How botanicals are helping gin and vodka capitalise on health & wellness trend - Category Intel

In beverage alcohol – as well as in many other industries – consumer interest in more natural flavours, coupled with the trend towards health & wellness, have led to a boom in the use of botanicals across the board. Nowhere is this as marked as in the gin and vodka categories.

By 2032, according to a recent report by Market.us, the size of the botanicals market worldwide is expected to be worth around US$312.6bn, up from $161.9bn in 2023, and estimated to register a CAGR of 6.8%.

“The increasing demand for natural and organic products is a pivotal driver for the global botanicals market,” explains the Botanicals Market report. “This transformation is rooted in a growing awareness of health and wellness, environmental concerns and a desire for transparency in a product’s ingredients. Consumers are increasingly sceptical about synthetic chemicals in their foods, personal care products and medicines, leading to a heightened demand for products made from natural ingredients, including botanicals.”

As many consumers exhibit a preference for better-for-you products in the post-pandemic environment, they are also looking to more local ingredients, including botanicals, leading to a rise in brands staying close to home for their sources.

And there is plenty of scope for experimentation: “Though estimates on the number of plants edible by humans varies, it is estimated that around 300,000 are suitable for consumption,” according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. “However, only around 200 species are currently eaten globally.

“The possibilities for drinks makers are vast.”

Sustainability, too, is affecting both consumer-buying decisions and brands’ approaches to packaging and marketing, so here’s a look at those major trends in gin and vodka.

Appetite for exploration prompts boom in flavoured gin launches

The owner of botanical supplier Starspice Ingredients, Jim Long, believes the flavoured segment has helped to revitalise gin, but current trends are leaning towards more exploratory ingredients.

“The botanicals that matched that first trend within flavoured gins were floral, sweet and citrus – ingredients such as rose, hibiscus, raspberry and strawberry that may be in pink gins and slightly more interesting citrus or name-checked citrus ingredients,” he says.

“Seville orange, grapefruit, blood orange, kumquat and lime have produced more exotic flavoured gins, with these being at the sweeter end of citrus rather than the bitter end. We’ve also seen a lot more exotic spices and variations of the pepper family.”

Today, producers are more likely to come up with less synthetic suggestions. “This time around, flavour trends have been much more focused on natural ingredients and [producers] have been able to explore them,” explains Long.

Consumers have a wider understanding of flavours, thanks to the opening up of international cuisines, while the ability to discover and research them online has sped up significantly, he argues. “There’s a greater ability for products to dive into a new ingredient and not be worried that no one’s heard of it”.

That said, as Gibson’s Gin international senior brand manager Constance Descamps points out: “The choice and nature of flavours depend on the countries targeted. It’s clear the trend is not as marked from one country to another.

“If we take the countries of the European Union, for example (accounting for 14.5% of world volumes), flavoured gins represent between 1% (in Greece) and 36% (Czech) of the respective country’s gin volumes, with an average of 13% out of 27 countries [IWSR 2022], so it has not yet won over all countries. What we can say is that flavoured gins have helped to revitalise the category.

“For the moment, the flavours that work best are the ‘classics’, but why not offer more local variants in tune with consumers’ tastes and palates?”

Distillers turn the heat up

Over in vodka, spicy variants are certainly raising their profiles, as evidenced by the likes of Absolut Nights Smoky Piña, which was developed specifically for the Mexico market and reflects a broader trend towards chilli-influenced vodka. There’s also Stoli Chamoy, for example, described as “a saucy condiment that encapsulates Mexico. It is made with pickled sour fruit and spiked with chiles [sic]”.

The chilli trend extends to gin too, with the likes of McQueen Smokey Chilli, Shed One Chilli Fest, Tarsier Khao San, Jodhpur Spicy and Atlantic Distillery Ring of Fire.

Deb Dasgupta, Absolut Vodka VP global marketing, says the launch of Absolut Smoky Piña was aimed at catering to the taste of the local market. “We took inspiration from the iconic taste of the Mexican charred grilled pineapple, known for its intense aroma and character,” she explains. “It’s part of our Nights range, which is supposed to be consumed in high-energy, intense moments. So it’s meant to be vibrant and bold in terms of its flavour experience and our sensorial experience.”

With today’s consumers often being widely travelled, it’s little surprise that more exotic flavours have hit home. “Taking inspiration from adventurous Asian flavours, flavoured vodkas can offer exotic escapism,” according to Simpsons Beverages’ Flavoured Vodka Trends Report 2023. “Uncommon Vodka has added yuzu lemon and umesha plum flavours to its range, while Absolut has used some global flavours in its new shot range… Innovative and international flavours are also being created through unusual preparation techniques.”

Simpsons’ Gin Report 2023, meanwhile shows a similar direction of travel: “Unique ingredients are important to 54% of people buying white spirits, including 22% who will pay more for them [Mintel White Spirits & RTDs UK 2023]. Wider 2023 flavour trends for smoky and spicy foods and drinks suit this, as do the bitter or sour spirits increasingly being created.

“Spiced gins using rich botanicals are commonplace, paving the way for smoked gins, using creative preparation techniques,” continues the company’s report. “Bitter or sour gins build on ever-popular citrus flavours, such as bitter grapefruit or sour lemon. These can also be developed through different preparation techniques, to give drinks an interesting backstory.

“As consumers have become accustomed to the unusual additions used in spirits, savoury flavoured gins have been introduced too. These can suit older or more discerning drinkers who might find typical flavoured options too sugary or sweet.”

Flavour extensions tap into local cultural nuances

For some brands, local markets are proving fertile for targeted flavour expressions. Absolut’s Nights range includes Orange Peel, released in March and created specifically for the Chinese market.

Dasgupta says the extension was inspired by “the taste of chenpi”, a dried orange peel widely used in Chinese medicine. “It’s very rooted and anchored in local culture,” she explains. “Because the Nights range has been launched in few markets, what we’ve done is ask how we tap into the cultural nuances of those markets and bring out flavour experiences that are rooted in the local tastes.”

Nordic gin brand Crafter’s is also focused on using local ingredients and uses native botanicals such as veronica and meadowsweet. “We value local ingredients and nature – this is where our inspiration comes from,” says Gloria Hallaste, export marketing specialist & brand manager at brand owner Liviko. The gin is made at the company’s 124-year-old distillery in Estonia’s capital, Tallin. “We have unique, pristine and untouched nature [to draw from] – 51% of [our] territory is covered by forests,” says Hallaste.

While Liviko champions Nordic ingredients, Crafter’s is also playing into the trend for targeted flavour expressions using exotic ingredients with the recent release of Crafter’s Golden Saffron Gin – a “blend of crisp Nordic flavours with oriental notes” – into Dubai Duty Free.

The master distiller at Netherlands-based Rutte Distillery, Myriam Hendrickx, says the importance of natural ingredients is increasing, pointing out that 33% of consumers n a 2023 consumer survey by GlobalData agreed that ‘natural’ was an essential. The main botanicals used in Rutte’s flagship Dutch Dry Gin are celery and orange zest.

“It’s important to state that we don’t use the celery sticks that everyone knows from salads,” says Hendryxx. “We use an entirely different plant, that is much smaller and only has leaves. The Dutch use it a lot in cooking. We also see it in recipes from Indonesia and Suriname, two countries that are connected to the Netherlands. The leaves give a somewhat savoury and fresh accent to the gin.”