Postmix Syrups

Postmix syrups meet the pulse of times: the practical and sustainable way of supplying drinks is popular in the food-service and hotel industry. The advantages are obvious: the syrups are available in numerous flavours, are efficient, help to protect the environment, save storage costs and are versatile. Consumers also rely on syrups at home, for example to mix fancy soda drinks in combination with soda makers.

Postmix syrups are syrup variants that are mainly used in dispensing systems in the foodservice industry or at home in combination with soda machines. The term "postmix" means that the water or soda water is mixed directly in the dispensing system to create the final drink. This enables a refreshing, pleasantly cooled beverage temperature and an ideal level of carbonisation. This contrasts with the concept of the "premix" drink, where the water is already added during production and leads to a ready-to-drink convenience product.

The production value of postmix syrups has increased steadily over the last few years: In Germany, for example, this was still around 352 million euros in 2009, while in 2021 it had risen to over 571 million euros. This corresponds to a volume of 140,000 tonnes in 2009 and more than 183,000 tonnes in 2021.

Syrups made from beverage ingredients have enormous potential for several reasons: For one thing, they help significantly to reduce waste and cut CO2 emissions. Transport and storage quantities are greatly reduced, and syrups have a higher yield. Mixed in a ratio of 1:5, one litre of syrup produces five litres of the finished drink. So if the drink is 80 per cent water: Why carry this enormous amount of water?

Postmix syrups: Many benefits for the consumers

Buying a syrup also has many advantages for consumers: It can be dosed individually and is available in many flavours. With postmix syrups, which are used as an additive in a sparkling water maker, consumers save themselves the trouble of lugging boxes around in the household and a large storage volume.

In addition, the home mixology trend has become popular during the pandemic: While initially launched by the gastronomy as a creative solution during lockdowns and contact restrictions, it ended up coming to stay. It is also welcome that people long for nostalgia and consistency as a countermovement to digitalisation and an increasingly fast-moving world, which is why homemade products like in grandma's times are also hitting the hearts of consumers again. So when we think of grandma's elderflower syrup from her own garden, familiar feelings of security and being at home come to mind.

New taste experiences paired with nostalgia: only syrups can do that!

At the same time, people in today's experience society - during and after the pandemic today more than ever - want new and exciting taste experiences. What better way to create these than with mixology drinks? A postmix syrup, sparkling water from the soda maker and the addition of herbs and ice cubes quickly create an alcohol-free fancy soda drink. With syrups as a base, anyone can create their own individual drink.

Popular flavours of postmix syrups that are used in German-speaking countries include elderflower, raspberry (lemon), blackcurrant (lemon), (lemon) lime, cherry, orange, peach, cola or woodruff.

Creativity is particularly in demand when creating your own DIY products of any kind since blogs and social media. Syrups in all varieties and colours are the perfect basis for this! For example, 56 percent of Chinese consumers have discovered and tried a new food or drink through social media. 64 percent actively look out for new foods and drinks to try. By the way, aesthetics as well as colour are particularly crucial for presentation on social media!

By using syrups, consumers have fun creating new flavours and likewise the opportunity to recreate trendy or popular drinks at home. As an RTD mix base, syrups can also open up new consumption possibilities - for example, even as a mix with a functional drink.
Source: "Beverage Mixing at Home is an emerging Opportunity", Daisy Li, Mintel, 2021

Post-mix syrups: sustainable and cost-saving for the food-service industry

Syrups are versatile, practical to use and score with sustainability. Especially in times of multiple crises and their effects, consumers seek for clarity and transparency and pay attention to their own health as well as also to the protection of the planet with their shopping and eating behaviour. Sustainability thinking is currently moving to the centre of consumer interest, with industry and bottlers announcing higher targets for reducing waste and emissions as part of their corporate strategies. A focus on sustainability can therefore become a differentiator for brands in the highly competitive food landscape. With the use of postmix syrups, manufacturer brands and subsequently also the food-service and hotel industry take this aspect into account. By using the compact postmix syrups as bag-in-box packagings, companies also save storage costs and usage fees for empties or empty containers. In addition, the ideal level of carbonisation of the water can be adjusted and thus a qualitatively standardised beverage can always be offered.
Source: Food Report 2023, Hanni Rützler, Zukunftsinstitut

CONCLUSIONS:

Postmix syrups meet the pulse of time, as they support many trends and market developments. Due to their high yield, they save plenty of packaging material and help to protect the environment by reducing CO2 emissions through less transports. The food service and hotel industry save storage costs and storage space due to the compact packaging size of postmix syrups, like bag in box.

Syrups are also popular components for homemade mixed drinks, so they fit perfectly into the hip mixology trend. Thanks the great variety of flavours and the individual dosage options, but also thanks to their vibrant colours, there are no limits to creativity when making your own drinks. Especially the use of post-mix syrups in combination with sparkling water and herbs creates fancy alcohol-free soda drinks. Consumers who use syrups in combination with soda makers also focus on the sustainability aspect, as there is no need to carry around heavy bottles and dispose the bottles after use.