Beverage-makers using watermelon year-round
Alcohol beverages increasingly utilizing melon flavor
Taste and application
Historically, watermelon has been utilized as a part of sweeter profiles, but that is changing, explains Sue Quach, beverage applications manager for Milwaukee-based Sensient Technologies. “Much like grape, watermelon-flavored products have traditionally incorporated a sweet, candy-like profile, not at all focused on the subtler, genuine flavor of the fruit,” she says. “But this preference is no longer in-line with consumer trends like lower sugar or authenticity in general. The growth that we have seen in watermelon flavor has tended toward true-to-fruit profiles, which are really new and interesting to the market. The candy-like flavor appeals easily to children, but an authentic profile can engage adults across new categories like alcohol, tea, [and] sports and nutrition products.”
“Currently, watermelon hits our shelves during summer, and people love the way it signals a new season,” she says. “That being said, with the addition of herbs like basil, spices like tajin, florals like rose, or even citrus fruits like lime, watermelon opens itself up to new applications and finds favor, much like coconut has done.”