Sensient & Sensory: How we Create the Flavors Consumers Love
“Does it taste good?”
It’s a common question from children and adults alike, and it can mean the difference between a well-loved food or beverage and one that gets little, if any, consumer attention.
Taste is consistently rated #1 in acceptability of food and beverage; and the voice of the consumer is critical for product success. That’s why Sensient’s team of sensory professionals (using American Society of Testing and Materials International {ASTM) standard protocols and lexicon) connect with the trained and naïve assessors to gather their thoughts on new and reimagined flavors.
So what is sensory, anyway? At Sensient, it’s a scientific discipline that lets our team interact with people who are willing to evaluate our flavors and other solutions in a variety of finished products and report on what they think. It’s not just about the impact of the flavors, but also the assessor’s reaction to specific attributes or characteristics of the flavor or color delivery, for example, the heat intensity of a particular spice or the precise delivery of a sweetness enhancer.
Sensory works so well because it’s a seamless progression from validating the objective of flavor technology deployed by the flavorist who created the taste, to other members of the technical team for product development, to the developer who applies it to a finished product and then to the consumer. The consumer tries a sample and gives feedback, which goes back up the chain. Then changes, if any, can be made to the product ahead of another round of testing. What’s the end result? A product that has been thoroughly vetted and received a positive marketplace reaction. Curious about how sensory testing works? Here’s a general breakdown of some well-known methods and techniques:
Comparison:
Testers are asked to compare products and report which ones they prefer, like or which ones are similar (for a match).
Properties:
Here, testers are asked what they think a product’s particular properties (or attributes) are.
Benchmarking:
In this type of sensory testing, different products are compared with a specific leading brand.
Extensions:
When a brand has a new product, testing is done to make sure it’s in line with the brand’s integrity and reputation.
Shelf Life:
Here, stability and quality control are evaluated alongside other sensory elements.
Whatever the desired goal, sensory testing and evaluation is a key part of flavor creation and enhancement. The entire line of products by Sensient Technologies benefits from a highly trained global team of sensory professionals with varying technical backgrounds in product development and flavor applications, allowing them to deliver superior guidance for product vetting. In addition, Sensient often works with industries’ (manufacturers’) own sensory teams, providing a deeper level of support that leads to more robust and successful product testing.