In the gospel according to the consumer, taste is everything. Like it or not, the success of a food or drink in the marketplace is largely dependent on this factor alone. It doesn't matter what the product is touted to do, the bottom line is, if it does not taste good, the consumer is not going to buy it.

At the forefront of the battle for consumers' palates are the flavor companies. The flavor industry is constantly evolving in an effort to help food and beverage manufacturers nail down the taste issue and drive home repeat purchases. Each year flavor companies are learning more about what the consumer wants and how to deliver those expectations. While the industry has taken leaps and bounds since its infant stages, it still has a lot of maturing to do. The greatest challenge is that companies must deliver products capable of satisfying a consumer who is more sophisticated and more demanding than ever before.

Consumer Attitudes

Once upon a time, the taste issue was not as prevalent as it is now because niche health food consumers, which are the foundation of this industry, were more interested in what was in a product as opposed to how it tasted. However, as functional foods and beverages branch off into mainstream markets, taste is the biggest barrier to developing consumer acceptance. Mainstream consumers want the health benefits that functional foods and beverages offer but without compromising taste.

While this fact seems to be widely understood and accepted throughout the industry, it is ironic then that flavor is often the last thing that a company thinks about when developing a new functional product. Maureen Dragan�chuk, vice president of business development, Virginia Dare, Brooklyn, NY, commented, "Flavor is by far the most important aspect of the development process," she said, adding, "This market has moved out of natural food stores into mass markets, so there is a great need to attract more consumers with something different. Without a good taste and aroma, the product will fail. Gone are the days when medications, chewables, energy bars or beverages could taste fortified. Even soy�milk manufacturers are making their products look and taste more like their dairy counterparts. The attitude of the consumer has changed and they feel they deserve better."

Diane Mora, vice president of strategic marketing for flavors, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), New York, NY, said the purchase of functional foods or beverages is driven mainly by the taste of the product. "Many nutritionally formulated products contain ingredients that are not naturally appealing to the tastes of consumers. In almost all instances, working with a reputable flavor house that has a proven track record in flavoring nutra�ceutical products can help overcome these taste challen�ges," she offered.

Having variety and well blended flavors are both critical factors that in�crease interest and perceived refreshment of beverages, according to Donna Hansee, director of marketing, WILD Flavors, Erlanger, KY. "Manufacturers are complying with consumer demand for more choices," she said. "Functional foods and beverages do not differ from their conventional counterparts in that taste drives repeat purchase. In general, as the degree of functional enhancement increases, the lower the expectations are of a great tasting product. In other words, the product must still taste good, but the consumer is conditioned based on their past experiences to believe that highly fortified foods and beverages are not as good tasting as the unfortified versions."

Flavor Trends

Trends in today's flavor marketplace are wide and varied as they reflect the ever-expanding functional food and beverage category. The use of traditional flavors and multiple flavorings, in addition to the proliferation of exotic ingredients, are driving the flavor industry forward. "Flavor trends are moving away from the simple into more decadent combinations," said Virginia Dare's Ms. Draganchuk. "You don't see just vanilla, cherry or grape anymore. Now flavors like orange-cream, banana cream pie or cherries jubilee are more common. More up-scale concepts are being used." These combinations, she said, are only limited by one's imagination. "Just look at the changes in the ice cream industry," she said. "Why not follow the same path in health and wellness products? The population wants to feel good about eating right and not feel like they're taking another medication. Some hot new flavors at the moment are cinnamon bun, dulce de leche and tiramisu. In the nutritional bar category there are a lot of Snickers type products appearing."

Donald Wilkes, president, Blue Pacific Flavors, City of Industry, CA, offered a similar perspective. "Flavor trends for functional products are going more mainstream," he commented. "The category needs to be more about lifestyle and wellness and less about science and disease association. Marketers are trying to achieve a balance between creating efficacy, but at the same time not losing the fun in the taste."

June Montanari, beverage category marketing manager, IFF, said certain flavors are suited for certain applications. "Indulgent flavors such as cappuccino, dark chocolate and cr�me caramel are popular in dairy and meal replacement drinks. With fruit smoothies, flavors such as straw�berry banana, mango and other tropicals are popular," she said. "Exotic flavors such as ginger, vanilla, chai and other spices do very well in teas, which is a grow�ing segment with healthy consumers and healthy fruit flavor combinations are very appealing in enhanced water because they mask the vitamin and mineral fortification and generally make drinking water more appealing."

