How to Determine the Optimal Flavor Use Level for your New Product
Let’s delve into how you can determine the optimal flavor level for your new product. Food scientists or beverage developers receive a new development project from their sales or marketing group or R&D manager. They determine the need for various flavors and reach out to a few trusted flavor providers for samples. The samples arrive and are laid out on the benchtop. Each is opened and smelled as an initial evaluation. Those showing the most promising characteristics are noted and set aside.
Now it’s time to drop the most interesting of the flavors into your unflavored product base to see how they perform. This brings you to your first important question, “At what level (% by weight of product base) do you drop in each flavor?” Each flavor supplier has written a suggested starting use level on the flavor label, but how accurate is that? Did you share all the details of your product base with each flavor company? Did they know you are using ACE-K and Stevia as your sweetener system? Did you tell them about the beet juice, pea protein or electrolytes that may cause specific flavor challenges? Even if you did, they may not be familiar with the characteristics of the specific supplies of those raw materials. Besides, you were in a hurry to get the samples, so the flavor suppliers had no time to run some basic tests before their samples needed to be boxed and shipped. So, it is likely that the suggested starting use level on the flavor labels are educated guesses at best.
So, at what use levels do you begin? How do you finally arrive at an optimal flavor use level, you know, the level at which your product tastes great through processing and storage and still falls within the acceptable cost contribution parameters for your project?
Where to begin?
Let’s assume you are developing a new RTD beverage. If you like the smell/aroma of a flavor sample, you should start at the flavor companies suggested starting use level (let us refer to this as “SSU-0” ), realizing that it likely will not be the optimal level. Setting up a few starter beakers you may save some time by dropping the SSU-0 of flavor into Beaker #1, 25% less than the suggested level (SSU-25%) into the Beaker#2, and 25% more than the suggested level (SSU+25%) into Beaker #3. Blending and tasting these straight away is fine, but for a more accurate evaluation you should cover (perhaps refrigerate if necessary, given your base characteristics) and let the solutions rest for 24 – 48 hours. This is because flavors often need to equilibrate in a product medium before they reveal their true characters and strengths.
*FLAVORISTS SIDENOTE: We suggest 25% more or less as the testing step degree, as 10-20% steps often yield indiscernible differences. Depending on your product base, you may need to make increases or decreases of more than 25% (perhaps 35% or even 50%) from the starting point to notice clear differences in flavor character and impact.
Your evaluation following the equilibration period will probably give you a clear indication of each flavor’s true character and strength, and which use level is best or at least trending in the optimal direction. Let’s say you found SSU+25% to taste the best but you still wonder “what if we increased or decreased the level a smidgeon… would it be better?” Give it a try! Again, makeup 3 samples: one at SSU+25%; one at SSU+15%; and a third at SSU+50%. Again, let the solutions equilibrate for 24-48 hours, and evaluate (smell/taste).
Time to Fine-Tune
Let’s say that after your second tasting/cutting, your team prefers the 50% higher than initially recommended sample (SSU+50%), but you are running up against your projects’ flavor cost contribution threshold. You may wonder, “if we can reduce the use level by 10%-15% would it make a difference in flavor character or impact?” You won’t know unless you try. And, it is possible that the flavor impact threshold is at SSU+38%. Meaning, above that level of flavor use you get diminishing returns, or possibly even no perceivable difference in flavor. This may be hard to grasp, but people who play with flavors regularly know this can be true.
Extreme Ends of the Spectrum
How do you know if a flavor use level is too low or too high and that you simply need to work with a different flavor formula? The low side is easy, you simply do not get the flavor coming through; your product still tastes plain or its flavor character is non-descript. If a flavor is used at too high a use level there are three obvious signs: its flavor character starts to change in unpleasant, non-descript, muddled ways; it starts to taste “soapy”, like Mama heard you say a bad word; or you get a slight burning sensation in your mouth. Simply tone down the level and re-evaluate.
What if I just can’t hit the optimal flavor level and character?
This can happen, especially when your product base is challenging. Energy drinks, plant protein-based products, Vitamin fortified products (especially with B vitamins), products high in amino acids, products processed under high pressure or temperature, and others can all present significant flavor challenges. When this is the case, your best bet is to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement with your favorite flavor provider and clue them in on the ingredients in the base product and processing conditions. Ideally, sending them a gallon or so of the unflavored beverage base and letting them work with it in their flavor labs, where they have all their flavor ingredients, scientists/chemists and instrumentation is normally the best way to achieve an acceptable result.
If you and your flavor supplier work together, success is inevitable!
abelei hopes the above flavor testing information is helpful to your New Product Development process. If you would like additional support or free flavor samples to jump-start your projects, please either call me, Troy Gooding @ 847-924-5855, email tgooding@abelei.com or click here to complete and submit your online request for flavor samples.
With Flavorful Regards,
abelei flavors!