What matters most to food and beverage consumers? Taste and texture are undoubtedly at the top of the list.
According to Innova Market Insights, around one third (30%) of consumers believe that affordability should be the primary driver of food and beverage development–but surprisingly, this wasn’t the number one answer. Of the consumers surveyed, 41% felt that health needs to be the primary consideration for new product development.
These aren’t isolated numbers, either. Deloitte Insights “Fresh Food Survey” found that 55% of respondents would be willing to pay a premium for foods that contributed to their health and wellness.
Anne Marie Butler, Global Director of Strategy & Innovation at Edlong, has noticed this growing consumer-driven trend and the market’s response, “Post Covid-19, we saw a major growth in awareness for food as medicine and a need for healthier lifestyles, and this hasn’t disappeared and has in fact grown further and is reflected in the NPD space. According to Innova, in the last 6 months alone, for North America, there have been nearly 14,000 new products with health claims launched, while in Western EU, this figure is nearly 30,000.”
No matter how eager you’re to meet this increasing demand for healthier foods, you can’t forget one thing–if they aren’t delicious, no one cares how nutritious they are.
At the end of the day, for consumers, taste will always be king, and texture the queen.
The truth is, any changes you make to improve nutrition, whether by reducing unwanted ingredients or adding nutrients through fortification, can adversely affect the balance of your product.
Building better-tasting, better-for-you products starts with understanding the relationship between taste and texture in your product and the role flavor can play in helping restore the balance your customers expect.
The Balancing Act Of Taste & Texture In BFY Products
With better-for-you (BFY) products, taste and texture are paramount for consumer acceptance. While enhancing the nutritional profile of a product is important, it often presents challenges in maintaining the desired balance. Changes in formulations, such as reducing sweeteners or incorporating healthy fats, can significantly alter the product’s flavor profile and texture. For example, reducing the glutamate content in a stew can impact its savory depth, just as removing too much salt can affect the overall taste perception.
Balancing taste and texture involves considering various ingredient properties:
- Acidity: Balancing the acidity can help in enhancing or masking certain flavors.
- Natural flavors: Using natural flavors and seasonings like cumin can improve taste without added calories.
- Flavor technology: Advanced flavor technology and taste modulation techniques can help achieve the desired flavor profile.
- Flavor masking: Addressing bitter tastes and utilizing flavor enhancers can improve the overall acceptance of the product.
Texture considerations: Ingredients like sea salt and healthy fats contribute to the mouthfeel and texture, which are critical for consumer satisfaction.
Reducing Ingredients To Improve Nutrition
Improving nutrition by reducing ingredients can cause your product to change and not meet your consumers’ taste experience and texture expectations.
Let’s say you want to reduce the fat of a sour cream. Losing that fat can also cause you to lose that fatty mouthfeel; it just doesn’t seem as creamy. On top of this, the cream, cultured flavors, and pleasant cling-in-your-mouth sensation of the full-fat product might be replaced by a more pronounced and less pleasant astringency or an unexpected drying effect.
The role of flavors is to help. Adding flavor won’t only boost the characterizing cream & cultured notes but can also introduce a perceived fatty mouthfeel that brings back some of that richness you lost in the process. Even just the flavor of cream can trick your mind into feeling like it is fattier and more indulgent than the label would suggest.
We see the same effect with sugar. For example, taking the sugar out of an iced tea. You lose some of those solids that give you a mouthfeel perception of being a little bit thicker and fuller with sweetness that might cling a little bit more. When you take that out it the tea will seem to have a thinner viscosity that loses that mouthfeel. Our flavors can bring that back as well. Perceived thickness.
Analytical measures might not be able to pick up on this perceived textural impact, but consumers sure will.
Fortifications: Adding Ingredients To Create High-Quality Products With a Great Taste
Where reductions are looking to make products healthier by taking something out, fortifications strive to do the same by adding ingredients instead.
In addition to vitamins and minerals, Butler sees consumers demanding, above all, more protein. “Protein, as we know, supports satiety and is at the forefront of what most consumers look for in terms of claims. Add to this everyone on social media touting the benefits of a high-protein diet, and it is clear to see why so many consumers crave protein.”
Whether it is an animal-based protein like whey or any number of plant-based ingredients, balancing taste and texture can be challenging. After all, you don’t want your products to have a bad aftertaste.
Whey, for example, can introduce unpleasant off-notes and textures. Despite its added nutritional value, it often has an off-note similar to the smell of wet dog hair, which is not exactly what most people would want from their protein shake.
Fixing taste and texture in isolation isn’t always the solution and can produce even more pronounced flavor or texture issues.
Flavor balancing isn’t easy. Restoring balance to your product’s taste and texture needs to be done in tandem. A combination of masking and characterizing flavors can simultaneously assist in both by rebuilding the creamy mouthfeel and recreating the freshness of the original. This is why the role of flavor is key when developing products.
However, we also need to address more than just nutrition; we must think holistically about how a product will be received.
With Food Science, Consumers Are All That Matter
What successful taste profile looks like for your product depends on what your consumer is looking for.
It’s really easy to get into the nitty-gritty of how you perceive a taste and texture, but the reality is, from a consumer perspective, they often just think, “Do I like it or not?”
Sometimes, they’ll be able to tell why during a taste test, but others might just say, ” No, I don’t like it” or “Yes, I do.”
Getting more “yes, I do’s” starts with learning how to leverage the balance of taste & texture and incorporate flavor to get it over the top. If done well, you can stock the shelves with better-tasting, better-for-you products that your consumers can’t get enough of.
Consumer Preferences in Food and Beverage Development
Understanding consumer preferences is crucial for food and beverage development, especially when balancing affordability and health. Surveys and market insights reveal that while around one-third of consumers prioritize affordability, a significant 41% believe that health should be the primary driver for new product development.
This trend has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, as more consumers seek out foods that support their health and wellness. According to Deloitte Insights’ “Fresh Food Survey,” 55% of respondents are even willing to pay a premium for healthier options.
This shift in consumer behavior has prompted food manufacturers to innovate and create products that meet these evolving demands, ensuring that every bite, whether it’s a bowl of soups or a plate of sautéing veggies, aligns with both health and taste preferences.
Don’t miss our How Flavors can Provide Value webinar recording featuring industry experts from Ingredion, Bunge, Mattson CO, and Edlong to hear more insights on how the role of flavors, textures, ingredients, and collaboration can help reduce costs.
About the Authors:
Julie Drainville, Sensory Manager
Julie Drainville leads all sensory functions for Edlong globally, maintaining a trained employee panel for sensory testing, and also collaborating with applications scientists and customers to run testing to meet project needs. Julie has an extensive background in food science including over 15 years in the sensory field, a degree from Purdue University in Foods, Nutrition and Business/Dietetics, a Master of Science in Nutrition Education from Rosalind Franklin University, and completion of the UC Davis Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Program.
Anne Marie Butler, Edlong Global Director, Innovation and Commercial Development
I help food stakeholders from startups to CPGs solve complex flavor problems and accelerate innovation within the food space. Through my 15+ years of experience, I’ve gained skills as a food technologist, thought partner, and leader. My clients and team appreciate my collaborative, humanistic approach to problem solving. In an increasingly tech-centric world, I think that human connection is the source of innovation. Through my work, I’ve realized how important it is to be more proactive about inviting stakeholders into conversations around flavor innovation. I’m not working alone, and I don’t want to be thinking alone either.
Topics: Better For YouMasking & mouthfeel
Resource Type: Article