Wild to launch soya drinks
range of soya-based drinks, following its purchase of soyfoods
maker Sojaland earlier this year.
German flavours and natural colours firm Rudolf Wild is to launch a range of soya-based drinks, following its purchase of soyfoods maker Sojaland earlier this year.
The range, to be called Soy & Joy, is the company's second drinks brand after Capri-Sun, the successful children's fruit juice. It will initially be launched in the German and Benelux markets in early 2004 before rolling out to other European states.
The range will come in five flavours - natural, vanilla, chocolate, banana and strawberry, and passionfruit and orange. It will be aimed at the health-conscious consumer, especially women aged 20-39 years old, although Stefan Oberndorfer, senior product manager of Soy & Joy, claims that Wild is focusing more on taste than health benefits.
"The USP of Soy & Joy is the great taste. It doesn't have that typical corny, nutty taste of soy anymore," he told NutraIngredients.com.
Rudolf Wild is active in natural colours and flavours for health foods and energy drinks and is also producing a growing number of ingredients, such as botanicals and caffeine, for functional foods. It bought the insolvent Sojaland business in May this year. The company had been supplying Wild with liquid soy concentrate.
"As the production process for soy concentrate is 100 per cent natural, this fitted perfectly with the Wild philosophy of offering natural flavour ingredients to the food and beverage industry. In order to ensure the supply of this product for beverages and food applications, Wild decided to take this step [the purchase of Sojaland]," said Christopher Beck, marketing director at Wild.
Per capita consumption of soya-based drinks and desserts grew by over 20 per cent in Western Europe in 2002, but the German market was the fastest growing, by over 40 per cent, according to a recent report from Netherlands-based organisation Prosoy Research & Strategy.
The European market in this category is valued at €1.3 billion, with demand being driven by lifestyle changes, growing food intolerance and allergies, as well as the positive health image of soya. Wild said it is expecting to produce sales of around €50 million in the next three years from its new range.
Soy & Joy will be available in leading German food retailers, distributed by Wild subsidiary SiSi-Werke, which also distributes the Capri-Sun brand in more than 100 countries.
