“Taste doesn’t lie”: Ingredient systems redefine mouthfeel to boost texture in clean label formulations

As demand for clean label declarations and functional ingredients intensifies, F&B innovators are turning to advanced solutions to retain product mouthfeel. From starches and fibers to yeast-based enhancers, companies are developing versatile tools that help brands preserve texture, creaminess, and roundness, especially when sugar, fat, or salt are reduced to cater to health-conscious consumers. 

Food Ingredients First speaks with Ingredion, Balchem Human Nutrition and Health, Biospringer by Lesaffre, and Sensient Flavors & Extracts to understand how industry leaders support reformulations to score high on sensory thresholds.

Texture, which is tied to perceptions of flavor and quality, is emerging as a critical innovation arena, specifically in plant-based and functional formats.

“It is important to recognize that texture is more than just mouthfeel. It plays a key role in how people experience food and whether they repurchase it. It can influence how people eat and if they will purchase a product again,” Daniel Haley, VP of Global Texture Value Enhancement at Ingredion, tells us.

“Our research shows that more than 70% of consumers would consider switching brands if they were dissatisfied with the texture. This means that it has an important role in the healthier consumption of foods and delivering nutritionally balanced products.”

Despite its centrality to memorable eating experiences, creating the right texture can be challenging, especially as consumer demands evolve.

“It can be challenging to create high-fiber, high-protein, or reduced sugar/low-calorie products that don’t end up powdery, chalky, thin, watery, or lacking crisp and crunch without an effective toolbox of ingredient solutions. This challenge only grows as clean label claims and ingredients are desired, given the relative newness of solutions in the space and lesser exposure in their use,” notes Haley.

The rise of yeast

While shifting consumer expectations push NPD innovation, some players in the sweet and savory space are sticking to time-tested solutions to deliver richness and mouth-coating sensations in various formats.

Yeast-based ingredients stand out in the suite of solutions, whether the challenge is masking off-notes or enhancing natural flavor while supporting clean label goals.

Florence Hanot, senior flavorist at Sensient, explains: “Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is considered the ultimate umami taste ingredient. Historically used in Asian cuisine, it has been largely used for years worldwide.”

“Besides increasing health concerns regarding its excessive consumption, it is considered an additive in Europe, and consumers are increasingly reluctant to see E-numbers on packs. Flavors and natural flavors can replace MSG with a more appreciated labeling.”

Daniel Haley, VP of Global Texture Value Enhancement at Ingredion.She highlights yeast extracts as natural MSG alternatives.

“Besides umami, they can provide various profiles from white meat to creamy or cheesy notes. Sensient has a range of yeast extracts and more innovative solutions with TrueBoost Amplify, which aligns more with consumers’ expectations on naturalness/sustainability aspects.”

Similarly, at Biospringer by Lesaffre, ingredient development is rooted in a sensory approach focused on kokumi and umami activation.

Bénédicte Petton, EMEA marketing director at the company, describes how yeast-derived ingredients offer layered sensory functionality: “These are natural solutions allowing to increase flavor complexity without the need of artificial additives or enhancers.”

“Biospringer’s Umami range has a wide intensity scale to create unforgettable food experiences thanks to its three components: glutamic acid, peptides, and nucleotides. The Cocoon range enriches the taste and provides the rounded mouthfeel consumers expect. Their rich nucleotide and amino acid profiles activate umami and kokumi receptors, creating depth and richness that compensates for reduced salt or fat.”

Replicating with plant-based solutions

Replicating the juiciness and fullness of animal-based products remains one of the most complex challenges in plant-based or hybrid reformulations.

Ingredion’s Haley explains that “manufacturers of plant-based or hybrid foods use animal-based textures as their benchmark whilst also targeting shelf life, reconstitution stability, and a desirable nutritional profile from the standpoint of protein level and profile.”

“Since plant-based proteins typically struggle to deliver these attributes independently, manufacturers have turned to functional ingredients such as hydrocolloids and starches to bridge this gap.”

