Mixology: create your drink!

Even before Corona, imaginative do-it-yourself experiences rose to new heights thanks to social media - DIY is now booming in the kitchen as it has not been for a long time. What is called creative cooking in the food sector is known as "mixology" in the beverage sector. Take advantage of the exciting journey in search of the best taste, the best look - and the best drink with Mixology products. 

The lockdowns have given home delivery and cooking boxes a new boost: steakhouses offer their delicacies ready-seasoned, including side dishes and wine for picking up. Roast at home - instructions for the perfect steak are included. Cooking boxes are now an established alternative to cooking yourself or going to a restaurant for singles as well as for couples and families. Since the first lockdown, even cocktail bars have started to deliver bottles, blenders, glasses, straws and the right decorations to your home using a delivery service.

On the other hand, since the Corona crisis, consumers have also been cooking more and more at home: the restaurants were closed for weeks and culinary excursions are among the top occupations if you spend most of the time in your home and try to make it comfortable as possible. According to Mintel, consumers have been cooking spontaneously over the past few weeks with ingredients that they just had in the kitchen cupboard. Whether casserole, muffins or a self-mixed drink - it is obvious that you can quickly share particularly successful creations with your friends on social media via smartphone.

Since Corona: kitchen experiments are becoming more popular

For many people cooking has become a new hobby since Corona: 54 percent of consumers in South Africa say in a Mintel survey that they want to improve their cooking skills through Corona. In the Philippines, 74 percent say they want to cook more at home even after the pandemic, and 47 percent of Italians have only discovered their desire to bake since the outbreak of the Covid 19 crisis. Creativity is a key driver of the new culinary art: 90 percent of Canadians are of the opinion that the completion of bakery goodswould reward them with a feeling of fulfillment. 71 percent of the English think that the appearance of finished cakes would have a major impact on their own enjoyment while baking.

Mintel experts conclude that private label products such as cake mixes or ingredient kits can help the new home cooks save time and money. In addition, simple DIY-style products trigger nostalgic feelings: They meet the need to create an authentic taste with natural ingredients - and that doesn't always have to involve a lot of effort.

Source: "Eat With Your Eyes' progresses beyond novelty color - The visual appeal of food and drink with interesting colors, shapes and textures is moving from out-of-home indulgence to home-cooked and healthy food and drink", Jenny Zegler, Mintel, August 2020

Mixology: Help to develop the DIY trends!

Food and beverage brands can stimulate creativity at home and inspire new "deeds" in the kitchen with creative mixology products. The following applies: the more unusual and original, the better! You can share creative recipes with your products on your own social media channels and thus develop new DIY trends in the communities.

While conspicuous toppings such as cream, berries, nuts, fruits or sweets of own creations become eye-catchers on social media, a wide variety of syrups are not only used for toppings, but also as an ideal base for mixology drinks. Whether with local fruits, exotic mixes, gentle flower flavours or from purely organic ingredients - the variants and uses of syrups are diverse and almost unlimited. On the one hand, they can be served in the glass as a diluted syrup drink, as well as being an ingredient in mixology drinks such as cocktails with and without alcohol, but also desserts and yogurts.

In addition to syrups, fruit juices and flavours are excellent ingredients for endless possibilities in the flavour composition of mixology drinks. At AUSTRIA JUICE, high-quality fresh fruits are processed into juice concentrates for the fine FTNF (from the named fruit) fruit aromas, while composition flavours based on natural taste profiles such as herbs, vegetables, fruits, nuts or grains come into their own in Mixology beverages.

Mixology with syrup: back to nostalgia

Now is the best time to take full advantage of the do-it-yourself trend: While everything is turning faster and faster in the digital world, the longing for the simple and original is also growing. It is no coincidence that homemade jams, syrups and pickled vegetables based on grandma’s recipe are experiencing a revival - not only with young mothers, but also with consciously living and consuming millennials. Young bloggers proudly present their homemade mixology creations on Pinterest and Instagram, and every gourmet restaurant and every trendy street café has its own individual, homemade lemonade on the drinks menu. It cannot be overlooked: Homemade with love is in great demand again!

Environmentally friendly and creative: soda makers and dispensers

The special variety of flavours that juices, flavours and syrups offer is also fully demonstrated with the use of sparkling water. The use of these systems is in line with the trend towards sustainability: Using syrup for water and mixology drinks not only saves packaging material, it also reduces transport volumes. Due to the dilution effect, less quantity has to be transported, which ultimately also saves CO2.

CONCLUSION:

What began in the kitchen has also fully reached the beverage market. The mixology trend is the logical development of the homemade trend that has hit kitchens around the world, especially since Corona. With Mixology drinks, consumers can put together their favourite drinks according to their own wishes. Whether cocktail, lemonade or soda mix: The success of Mixology products is primarily due to the combination of the various ingredients. Syrups, fruit juices and flavours allow almost unlimited possibilities for your own creations. The more unusual and special, the more likely the tasty own creations and their ingredients will be shared on social media.