drinkworld Technology + Marketing 1/2024

Ingredients
New Stabilizing Systems for
Ready-to-Drink Products
Over the past ten years ready-todrink
coffee beverages have shown
steady growth worldwide. In 2023
alone revenue rose by 4.8 percent
to total 30.6 billion euros, and
continues to trend upward. This is
the conclusion of a study by market
research institute Statista Market
Insights. They prognosticate annual
growth of 5.6 percent through 2027
(CAGR 2023-2027), to a projected 38.2
billion euros. More and more dairies
are leveraging this potential and
addressing the ongoing demand with
new product ideas. Hydrosol supports
manufacturers with stabilizing systems
from the Stabiprime and Stabisol
ranges. Product Manager Binia Postel
explains: “We’ve added coffee drinks to
our milk mixed beverage applications.
For example, one very exciting concept
is a protein-rich coffee drink with a
protein content of six percent. It’s made
of milk powder and water together with
the customer’s instant coffee. What
makes it special is that it is filled into
cans and autoclaved. That means it can
be stored without cooling. There hasn’t
been a concept like this before. It’s
really quite innovative.”
According to Postel, the development
of this protein-rich coffee drink was
very complex. It was necessary to get
the protein content and the acids in
the coffee into balance, and ensure
stability even at high temperatures.
Hydrosol’s stabilizer experts succeeded
at this very well. One reason is their
many years of experience in stabilizing
milk mixed beverages, another is
the individual service the company
provides. “Every coffee is different, so
in our trials we try to use the specific
customer’s coffee, be it instant, cold
brew or something similar,” says Postel.
The coffee drink can be made with fresh
milk, or as a recombined version with
milk powder. The recombined option is
attractive for markets where little fresh
milk is available. The stabilizing system
keeps the drink stable for a long time,
while phosphates and/or carbonates
control the acid development.
The finished coffee drinks can of course
be customized individually varied, from
different coffee intensities to seasonal
flavours. Many ideas are possible. The
company’s close collaboration with
sister company OlbrichtArom makes
flavouring problem-free. It also offers
interesting possibilities for avoiding
added sugar while still providing a
certain sweetness. This is precisely
what OlbrichtArom’s Sugar Booster
product does, by maximizing the light
sweetness of lactose. These ready-todrink
solutions for coffee drinks are
equally suitable for retail and food
service.
Binia Postel, Product Manager at Hydrosol
16