Make novel flavours work for you

Cape Food Ingredients has an extensive range of flavours suitable for the distilling and manufacture of alcoholic beverages on the African continent.

FOOD MANUFACTURING AFRICA spoke to Brian Lanton about the company’s novel tool kit approach that lets customers formulate products in conjunction with CFI’s large product development team to find the final preferred profile.

“Gin for example, is one of the most popular alcoholic flavours in Africa, although it varies in preference from country to country. There is complete flexibility is taking the key notes up and down, such as in those of typical juniper, citrus and green botanical flavours,” he explains. “In the Gin spectrum, there is currently a popular trend of adding other flavours, such as coconut, pineapple and cranberry. When formulating with these .additional ingredients and flavours in mind, the R&D team at CFI can also assist.”

With Whiskies there is a whole different palate of smoky, woody, fruity notes that result in CFI being able to develop the selected profile. Bourbon, Scotch and various other Whisky notes are all available. With factories and distribution points in the various regions of sub-Saharan Africa, CFI also offers the key advantages of shorter logistics chains and low minimum order quantities.

“Because we are active in so many African markets, we know local market profiles and so can assist customers more effectively than non-African companies. “Currently we stock flavours in Nairobi, Kampala, Lusaka, Cape Town and Luanda. During 2021 we have plans for two further points in West Africa. That makes CFI one of

FACT BOX

Cape Food Ingredients has full flavour and ingredients manufacturing facilities in South Africa and East Africa. Plans are well advanced to open an additional facility in West Africa later in 2021. These regional facilities allow food manufacturers to dramatically cut import costs and working capital commitments, as well as cutting long lead times — an increasingly crucial factor when dealing with the surge in COVID logistics issues. The CFI facilities manufacture both powder and liquid products for all food sectors.

the most accessible suppliers in Africa,” he points out. Besides the thriving sector of alcoholic beverages, such flavours are also used in the growing area of non-alcoholic beverages. Alcohol-free Gin & Tonic and similar cocktail mixers can be attractive and healthy alternatives, and the CFI product development team has ample experience with these. • Cape Food Ingredients – www.capefoodingredients.co.za