chemistry Archives | Sensapure Flavors

Becoming a Flavor Chemist

It’s no secret that flavor chemistry is an invaluable art to the food and nutraceuticals industry. But few understand the complex formula to officially becoming a flavor chemist in today’s ever-changing professional climate. It requires a level of dedication and expertise even more specific and exclusive than that of a rocket scientist.

Value of a Virtuoso Flavor Chemist

According to the Society Of Flavor Chemists’ records, the first meetings were held in 1959 NYC in Little Italy’s restaurants. When the professional society was first created, there were only 14 recorded members. Today, there are only a few hundred in the entire US. Needless to say, becoming a flavor chemist is a commitment of time and passion in which few follow through.

Although almost everyone has tasted a product created by a flavor chemist, few interact with one on a personal basis. “You have to really want to be a flavor chemist to be a flavor chemist,” joked Mariano Gascon. He’s one of Sensapure’s Flavors flavor chemists, and he isn’t kidding. Becoming a flavor chemist doesn’t require education beyond a bachelor’s degree in food science, chemistry, or related disciplines. But it does require an extensive amount of training and testing.

A seven-year apprenticeship period approved by the Society Of Flavor Chemists is just the beginning of the journey. Once candidates pass their post apprenticeship review, they must complete an additional approved five-year apprenticeship.

Flavor chemists approved by the society are rare and in high in demand throughout the industry. This is because the robust program is completed by so few. Flavor houses that employ flavor chemists stand out against the rest for two main reasons. The competitive nature of recruiting them is one reason, as well as the difficulty of keeping them. The value they bring, however, is incomparable.

The Chemistry of Consumer Loyalty

While the food industry has evolved dramatically over the past 50 years, flavor chemists have remained a critical aspect in bridging the gap between food manufacturers and the desires of a consumer. By providing an intimate understanding of the relationship an individual has with a product from the moment they first encounter it to the very last taste, flavor chemists are critical in maintaining consumer loyalty. However, that’s not to say that the flavor industry hasn’t evolved with the technology that replaced human production lines with machine ones.

In fact, due to new and improved instrumentation such as computers, liquid chromatography, and updates in profiling technology, flavor chemists have been able to accelerate their abilities to improve products and formulas in order to achieve better, more cost-effective and attainable solutions for both food manufacturers and consumers alike.

Flavor Industry Evolution

Evolution in the flavor industry doesn’t stop there. As the media continues to advance the pace of trend reach and demand for what’s current, the role of a flavor chemist is extending far beyond chemistry and insight. While becoming a flavor chemist requires a specific set of skills and accreditations, it also requires something less tangible; creativity.

Gascon says that flavor chemists call themselves “artists,” for a reason. In his journey to become a flavor chemist, he also attended culinary school. Gascon says that qualitative aspects of becoming a chef are similar to becoming a flavor chemist, “Chefs and flavor chemists interpret things differently,” he said, “but they both contain the essence of creativity.”

Although Gascon practices his creativity both in the lab and in the kitchen, he believes that the most important aspect of becoming a flavor chemist is gaining the competency to precisely identify with the consumer. “When I’m writing a formula I think about what the consumer is tasting in the beginning middle and end,” he says.

This ability to instinctively curate a consumer’s individual experience with one flavor profile out of thousands of chemicals is just one of the things that set flavor chemists apart from the rest of the players in the industry.

Standard of Excellence

Gascon says that while there is no ‘typical day’ in the life of a flavor chemist, there is certainly the common denominator of sensory mastery. Flavor chemist apprentices must be able to memorize and identify many hundreds of different chemicals — by smell — in order to pass the rigorous tests required; defining them as experts in all things organoleptic.

Their olfactory mastery and chemistry memorization skills continue to be a part of their careers on a daily basis. Flavor chemists don’t only need to know the chemicals well enough to make good flavors, but also to combine their properties into a blend that meets the specific needs of each client. When working with flavor chemists, clients experience a unique level of collaboration and artistry that they will surely never forget.

If you are interested in learning more about how flavor chemist expertise can enhance the value of your business, contact Sensapure Flavors for a consultation.

About Sensapure Flavors:

Sensapure Flavors is a flavor house that services the nutrition and supplement industry with exciting flavor technology and unmatched applications experience. Born in a manufacturing company that understands the ever-changing needs of the nutraceutical industry, Sensapure combines new flavor technologies with deep product application experience.

Sensapure Flavors

1945 S. Fremont Drive

Salt Lake City, UT 84104

801-456-4284

Sensapure Flavors

Research and Technology Development

545 West Lambert Road, Bldg. D

Brea, CA. 92821

657-341-2200

Achieving Cost-Effective World Class Flavor Creation

Flavor creation is both art and science. While most in the industry recognize the number of variables involved in flavor creation. There are even more moving pieces when it comes to understanding a flavor budget.

Sensapure Flavor’s director of business development, Matt Doxey, says that misunderstanding flavor budget elements comes with a high price. “A lot of brands simply don’t know what a flavor should cost, and that can result in overpaying for a complete flavor system.” Doxey stresses that understanding a flavor’s budget is crucial to achieving cost-effective production. It demands high levels of trust and communication between flavor houses and brands.

