverages. 

A first outlook on the results gives insights into the preferences related to naturalness in the APAC region which show that consumers in Asia too, love the taste of nature and are increasingly demanding more naturalness. 

Food and beverage companies are catering to this need with natural product solutions yet can find it often challenging to best meet consumer’s expectations , while complying with a complex regulatory environment. However, the Symrise Global Sensory and Consumer Insights in Asia, has decoded the key consumer wishes to help its customers create and deliver relevant, great tasting natural products supported by its “code of nature solutions.” 

Symrise says that this approach helped the company to understand the relevance of impactful natural taste solutions for consumers in China, Japan, Australia and Thailand. Having conducted its customized consumer study in Q4/2018, Symrise Asia Pacific (APAC) was aiming at decoding the natural dimensions of four product segments: flavored water, ready to drink (RTD) tea, drinking yogurt and ready meals. Symrise seleced these countries and segments based on their relevance and potential for food and beverage companies in APAC.

Key insights 
To receive an initial general picture, the APAC study has summed up the market segments that are potentially more willing to pay a premium for products with natural taste solutions. They include ingredient source seekers, quality seeking affluents, health conscious shoppers and ultimate truth seekers. They represent a large portion of consumers: 49 percent in Japan, 42 percent in Australia, 35 percent in Thailand and 27 percent in China. The remaining market belongs to the profile of budget or brand conscious, with the latter still ranking the attribute “source of ingredients” very high, in all categories and countries. 

In all countries, “no additives” is one in the top three attributes driving naturalness perception in all categories, except for drinking yogurt in Thailand, for which “health attributes” prevail, notes Symrise. The second most frequent desired attribute cross-country and cross-category is “contains real ingredients,” pertaining to fruit extracts or natural fruit juice.

Natural taste solutions show the biggest potential for food and beverages in China, with consumers asking for safety and health credential while taste remains a priority.

Among the different categories, Beverages is the one wher the potential to leverage naturalness as a purchase driver is larger, especially in flavored water, with high opportunities in all countries.

Both in Japan and Australia, the size of opportunity looks high for flavored water and medium for RTD tea, says Symrise, and flavored waters are particularly expected to be safe for long term consumption, with strong interest for “organic” and “low/no sugar claims”. In RTD tea, there is a lot of emphasis on “taste authenticity” (such as. “freshly brewed taste”) and on “organic,” particularly among ingredient source seekers and health-conscious premium. 

“Symrise aims to work with our customers to decode the full insights from the study and to combine them with their brands and needs to deliver winning products, to unlock their business potential in Asia Pacific with Symrise code of nature solutions. For this reason, Symrise continues to strongly invest in Asia Pacific and works to bring to market natural solution that consumer loves”, says Lionel Flutto, President, Flavor, Asia Pacific, Symrise.

The company is planning further global and regional insights over the next few months. 

Symrise 2025 strategy: Targeting health and naturalness
At the beginning of this year, Symrise said it is looking to increase sales to between €5.5 billion (US$6.25 billion) and €6 billion (US$6.8 billion) as part of its 2025 strategy which will also see the company identifying and entering growth opportunities in the areas of naturalness and health. The flavors giant also plans targeted investments in additional organic growth and through strategic acquisitions and remains committed to generating more than half of its sales in emerging markets.

The company’s sharpened focus on health and naturalness taps into the growing trend of today’s mindful consumers who are seeking exciting sensory experiences that preserve their health and well-being. It also comes as naturalness in flavors is leading the way throughout this year.

Last November, Symrise also opened a site for high-quality natural food ingredients in Georgia, US. The group invested €50 million in the facility, which follows high technological and sustainable standards. The step reinforces the pioneering role of Symrise on the US market and emphasizes its aspiration to further expand within growth regions.

By Gaynor Selby

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