Beyond masking: How Virginia Dare rethinks flavor in functional F&B

Virginia Dare builds flavors around the texture and off-notes of proteins and actives rather than covering them up. At SupplySide Global 2026 in Las Vegas, US, the company showcased how masking flavors and sweetness modulators can help a creatine gummy and a stevia-sweetened soda taste indulgent with less sugar.

The extracts and ingredient supplier favors well-studied actives from branded suppliers and tests whether their functionality survives processing.

A major trend at the event showed that functional F&B brands are packing more protein, fiber, and actives into everyday formats, but each addition brings its own taste and texture challenges.

Virginia Dare has expanded its sensory and health and wellness departments, growing its ability to guide customers from flavor concept through consumer-validated, wellness-forward products. The company highlighted this at SupplySide Global 2026 with an array of concepts showing how flavor can work with those ingredients rather than against them, across gummies, protein bars, shakes, sodas, and lattes.

“We choose the right flavor profile for the right ingredient and the right format,” Philip Caputo, marketing and consumer insights manager at Virginia Dare, told Food Ingredients First at the trade show.

Three gummies, three functions

The extracts and flavors company showcased an expanded confectionery lineup this year. “Normally, we do one chew and one gummy, but we did three different ones, with three different functionalities and three different flavor profiles,” said Caputo.

The collagen gummy featured an orange cream pop flavor, while its berry lemonade-flavored magnesium gummy was positioned to target sleep, relaxation, and nerve support. A black cherry limeade creatine gummy delivered a full serving (5 g) of creatine per four gummies.Philip Caputo, marketing and consumer insights manager at Virginia Dare.

For Caputo, masking plays a key role in taste and format innovation. “The creatine has our masking flavor plus the cherry limeade,” Caputo noted. In the berry lemonade gummy, the company used Prosweet, one of its sweetness modulation flavors, “to make it taste sweeter without having to have all the sugar in it.”

When developing concepts, Caputo said the company starts with the evidence. “We use ingredients with studied functionality that have been around for a long time,” he explained.

“Magnesium, for example, has been known for a long time to help relaxation and sleep. We don’t just pick trendy ingredients.”

The berry lemonade gummy didn’t need masking, but the company chose the profile because lemonade is so popular, Caputo noted. “We wanted to show everything from nostalgic and retro to simply popular. Does it need to be on trend? It just needs to taste really good.”

The company also works with branded ingredient suppliers, and its technical team tests whether actives remain effective after production. “With gummies, you’re heating them to a very high temperature, and that can denature or ruin some of the proteins or the functionality,” explained Caputo.

Turning texture into an asset

For its Banana Bread Matcha Plant Protein Shake, Caputo said Virginia Dare built the flavor around the protein’s texture. “The texture is often strange because it is a plant protein that we’re using, but we’re using that to our benefit.”

Masking removes off-notes from the pea protein, while the texture of pea and pumpkin protein plays into the “bready” banana bread profile. The shake contains no sugar and is sweetened with stevia and monk fruit.The Rainbow Sherbet Supersoda is supercharged with prebiotic fiber, vitamins C and E, biotin, and collagen.

“When we’re choosing flavors, we match them with the texture or off-flavors you’re getting from the ingredients,” he added.

Creaminess as a sweetness tool

The company also highlighted Rainbow Sherbet Supersoda, which contains only 25 calories per serving. It combines Gelita’s Verisol bioactive collagen peptides with prebiotic inulin, vitamins C and E, and biotin for hair, skin, nail, and gut health, according to the company.

With zero sugar and only stevia for sweetness, the formulation relies on a nostalgic “Rainbow Sherbet” flavor. Caputo said the frozen dessert profile has been one of Virginia Dare’s most popular flavor profiles.

“Rainbow sherbet has been a very, very popular flavor profile for us. It’s very nostalgic too here in the US. Using a creamy profile just gives that perception that it’s sweeter, fuller, and more indulgent,” he said.

Building a better protein bar

Virginia Dare’s Dubai Chocolate Protein Bar takes the viral flavor pairing into sports nutrition. “I don’t see this flavor as a fad. I do think it is just a really good combination,” Caputo explained. “It’s going to be around for a long time, and there’s going to be a lot of iterations of it.”

The 60 g bar provides 18 g of protein, 9 g of fiber, and 8 g of sugar, at 210 calories. Its protein comes from whey protein isolate and milk protein, which Caputo said “naturally don’t have a lot of those off-tastes” found in standard whey. “Because you have the chocolate and our flavor in it, there’s not actually any need for masking in this one.”The company showcased a range of gummies and a Dubai Chocolate protein bar.

According to Caputo, texture was a bigger hurdle. “This is a nutrition bar, not a confectionery chocolate bar, so you are missing the texture, the sugar, and all the wonderful things from a traditional chocolate bar,” he noted.

Protein crisps recreate the crunch of kataifi pastry, while fiber and sunflower seed butter add body. The pistachio flavor is also allergen-free, so the bar’s only allergen is milk, Caputo told us.

The company also showcased an Oatmeal Cream Pie Oat Milk Mushroom Latte that combines its cold brew concentrate with a functional mushroom blend that claims to support cognition and antioxidant health. You can read more about this here.