Flavour in Favour

 
Widening beverage choice with the simple addition of flavour syrups is contributing significantly to Europe’s coffee bar boom. Bruce Whitehall talks to a French maker of syrups for beverages, cocktails and desserts which now sells over 140 varieties worldwide.
 
The ‘gourmet coffee’ boom which swept through Europe in the past 15 years was driven by a growing taste for authen - tically-made espresso and other Italian styles of drink. But being able to offer beverages with a dash of flavoured syrup has helped widen the demographic spread of coffee bar custom, notably towards the female market and to younger,teenage-plus consumers. Syrups which capture the essence of sweet dishes like apple pie or tiramisu have taken longer to develop but have opened the door to beverages as a liquidfood – a ‘meal in a cup’ – with particular appeal as part of seasonal promotions. One of the best-known examples is gingerbread latte, which has been hugely successful for chains like Starbucks around the Christmas period. But new opportunities have become equally apparent during the summer months, using syrups to create refreshing new cold drink options such as frappes and smoothies in combination with ice and ice cream.
 
Established over 90 years, France’s Monin has built on its early reputation in liqueurs and cordials to develop one of the most diverse selections of products in the flavoured syrup category. Itsrange now extends to over 140 products – premium syrups, liqueurs, gourmet sauces, fruit smoothie and cocktail mixes – available through foodservice and bar supplies distributorsin over 100 countries around the world. The coffee bar market now accounts for about a third of the company’s sales, with the remainder split about one third each between products for bars – cocktail syrups, smoothies, fruit purees and liqueurs – and foodservice/culinary applications including desserts and frozen confectionary.
 
Coffee bar business is mainly syrups to give an extra dimension to coffees, teas and hot chocolate, with smoothies and frappes in the warmer weather. According to Olivier Monin, grand-son of the founder and current president of thefamily-held business, the flavoured coffee idea was initiated by Starbucks 25 years ago as it expanded through the USA from its home-base of Seattle. The trend hit England about 15 years ago with emergent chains like Costa and Caffè Nero helping to create a significantmenu niche.
Progress has so far been slower elsewhere in Europe. “Demand is still small in France,” Monin comments. “Starbucks still has only about 50 units in France, with the Columbus chain operating a similar number. There has been nothing like the expansion rate you see in the UK. In Scandinavia, there is a bit more happening, and the same in Germany,especially with McCafé which is fast becoming the engine for significant new coffee drinking trends.” Milk as a carrier Italy and Spain are established espresso countries but regular consumers in those countries are not yet so ready to put extra flavour in their coffee. One factor is that flavour syrups work particularlywell when added to milk but demand for latte, cappuccino and other heavily milked drinks is still modest in Mediterranean countries. “Syrups are OK in a pure black espresso but not that great,” Monin comments.
 
The UK-based Caffè Nero chain was one of the first important European users of Monin syrup, about 15 years ago, and now has one of the biggest selections of syrups on their back-counter, typically offered on a last minute basis just priorto beverage service, rather than as part of recipes.
There are about 20 major flavours in the Monin range suited to coffee but vanilla is number one by a long way, followed ata distance by hazelnut and caramel. Those three account for 80% of Monin’s coffee bar sales. “Unless other flavours are specially promoted on the menu board, customers will opt for one of those three,” Monin suggests. “But if the board shows, say, a Macadamia Frappe,it can be tempting for people to try it.”[...]
 
Visit Monin www.monin.com!
 

 
| 16 December 2011 |