But while mouthfeel is crucial, these ingredients go beyond enhancing just that.

“Texture is a multi-sensory experience that includes how food feels in the mouth, how it looks and sounds, and even how it makes us feel emotionally. These ingredients also support product stability on the shelf and at home, during preparation, and at the moment of consumption,” says Haley.

“Our latest Novation functional native starches have shown in consumer studies that they can offer textural performance that is no different, statistically, to modified food starch.” The ingredients apply to various F&B, including alternative meat and dairy products.

For plant-based meat alternatives, countering the bitterness of vegetable fats, which may be used to bring texture, is also critical.

“Sensient’s Smoothenol range can help mask the bitterness of plant-based proteins and boost the overall mouthfeel and juiciness,” notes Hanot. “Moreover, our TrueBoost Saltiness range helps reduce salt with a nice upfront taste or replace MSG with a ‘natural flavoring’ declaration.”

Boosting beverage mouthfeel

Mouthfeel is a key differentiator in the beverage space, impacting sensory pleasure and perceptions of health, quality, and functionality.

Mouthfeel is a key differentiator in the beverage space, impacting perceptions of health, quality, and functionality.“Our proprietary texture consumer research reveals that 79% of consumers believe texture determines overall satisfaction, and 53% believe texture is more important than flavor. It’s no longer enough to deliver great taste or texture on their own,” says Haley.

As sugar reduction, high-protein formats, and clean label claims converge, formulators seek system-based solutions to balance all parameters without compromising product positioning.

“Consumers are on the lookout for clean label products more than ever, with almost three of four reconsidering purchases based solely on the ingredient list,” reveals Shannon Fitzgerald, marketing manager at Balchem Human Nutrition and Health.

But technical hurdles are plenty when formulating for mouthfeel in low-sugar or high-protein beverages.

“Protein’s solubility can cause problems in liquids, leading to a chalky, grainy mouthfeel — this is only exacerbated in plant-based proteins as they tend to be highly aggregated, which increases viscosity and, in turn, grittiness,” Fitzgerald explains.

“Additionally, sugar inherently increases mouthfeel by contributing to the viscosity and body of beverages, so removing it can make a product feel watery. Sweeteners like monk fruit can help by adding back some of the sweetness lost, but they don’t help with bringing back the expected mouthfeel of the beverage. So when creating a low sugar formulation, the mouthfeel needs to be ‘built back’ with mouthfeel modifiers.”

This is where mouthfeel modifiers come in, having the ability to retain a beverage’s taste, texture, and body — even after removing or reducing sugar content, says Fitzgerald.

“Mouthfeel Modifier Systems are composed of functional ingredients that deliver both health and formulation benefits like mouthfeel enhancement — fats and nutritional oils are good examples of this,” she continues.

“Using a ‘system’ versus ‘individual ingredients’ allows for product consistency, and by simplifying inventory and supply chain management with our systems, brands can create clean label, low-sugar beverages that maintain a great sensory experience because let’s face it — taste doesn’t lie.”

Balchem’s Injoy systems are designed to work across formats, including energy drinks, sports beverages, and fruit juices. “By utilizing ingredient blends of hydrocolloids, fats, and nutritional oils, brands can achieve these different mouthfeels,” says Fitzgerald.

Incorporating global influences

As cultural food experiences proliferate, regional differences in mouthfeel preference are becoming a guiding factor in global product development.

Haley explains: “What a consumer in China desires in terms of creaminess attributes in a stirred yogurt is very different to that of a consumer in the US or Europe. Similarly, what a Thai consumer looks for in the texture of a chicken nugget differs from that of a US consumer.”

Fitzgerald also says that globally inspired-beverages are becoming more mainstream.

“A good example is boba tea, which brings an unusual textural element to fruity teas in the form of popping pearls. And while it’s understood that different regions and cultures tend to gravitate toward certain mouthfeels, individuals increasingly want to diversify their sensory experiences.”

Experts agree on the bottom line: consumers want more, and delivering on evolving demands is leading companies to innovation fronts.