COMPANY INSIGHT

Flavouring the future

Consumers are being bombarded with an array of new food and drink products, why they should cut down on sugar, salt and fat intakes as well as looking to alternative sustainable food sources to improve the health of themselves and the planet.

With the trends of veganism, flexitarians, dairy v’s non dairy alternatives, CBD infused products and alternative protein based products such as insects, there has been no better time for a flavour company to create a range of adaptable flavours.

Consumers are becoming more and more adventurous and willing to try out new products they feel will help the planet. This range of new ideas, comes the need for flavours to mask, enhance, and to create new exciting tastes and mouthfeel.

With certain plant based materials, the requirement for masking flavours is greater as many production methods need heat and pressure to create acceptable finished consumer friendly products. We can offer a range of masking flavours that can neutralise the off notes associated with certain materials in order to then build back tasty flavours that consumers will enjoy and come back for more time and time again.

Many consumers are moving to a more flexitarian diet where they still want to experience the taste and textures of meat, but are willing to try alternatives as part of their aspirations to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. With the use of creative flavourists, many natural meat flavours can be developed without ever being actually derived from a particular animal. In essence, the creation of vegetarian meat flavours is a growing reality.

The development of non dairy products is continuing to rise considerably mainly as a result of allergens and dietary requirements. A range of masking, butter, cheese and egg flavours can make non dairy products taste and act in a similar way to real dairy products.

General criticism of high sugar levels in beverages, most notably soft drinks and carbonates, and hidden high fat contents in ready meals has marked the ingredient as the latest ‘villains’ in our diets by health officials.

Given that excessive sugar consumption has been attributed to major health conditions, it is unsurprising that consumers have become more alert to the health issues surrounding the excessive consumption of sugars in their diets. The addition of natural sweeteners such as Stevia has helped with the sweetness, however there are aftertaste notes that can compromise the finished taste and texture.

Therefore, a combination of low levels of sugar and natural flavours are likely to be better received by consumers than sugar-free formulas that have been artificially sweetened.

The big challenges faced by the manufacturers were the issues over taste and texture that consumers often associate with sugar replacements and we have designed natural flavours to help with the taste and mouthfeel for these products.

JPL Flavour Technologies have developed a wide range of flavours to assist with the masking and flavour improvements for many of the above topics and continue to research and develop new and exciting flavours for all areas of the food and beverage arena

All our flavours are natural, vegan and gluten free as well as Kosher and Halal suitable.