Designing Better-For-You Products with Great Taste

This year on World Health Day, The World Health Organization (WHO) will observe its 75ᵗʰ anniversary. As IFF partakes in the celebration, we can’t help but reflect on the great impact that the food & beverage industry has on better-for-you products in the health and wellness market.

In 2022, sugar reduction was ranked as the #1 way to make processed foods and beverages healthier¹. At the same time, salt reduction was named the most cost-effective measure that countries can take to improve overall population health². Naturally, with this market demand for healthier changes comes a potential impact on sensorial experiences like taste and texture. How can we ensure that better-for-you products maintain the qualities that consumers crave?

At IFF, we confidently take on this challenge with our cutting-edge taste modulation technologies supported by our consistent investment in R&D. This collection falls under our IFF FLAVORFIT™ brand, which encompasses our extensive portfolio of health and wellness taste technologies. Designed to deliver better-for-you products with natural flavors and colors, each solution is deeply customized whether for reduction in sugar salt fat quantity or off-notes. Our extensive sensory and consumer insights allow us to drive acceptance of new solutions in the market all while aligning with regulatory needs.

At the recent Positive Nutrition Summit hosted by Food Navigator, our Global Innovation Director of Modulation Midey Gonzalez touched on a prominent market example: sugar reduction in dairy yogurt.

“My goal for the presentation was to show that although sugar reduction is the way forward we must consider all senses that are involved when eating and drinking. This means it is crucial to implement a holistic approach that speaks to taste as well as other senses – including look and feel. That is how we can use modulation to create a successful balance between sugar content and overall consumption experience.” – Midey Gonzalez

Understanding the growing interest in health well-being and preventative self-care, we’ve also taken our modulation efforts into the digital realm by creating our IFF Wellness AR Experience application. While the app features a literal interpretation of wellness, using a spa retreat-like backdrop, it also allows users to take a deep dive into practical examples of beverage products where modulation plays a crucial role. The experience highlights sugar-reduced no/low alcohol and functional beverages, as well as provides insights from IFF beverage experts and consumers and clear indications of which IFF technologies would be most beneficial for each specific customer need. As an added bonus, yoga and breathwork videos are included to address the comprehensive need for mental and physical well-being. Explore the IFF Wellness AR app here.

Our efforts toward better-for-you products with incredible taste go far beyond World Health Day. Taste, texture, mouthfeel, visual appeal and more can all be supported through taste modulation. By bringing together science and creativity, we can make sure that healthier products don’t compromise on the great-tasting full-product experiences that consumers crave. Let’s design the future of better-for-you products together.

¹ https://www.healthfocus.com/global-sweetener-report/
² https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction