In the not-so-distant past, constantly talking about “the economy” seemed like something reserved for those on Wall St. and the guys on TV yelling at you to “Buy” or “Sell”. But now, those days are nothing more than a memory.
Though the average consumer doesn’t necessarily take the economy’s temperature by tracking the Dow Jones or the NASDAQ on a daily basis, they look at their grocery bills.
For many, this tells them everything they need to know.
The cost of filling their cart seems to be only going in one direction, leaving most to make tough decisions on what makes it to their pantries.
But if shoppers have felt this way for some time, there is a good chance developers have been dealing with it even longer.
As companies and consumers look for ways to cut costs, two things no one wants to sacrifice are quality and taste.
Over the past year, we’ve talked a lot about how dairy flavors can help companies reduce emc and powder ingredients to save money without cutting corners. A majority of this has been focused on dairy raw materials like butter, cream, cheese, etc. that not only have been victims of supply chain disruption, and skyrocketing costs, but also come with immense overhead adding to their financial burden.
One possible solution that has long been a staple in the food industry is to use powders (cheese, buttermilk, butter, etc.) and enzyme-modified cheese products (EMCs).
These can be great options for optimizing taste performance and cost.
Yet despite their relative cost-effectiveness, since they are directly derived from these commodities, they, too, aren’t immune from fluctuations in the market.
Additionally, powders and EMCs aren’t free from their share of development challenges.
Depending on the ratios used in a given formulation or an application’s specific processing methods, taste challenges or flavor loss can occur.
Using authentic dairy flavors in conjunction with these ingredients could help deliver the best of both worlds by working to alleviate rising cost concerns and so much more.
Reduce Powders and EMCs
In the same way that dairy powders and EMCs can help developers reduce their use of ingredients like cheese and buttermilk, concentrated dairy flavors can be part of a solution to reduce these ingredients without reducing taste.
If these are already more cost-effective solutions, why would you need to do this?
As previously mentioned, while still comparatively cost-competitive, some of these ingredients are starting to be impacted by the same market forces as the commodities they were intended to replace.
Moreover, such ingredients often have to be used at high volumes. Though this may not pose a problem, sometimes this can cause off-tastes. EMCs, in particular, due to the use of various enzymes and lipases, may produce unwanted soapy notes when used at high levels.
However, with dairy flavors the need for such high usage levels is significantly reduced, and so are such off-notes.
In other words, they can help developers stabilize their products.
Stabilize
This can mean two things:
Stabilizing Your Costs & Stabilizing Your Taste
Let’s look at costs first.
Two benefits of flavors are their potency and the relatively small usage level needed to make a mark on a formulation.
This creates a path for developers to achieve incredible taste with a fraction of the ingredients.
While this may mean that other things need to be added to balance out the formula, this approach can help stabilize costs and taste in times of uncertainty.
Moving on to taste, the truth is that despite the standardization of commodities, there can still be variation from batch to batch. Though this may be a rare occurrence, it could be a very costly one.
Edlong’s authentic dairy flavors are a great solution to remedy or prevent these issues by creating consistent characterizing profiles you and your consumers can count on.
The problems with processing also can’t be understated, especially in forms using high heat.
This is because many aroma compounds and volatiles responsible for the flavor profile can cook off or be altered during these processes.
Heat-stable flavors are a fantastic way to counteract this and ensure shoppers get the most flavorful bang for their buck.
Another option could be to use flavors to top-note a product after processing and restore the target profile.
This “top-noting”, or adding a flavor on top of the existing profile has the potential to do even more.
Elevate & Differentiate
Although not specifically an avenue for cutting costs, our diverse range of authentic dairy profiles can add tremendous value for consumers by helping to elevate and differentiate products.
For example, turning a regular standard box of mac and cheese into a culinary experience with an Aged Cheddar, a “blend of Italian cheeses”, or a unique Gouda.
We’ve touched on how LTOs (limited-time offers) are a fantastic way to differentiate products from competitors in this challenging marketplace. They also allow developers to capitalize on trends relevant to today’s shoppers.
At relatively low costs, companies can elevate a consumer’s experience and their spirits by offering options that are affordable and exciting.
After all, when companies are able to do that in times like these, it tells people all they need to know.
Want to know more about the delicious and affordable opportunities Edlong’s authentic dairy flavors can offer? Contact our team to get started today!
Topics: Dairy flavorsDairy-free
Resource Type: Article
Resource Region: US