Although achieving a cost-effective flavor system isn’t easy, it is always worth the effort. Let’s discuss the important variables of understanding cost effective flavors, the hidden cost of naturals, and how redefining mixology can often decrease flavor costs significantly.

Sensapure Flavor’s Lab

Understanding Flavor Creation and Budgets

There’s several components to consider when looking at a flavor budget: serving size, sweetener use, color use, natural vs. artificial ingredient/chemical use. As a general rule, natural flavors and sweeteners are more expensive. Serving size is relative to the quantity of product base (active ingredients) and what the base tastes like before flavoring. While red colors aren’t more costly than blues, the cost of colors can rise when utilizing natural colors.

The strength of active ingredients’ flavor in the product base is also a factor in the flavor budget. This is where the costs begin to vary the most among different flavor houses.

Five Flavor Ingredients or Fifty-five

Clients often have one or two words in mind when looking to flavor their product bases. “We want a ‘Fresh Berry’ flavor,” they say. Flavor chemists, on the other hand, have thousands of different chemicals in mind while creating a flavor. The words “Chocolate,” or “Blue Raspberry,” can result in a myriad of different formulations when consulting a flavor house. Like artists with blank canvases and a pallet of colors, possibilities are endless for flavor chemists with blank product bases.

Flavor chemists are trained to layer natural and/or artificial ingredients and chemicals to create complex and intriguing flavors. As the flavor system becomes more complicated, more chemicals are introduced, thus raising the cost of the final flavor. When you factor in aftertaste, texture, and mouthfeel, a flavor masterpiece is difficult to commercialize (too darned expensive). Often times, a brand will work through a dozen iterations of a flavor. After adding finishing touches, they’ll realize the added costs of those elements push the cost over the target budget.

Cost Effective Flavoring

The Hidden Costs of Naturals

Consumers are becoming more health conscious and demanding greater transparency in their food and supplement intakes. Brands are meeting customer’s needs by flavoring products with natural ingredients, natural sweeteners, and natural colors. Doxey says if there’s a hidden cost that brands come across when consulting with a flavor house, “It’s typically related to the rise in demand for naturals.” Replacing an artificial sweetener with a natural sweetener like Stevia or Monk Fruit brings up flavor cost. This is why brands and consumers pay premium for natural flavors or non-GMO labels on products.

Rise in demand for consumers and brand transparency is another reason flavor houses are getting away with raising costs. Standards for flavor costs within the industry are relative regardless. But up and coming trends in flavors and ingredients come with even more blurred lines. If brands are at risk of overpaying for an artificial fruit punch, the risk rapidly expands when it comes to an all natural coconut matcha flavor.

It’s important to understand that every flavor is unique. Some raw ingredients are more difficult to source than others due to location, availability, and rising prices of natural ingredients. Layered (multiple sensory) flavors or fringe flavors come with added costs no matter where flavors are made. But understanding a flavor budget minimizes risks of hidden costs in your final product.

Flavor Chemistry Lab

Flavor Chemistry vs. Mixology

When looking to minimize the costs of a flavor, “mixology” and “flavor chemistry” must work hand-in-hand. Sensapure CEO, Jeff Reynolds said, “If flavor creation is both an art and a science, the balance and partnership between both functions is central in perfecting a cost-effective flavor system.” Mixology is a term used by lots of folks in lots of different ways. In product/applications development, this describes existing compounds (flavors, sweeteners, masking agents, active ingredients) “Mixing” to create new solutions.

Essentially, the mixology “toolbox” consists of the flavors and ingredients each brand, manufacturer or flavor house has on hand. With only mixology, flavor houses will “keep mixing” additional ingredients to achieve the goal, thus increasing final product cost. “Almost anyone can make something taste good for any amount of money,” Doxey says, “A lot of times people add more sweetener or more chemicals to cover up actives, which raises prices significantly.”

Flavor Chemistry

Utilizing flavor chemistry alongside mixology allows companies to simplify, minimize, and eliminate redundancies in the formulation. However, they can still create a flavor system that works well with actives such as caffeine and amino acids.

Doxey explains that mixology plus flavor chemistry is not about adding more to the flavor profile and thus increasing the budget. It’s about changing chemicals until the flavor profile is exactly right.

“The right combination of art (mixology) and science (flavor chemistry), can arrive at the specific formulation in order to enhance desired notes from the flavor while masking unwanted tastes of active ingredients,” said Reynolds. Doxey added, “Good flavor chemists are able to work with applications mixology to create a flavor with complexity while still meeting a clients needs economically.”

Flavor Forumlas

What To Consider in Flavor Creation

Each flavor house has a different viewpoint on how to meet the needs of their clients. However, not all have a good pulse of what a product should cost based on market parameters. It’s important to consider cost transparency within your contract and to work with a flavor partner who is upfront about costs from the beginning. Although some exotic and natural flavors can be costly, there shouldn’t be too many hidden costs throughout the process once when you identify the specific requirements and what you are looking for in your flavor profile.

While every company seeks to create cost-effective solutions, it’s critical to make sure that your flavor partner doesn’t sacrifice quality to cut costs. When properly designed, a great flavor doesn’t have to break the bank, and the amazing taste will have your customer coming back for more.

About Sensapure Flavors

Sensapure Flavors
1945 S. Fremont Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84104