How Fermented Flavors Tap into Consumer Desire for Natural, Clean Tastes

Suja Senan, Ph.D., Senior Innovation Scientist at Sensient Flavors & Extracts

As published in an issue of Perfumer & Flavorist

If it’s true that we eat with our eyes first, the nose comes a close second. Flavor significantly influences our preferences, shaping the course of human history. Each year, flavor trends emerge, with a recurring theme being the rising demand for clean flavors devoid of unfamiliar or artificial chemicals. Consumers seek nature-inspired traditional flavors while bridging nostalgia and a global culinary journey.

Fermented flavors align with the desire for natural, clean, traditional, and global tastes, offering functional and sustainable benefits. Fermentation, an ancient practice, involves beneficial microbes transforming raw materials into flavorful wonders—from bitter cocoa beans to chocolate, barley to beer, flour to bread and beyond.

Fermentation, an ancient practice, involves beneficial microbes transforming raw materials into flavor wonders – like kimchi.

Advancements in bacterial and yeast genome sequencing, coupled with computational tools, enable a deeper understanding of metabolic pathways leading to flavor molecules. This knowledge facilitates tweaking for efficient exploitation and process optimization. The new-age application of omic tools to age-old practice of fermentation gave birth to precision fermentation. Earlier we needed grapefruit to produce the characteristic nootkatone compound. Today we have engineered yeasts fed on glucose and nutrients that can produce nootkatone in high titers in a tank. Another glaring example of using fermentation is in vanillin production. A meager percent comes from vanilla harvested from orchids, while the majority is chemically synthesized. Precision fermentation has been used to sustainably meet the surging demand by using cellular beings and turning them to cellular factories. Flavor companies worldwide are at the cusp of embracing novel machine-learning approaches to create formulations at a faster pace.