Food Industry Regulation: In-Depth with Labels

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Food Industry Regulation: In-Depth with Labels

Food is all about flavor. It’s an important characteristic of the food we eat every day. You know how fresh foods taste when you make them at home? Fresh bread right from the oven, fresh squeezed orange juice, warm and buttery popcorn. But you can’t always get those fresh flavors, which is where processed foods come in. However, the preservation methods that give processed foods shelf life tend to reduce flavor. So food manufacturers turn to add natural flavors to enhance or maintain the flavor of the food after it’s processed. With that in mind, how do you classify these flavors on labels?

Consumers are getting smarter and savvier when it comes to their food. Regulations for labels constantly change. Both closely examine labels and the requirements for foods to claim certain tags. Consumers also tend to develop more brand loyalty when they feel confident in a food’s ingredient claims. Ensuring you understand the terminology used in specific labels helps classify what your product’s flavor is called on a label. Take a look at our breakdown below to see where your product falls in the category of flavor labeling.

Here’s a list of descriptions of a few key flavor labeling terms used (using Strawberry as an example):

Natural Strawberry Flavor:

Flavors labeled “natural” must only have natural ingredients from the flavor you claim on the label. In this example, the flavors only come from real Strawberries.  This means the essential oil, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, or any product of enzymolysis, is derived from a strawberry.

Natural Strawberry (With Other Natural Flavors):

For this label, a flavor contains all natural flavor ingredients, but the flavors are derived from Strawberry as well as other natural flavors. In this instance, Natural Strawberry might be flavored with compounds derived from other berries such as Apple, Raspberry, Blueberry, Pear, etc.

Strawberry Type Flavor:

“Type” appears on labels when you create a flavor from natural ingredients without using the actual label’s flavor. For example, a Strawberry Type flavor is made entirely from natural flavor combinations like Apple, Raspberry, and Pear, but no Strawberry. It’s important to remember this flavor is still derived from all natural ingredients.

Artificial Strawberry Flavor:

You use this particular flavor label when you combine artificial “Strawberry” compounds with other synthetic ingredients.  Artificial flavors are made from non-food sources while natural flavors come from foods or other edible things. The flavor source can contain another natural flavor besides Strawberry, but if the label says “artificial” in it, it includes synthetic “Strawberry” ingredients as well.

Natural and Artificial Strawberry Flavor:

Like it’s name suggests, Natural and Artificial Strawberry flavor contains flavors that naturally come from Strawberry plus other artificial ingredients. The natural flavors come from Strawberry or Strawberry derivatives, or other flavors from a natural source.

Where does your product fit in the list of terminology? Do you have any questions about the flavors in your product? Or want to make any adjustments? Our world-class flavor library and top-rated flavor chemists are ready to help. Call us today to get started.

Summer Flavor Trends

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Summer Flavor Trends

Well, the year 2020 has already brought many surprises. While we can’t predict much of what’s in store as far as daily life goes, we do know one thing. Flavors will still be here and an important part of daily life. In a time with so much uncertainty, bold, bright flavors can provide a sense of normalcy and consistency. This year, we are predicting a rise in a few unique flavors for summer flavor trends that would be useful to keep in mind as you work to meet consumer demand in business.

As far as consumer behaviors go, we’re seeing a trend similar to our current global climate. Technomic’s 2019 Flavor Consumer Trend Report found that 40% of 18–34 year olds are branching out to find new or unique flavors. In their findings, 80% of all survey respondents said that they either “actively seek out flavors to try on a regular basis” or “like trying new flavors from time to time” (Technomic 2019). This summer is a great time to add variety to your flavors. People are looking for something new to provide entertainment in a time that can otherwise be somewhat mundane from day-to-day. New flavors will provide a reinvigorated interest in your brand.

Shannon Cushen, marketing director at Fuchs North America, said “Consumers, specifically millennials and Gen Z, get bored incredibly easy these days. They are always seeking out new and different flavors and taste sensations.”

Top summer flavor trends we’re seeing right now are florals, earthy, hot, and tangy. Let’s dive into each of these more.

FLORAL

Snacks, beverages, and bakery industries are leading the way in floral flavors. According to IFT.org, in Q3 2017 and Q3 2018, there were 4,495 product introductions globally using floral flavors. We’re seeing an upswing in classical flavors like lavender and rose, as well as newer flavors like hibiscus, rose, cherry blossom, orange blossom, and jasmine. In addition to their health benefits, florals can bring a beautiful visual element to foods and beverages. In the day and age of Instagram and visual appeal being as important as taste, consumers eat with their eyes as much as they do their stomachs. Product taste is what makes the consumer return, but the visuals play an important role in persuading them to even select that product in the first place. Brands should absolutely explore how to play up floral flavors and visual appeal.

EARTHY

With the rise in health-conscious consumers, any flavors that hint at earthy, natural flavors will be a popular summer flavor trend. Think herbs, spices, roots, and other botanical flavors. Several of the fastest-growing herbs and spices, such as turmeric and cumin add a rich flavor to products. Turmeric is now appearing in a multitude of products and recipes—from lattes to savory roasted carrots with turmeric and cumin. Even golden milk is gaining popularity because of it’s rich golden color and bold flavor.

HEAT

When it comes to heat, consumers want a more complex variety than they’ve seen before. This hyper-specificity comes from the desire to learn more fully about what they are eating and consuming.

 

TANGY

Japanese flavors are gaining popularity, and one flavor is going to be hitting the Western world in a big way- yuzu. Yuzu is a tart Japanese citrus fruit that tastes like a cross between a lime and a grapefruit. It’s a unique combination of familiar flavors which gives consumers the confidence to branch out and trying something new. Already popular in fine dining, beverages and confections abroad, yuzu is starting to pop up in savory applications and snacks. As yuzu starts to appear on more U.S. menus, experts predict it will begin filtering down to mainstream products like marinades and dressings or alcoholic beverages.

As you look to adapt to upcoming summer flavor trends, we have a few suggestions on how to implement these new flavors. “Much like all trends, we see that people are more comfortable trying new flavors in one of two ways,” explains Cyndie Lipka, master flavorist at Prinova USA, a Nagase Group Company. “One is if they are supported with other flavors that they enjoy, as a flavor combination. The second is to realize or associate it as something close to what they already know and love.”

Because of the low cost of snacks, it is a great place to introduce new flavors. If consumers want to try something new, snacks are low-cost, low-risk financially. And if they like what they try, they’re more willing to branch out and try more new flavors.

We’re looking forward to seeing how you incorporate new flavors into your products. Our vast flavor library and our knowledgable flavor chemists are great resources as you look to expand your flavor profiles.

Achieving Cost-Effective World Class Flavor Creation

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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
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
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 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
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 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.

Contact Us Today!

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

1945 S. Fremont Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84104

© 2018 Sensapure Flavors, All Rights Reserved

(801) 456-4284
[email protected]