Coming to your senses: Taste-driven innovation at heart of successful F&B

02 Feb 2022 --- Despite the subjectivity of individuals’ preferences, F&B developers are staying on top of offerings with multisensory appeal across key consumer and food groups. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks with major formulators about how the senses drive consumer decision-making, as well as the nuances between categories.

The importance of senses in humans’ eating behaviors has been widely studied, especially in cognitive neurosciences. Dr. Isabelle Jaouen, R&D director at Alland & Robert, explains that when humans eat, all their sensory organs collect information and send them to the brain.

“We don’t always realize it, but our senses bring us data and tell us about all the aspects of the food we’re about to eat. Texture, temperature, shape, colors and taste are typical criteria analyzed by our senses.”

Clémence Leotard, sensory specialist research & development at Cargill, argues that while taste is the most important factor, other senses increase the enjoyment of foods like chocolate.

“Consumers are placing an increasingly high value on sensorial experiences. Cargill research suggests that consumers are looking increasingly at the visual appeal of products as well as the texture.”Kalsec tests new food and drinks with professional sensory panelists as part of its complex development process. 

Defining taste
Robin Boyle, sensory manager at Kalsec, breaks down the differences and relationships between taste, aroma and flavor.

Taste refers to the five basic tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter and savory/umami. They are detected by taste cells (in taste buds) on the tongue. Aroma is the detection of volatile compounds by the olfactory bulb in the brain. 

“Together, taste plus aroma equal flavor. Generally, when someone asks what something tastes like, they are usually actually asking about the flavor,” she explains. 

Cargill also distinguishes between these aspects, making use of a sensory expert panel. “It helps us to understand the full sensory profile of our chocolate in terms of aroma, flavors and intensity,” says Leotard. 

Pinpointing complementary flavors
Even within the seemingly basic umbrella of taste, there can be a host of considerations for formulators, especially considering subjectivity. 

“Flavors can complement each other, like beef and mushrooms, or clash, like fish and chocolate. Chefs and product developers use complementary flavors when designing recipes and new products,” explains Boyle.

She notes that one of the biggest challenges in achieving pleasant sensory characteristics is designing food and drink that appeal to a large portion of consumers. 

“Certain recipes and products are only going to please a subset of consumers. Developing successful new products involves many stakeholders and usually many rounds of internal and external testing.”Ridao of Lactosan notes that flavors like cheese are starting to expand beyond savory products.

Honing in on chocolate
Leotard also considers the definition of “pleasant” to be a key challenge. “What is considered a pleasant chocolate for one person might not be considered pleasant for another. So, the big question is, how do you bring the right product to the right consumer?”

For gourmet chocolate, it’s important to understand what chefs are looking for. At an Innovation Day for its two new dark single-origin chocolates in the Veliche Gourmet range, Cargill learned that chefs want unique flavors that are complex but also balanced. 

“Furthermore, alongside an excellent sensory profile, chefs asked for cocoa beans that could be sourced sustainably and that could guarantee a consistent flavor profile year after year. We settled on two origin cocoa beans from El Salvador and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both products have an intense, unique and rich taste.”

Know thy consumer
During product development, key characteristics should be understood from the consumer point of view, says Kate Bailey, sensory scientist at Kerry.

“They will naturally differ from product to product and are also impacted by how the food or beverage is prepared, used or consumed,” she adds. 

Philippe Bernay, Cargill’s EMEA commercial marketing lead, emphasizes that it’s important the business understands who the customer is, as well as the “who” behind the consumers buying their products. 

“Again, what is defined as ‘pleasant’ can be impacted by several factors. For example, an older consumer base might prefer darker chocolate while a younger consumer group might enjoy a sweeter, more milky chocolate.” 

However, Bailey notes that there are some common themes across chocolate demands. Most people enjoy a smooth, velvety texture that offers sweetness and indulgence. Pleasant tastes are subjective, differing between consumers and across F&B categories. 

Addressing regional variation
Bernay also sees differences across countries. For example, in France, the consumption of dark chocolate is higher than in the UK.

To address this, the company has developed the Cargill Consumer Community, a group of 90 consumers in the UK, France and Germany who provide feedback. 

“This helps us to validate our recipes with different groups of consumers to ensure that our product delivers a sensory profile that aligns with the preferences of the end consumer.” 

Category-blurring savory tastes
Boyle points to the example of bitterness, which can be a polarizing flavor. “Normally, you either really enjoy or really dislike it. Consumers who enjoy bitterness in their beer and coffee would probably find it undesirable in other beverages, like juice or soft drinks,” she explains. 

Meanwhile, creaminess is a desirable attribute in ice cream, chocolate bars and yogurt but would be undesirable in a steak or grilled chicken. Another example is warm spices – cinnamon, clove and nutmeg are expected and desired in pumpkin pie and mulled wine but would be quite odd in scrambled eggs or pasta sauce.

“Acceptability and liking are subjective; there may be someone out there who really enjoys clove in scrambled eggs, but generally our experiences throughout life condition us to expect certain sensory attributes from our food and drink, so anything out of the norm may be considered undesirable,” Boyle explains. 

However, this may be shifting, according to Ana Ridao, R&D manager at Lactosan LATAM. 

“Savory flavors were once not to be found in certain food products such as desserts and ice cream, but times are changing. Consumers are becoming more adventurous and eager to get new experiences through food and beverages,” she continues.  

What does the future hold?
Jaouen emphasizes that taste and smell – perceived directly or retronasally – will always be a major sensory trend, and will remain crucial criteria to evaluate food. 

“Our taste buds and olfactory receptors produce powerful, personal experiences. So far, these experiences and these senses cannot be easily fooled or replaced, and they cannot be digitalized, which makes them of very high importance for human beings, because by nature, we are creatures of emotions and sensations,” she details. 

Looking ahead, Bailey anticipates that tastes that offer novelty, over-the-top indulgence and targeted health benefits are set to drive consumer preference. 

“Trends that were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic have developed and will become more sophisticated in 2022, with consumers seeking new tastes paired with familiar formats and flavors – leading to interesting combinations such as beer blended with kombucha and sage or chocolate milkshakes with lavender.” 

In the continuation of this conversation, the experts shed light on the role of the other senses as consumers seek new experiences and extreme indulgence. 

By Katherine Durrell