Kerry talks navigating taste complexities with AI, sensory science and consumer insights

The F&B industry faces the challenge of reducing sugar, salt, and fat in products to meet the surge in demand for healthier options, while maintaining the sensory profile that drives consumer preference. To address this, Kerry is tapping into advanced sensory science, consumer insights, and AI-powered tools to help manufacturers strike the right balance between health and flavor.

Food Ingredients First speaks with Leigh-Anne Vaughan, VP of marketing and strategy for Kerry’s Taste division, to understand how the company is tackling reformulation challenges and developing “nutritionally optimized” solutions that maintain flavor integrity in health-conscious products.

Vaughan emphasizes that consumers today are looking for more than delicious flavors.

“They are focused on additional factors, such as the need for natural ingredients, nutritionally optimized products, and compliance with increasingly stringent regulatory guidelines. To meet these complex demands, our expert Kerry team leverages its unique From Food heritage, a rich history of innovation in food science, and a wide range of processing capabilities that extend well beyond traditional flavor creation to develop clean label solutions from food.”

Kerry uses its expertise in flavor creation and application to support customers from reformulation to rapid innovation to stay ahead of consumer and market demands.

“Next frontier” of taste innovation

As consumer tastes evolve, new ingredients are shaping innovation in snacks and beverages, notes Vaughan. For instance, between 2021 and 2024, snacks with new bases, like chickpea, increased by 32%.

Global trends shape local markets, with new flavors like yuzu, an Asian citrus, gaining popularity in reduced-sugar beverages, says Vaughan.She also observes a surge in global flavors and trends increasingly impacting local markets, with “exciting new flavors” emerging worldwide.

Yuzu is trending in reduced-sugar beverages, Sichuan spices are shaping condiments in Europe, Indian masalas enhance snacks, and Korean barbecue flavors inspire smoky, savory ready meals in North America.

“These regional flavors and new ingredient bases represent the next frontier of taste innovation, driven by consumer demand for more unique and culturally diverse taste experiences.”

Driving innovation with sensory insights

Vaughan shares that consumer insights and sensory science drive innovation at Kerry. For instance, its Tastesense Advanced tool was developed based on its “Sensibly Sweet” 2023 research showing 75% of consumers prefer naturally perceived sweeteners.

“With these insights in mind, our teams selected the best raw materials and tested them using 360 sensory profiling to ensure the sweetness experience felt like the real thing. Tastesense Advanced balances sweetness, mouthfeel, and taste to give consumers the full-sugar experience, but with far fewer calories.”

She further flags that the health and wellness sector often faces challenges in masking undesirable tastes from functional ingredients like proteins and omega-3s. 

“We use advanced sensory tools to allow us to quickly identify the molecules causing these off-flavors and develop effective Tastesense masking solutions.”

The team has also developed solutions that mimic the “full salt experience,” by vertically integrating taste-active compounds and flavors in lower-sodium products. “Our team’s sensory expertise ensures we get that authentic taste, while also helping customers reformulate products with minimal cost impact,” she explains.

Kerry uses its sensory tools to identify off flavors from functional ingredients like omega-3s and proteins.

Overcoming reformulation challenges

While reformulating for reduced sugar, salt, or fat content, formulators face various technical challenges. These depend on the customer’s objective, the reduced ingredients, and the specific application, underscores Vaughan.

“In savory snacks, salt has an up-front, middle, and long taste profile, but many sodium-reduced crisps on the market were missing the up-front saltiness. Re-creating that initial salty taste impact in crisps, baked goods, and other snacks is something that companies have long struggled with.”

“We recognized that gap in the market — an ingredient capable of recreating salt’s up-front ‘bite,’ and developed Tastesense Salt, a solution allowing for significant sodium reduction — up to 60% in some applications — while maintaining essential flavor properties.”

The company’s sodium simulator helps customers select the ideal Tastesense Salt solution by evaluating taste challenges across the flavor profile, including upfront, middle, and lingering tastes, based on target sodium levels.

“Manufacturers can input their specific recipes, and the simulator assesses reformulation difficulty while identifying how our solutions can help meet their goals. Originally designed for snack applications, the simulator will soon expand to cover sauces as well,” Vaughan continues.

AI for faster innovation

As AI use in F&B innovation deepens, Kerry is using its AI tool, “KerryKalaido,” to speed up product ideation and realization by leveraging a blend of product, consumer, and ingredient trends.

“This custom-built AI-powered tool enables the creation of tailored recipes backed by market insights and our deep expertise in taste and nutrition,” says Vaughan.

“KerryKalaido streamlines product development, boosting efficiency and enabling the rapid, scalable commercialization of both new and refined concepts and ideas.”

By understanding emerging ingredients and their taste challenges, Kerry can support manufacturers in creating “innovative, taste-forward solutions that meet the evolving needs of the global consumers,” she concludes.