HERZA Schokolade has introduced a new ingredient line - glaze-based fruit pieces. With their wide variety of colours and flavours, the company believes they open up many different creative product possibilities, for clear differentiation from the competition.
Ten flavours are offered - pineapple, banana, cassis, green apple, cherry, coconut, lime, mango, orange and lemon. They are available as single ingredients or as individual combinations of multiple varieties. Mixtures of individual components make it possible to create many exotic flavour effects that can transform basic products into new specialities, HERZA says - for example, a "Pina Colada" muesli with pineapple and coconut pieces, a "Fruity Smoothie" ice cream with banana, orange, cherry and lime pieces, or a "Cherry Coconut" topping on frozen yoghurt. Natural flavourings keep the taste authentic, the company says, and HERZA says that it uses no synthetic azo colouring agents in these products, meaning that there is no need for warnings on the packaging.
With these fruit pieces, HERZA believes that muesli producers can add exotic varieties to their classic range of chocolate, nut and dried fruit offerings, for a unique selling proposition at the POS while, in the ice cream category, the fruit pieces can be used to boost special flavours. They are also said to offer a way to offer high-selling seasonal products or fruit themed items and can in addition be used for "healthy enjoyment" products; via HERZA’s close cooperation with sister company SternVitamin, HERZA can easy enrich the pieces with vitamins to transfer consumers' positive image of fruit to the fruit pieces.