Discussing the cultural impact on flavor trends was WILD Flavors' Ms. Hansee. "Flavor trends reflect the changes in our cultural diversity and a greater global perspective. As both the Hispanic and Asian population in the U.S. grows, consumers want flavors that reflect their cultural heritage. Also, global travel and the widespread use of the Internet are making the world seem smaller. As a result, today's general population is exposed to more exotic fruits and ethnic foods," she said, adding, "Flavors like dragonfruit, mangosteen, starfruit, mango and tamarind are making their way into mainstream America. Along with this trend for exotic flavors, there is also a desire for comfort foods. Traditional flavors such as chocolate and vanilla are in demand for new, non-traditional foods such as power bars and soymilk."

Due to consolidation in the food and beverage industry, Blue Pacific's Mr. Wilkes said more will be required on the part of suppliers to develop new concepts. "Flavors in general have been approached with a two dimensional business model. Suppliers send out samples and then that customer applies it to their base formula and they come up with a finished product," he said. "There is a paradigm shift now with a lot of the consolidation in the food and beverage industry. Flavor houses have to use more application skills and they have to have more intellectual property to develop new food concepts. There is going to be a greater investment and the capabilities have to be stronger for in�gredient suppliers. They have to have much stronger skill sets than just creating their own ingredient."

Overcoming Flavor Challenges

It is no secret that flavoring nutra�ceutical products continues to be challenging. Each product has its own set of benefits and limitations. Brian Kelley, vice president of strategic marketing, flavors, IFF, said some products are limited by the ingredients they contain. "Flavors may react with the protein or a nutrient that has been added to the product. Sometimes an added ingredient changes the flavor or the color of the finished product," he explained. "Since it's often difficult to predict what changes will occur in a particular system during formulation and processing, a manufacturer should work closely with a flavor company during the entire product development process."

Communication between the flavor company and the product manu�fac�tur�er/developer is vital and will avoid confusion during the development process, according to Virginia Dare's Ms. Draganchuk. "One key mistake I see often is that a product is developed with all of the important 'bells and whistles' and then they call a flavor company and ask for a few flavors for a beverage, for example," she said. "Little or no information is provided as to what the product will contain or whether it will undergo any type of processing. Apparently the developer doesn't realize that there are hundreds of each type of flavor and many developed for specific purposes, such as compatibility with an active compound in pharmaceuticals, various protein sources, or to minimize vitamin and mineral after tastes."

Virginia Dare's Evelyn Gonzalez, manager of functional applications, added to this perspective. "Each product is different," she said. "The problem may be as simple as the client hasn't left enough raw material costs to cover the pennies per serving that flavors add."

Talking about flavor masking was Jennette Neske, senior food technologist, IFF. "Some formulation issues that relate to functional foods are masking protein, botanical extracts and bitterness from pharmaceutical actives," she said. "An example of a challenge is if a customer wants a citrus flavor in a protein or dairy based food system. Citrus flavors' intensity and flavor release depend on a low pH system. However, if the food system's pH is too low, the protein will precipitate out, causing an undesirable texture."

Pointing out some specific problem ingredients was Kevin Riley, director technical business manager-Beverages, IFF. "The flavor system design must generally contain molecules that will mask the inherent off-flavor that the actives impart," he explained. "The most important nutra�ceutical flavor technologies involve molecules that will mask the flavor of B vitamins, zinc, taurine, guarana and protein fortification."

Discussing the current state of the flavors market was Blue Pacific's Mr. Wilkes. "The industry as a whole is suffering from a lack of innovation," he said. "This is the result primarily of the mass consolidation that's taking place. As a result, smaller companies will be driving a lot of the innovation in the future as historically small businesses do. That is the nature of growing through consolidation."

Mr. Wilkes feels there are a lot of opportunities for growth as well as innovation, but there are pitfalls. "When an industry goes through a major consolidation as the flavor industry has, it really takes away a lot of the emphasis on creativity and innovation and focuses more on the management issues of consolidating the business," he said.NW