The power of texture

Why texture matters

Welcome to the world where taste reigns supreme and texture is the queen! At AGRANA Fruit, we understand that the sensory experience of food goes beyond just flavor. It's about how it looks, smells, and, most importantly, how it feels in your mouth.

In the competitive food and beverage industry, texture is a key differentiator. It's not just about taste; it's about the crunch of a crispy chocolate inclusion, the smoothness of a creamy yogurt, or the fluffiness of a perfectly whipped mousse. Texture can significantly influence consumer perception and enjoyment of food, making it a critical factor in product development. As Dr. Charles Spence, a Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, aptly puts it: "Texture seems to be the key sense in determining our food dislikes" meaning getting texture right is critical for food and beverage product success.

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Trends in texture

According to FMCG Gurus’ flavor, color and texture survey, 5 in 10 consumers globally are influenced by texture in their choice of food and drink products, only overruled by taste as the key criterion. This underscores that the interplay between both taste and texture is critical for consumers.

We observe two opposing trends in texture: indulgent textures, like thick, heavy, creamy, and crunchy, and lighter textures, such as airy, mousse, and whipped. These trends reflect the diverse preferences of consumers seeking both indulgence and guilt-free pleasure.

Consumers today are more adventurous than ever, with 50% of consumers globally liking new and unusual textures in food and beverage products (source: FMCG Gurus). Interestingly, Asian textures are making waves globally, with ingredients like boba pearls and nata de coco becoming popular in various culinary creations. Especially on social media, Asian influenced products are emerging, such as shaved ice cream, coffee beverages with big fruit pieces, or tea beverages with jelly-like inclusions.

Our texture solutions

When you think about a fruit or brown flavor preparation or compound, texture is probably not the first thing that pops to mind; we acknowledge that. But what if you imagined the preparation as a vehicle to carry (nearly) limitless texture innovations? We’d say it is quite clear that our solutions don’t just add to the taste and color, but also to the texture of food and beverage products. And help simplify processing at your end as a nice side effect.

Our Texture Solutions Toolkit offers a broad range of tools and solutions to enhance the texture experience of dairy and plant-based yogurts, ice creams, and sorbets as well as baked goods and beverages. At the heart of this is of course our expertise in sourcing and processing fruits to create superior fruit experiences, even for more delicate varieties of fruits such as strawberries or raspberries. An authentic fruit experience as close to fresh fruit as possible is the goal. Our teams have the necessary equipment and expertise in place to achieve this.

The toolbox goes way beyond fruit though, with further solutions such as:

• Mouthfeel enhancement: Preparations including stabilizers, fibers, or other sensory enhancers to improve the mouthfeel of the final product.

• Whipped solutions: Imagine a product that increases in volume by up to 70%, offering a light yet indulgent experience. Our whipped solutions are perfect for creating airy mousses and foams that melt in your mouth, can be applied on top of yogurts or beverages, and are available with vegan formulations.
• Inclusions: Add a twist to your products with our wide range of inclusion preparations, from chocolate splits or crunchies and cereals to spheres and nut pieces. These aseptic inclusions not only enhance texture but also add visual appeal and flavor complexity.

Food and beverage texture in action

• Plant-based yogurts: Our texture-enhancing functional preparations are tailored to create vegan yogurts that are creamy, smooth, and indulgent.
• Ice creams: Texture-enhancing solutions such as all-in-one sorbet compounds with fruit pieces or a range of ice cream sauces, toppings, and core fillings with various fruit piece sizes.
• Beverages: Frothing bases for whipped foam clouds on top of your favorite beverage in fruity or brown flavor tastes. Possible with vegan formulation for a plant-based treat.

What's next?

The future of food texture is bright and exciting. With younger consumers, especially Gen Z, seeking more adventurous and multi-textured experiences, the possibilities are endless. At AGRANA Fruit, we're committed to pushing the boundaries of texture innovation, providing you with the solutions to create products that delight and surprise with every bite.

Curious to learn more about how our texture solutions can transform your products?