Principal Flavorist, Savory Creation
Richard Cai doesn’t just build savory systems — he stages them like scenes. His favorite reference point is a midnight hawker-stall moment in Singapore: wok fire flaring, scallions hitting heat, soy catching the pan and then a clear double-boiled chicken broth arriving quietly with deep umami strength. That balance of subtlety and impact is how he approaches savory creation at IFF, where he has spent more than 21 years mastering umami modulation and flavor systems designed to perform consistently from bench to factory.
Originally from Shanghai, Richard brings cultural intuition to science — informed by memories of tomato-egg noodles topped with pork lard, where brightness, warmth and browning roundness had to harmonize rather than compete. At IFF, he applies that same sensibility to broths, noodles, sauces and bouillon, leading solutions that maintain flavor fullness. His work supports cleaner label goals through tools like the Umami Toolbox, which balances umami drivers while reducing MSG and I+G without losing comfort and depth. Steady, sensory-aware and deeply technical, Richard designs flavors the way great films are scored — start with a spark, deepen the story, leave a lasting warmth.
Creator of IFF’s “Umami Toolbox”: Developed a modular savory system that maintains full meaty and umami impact while enabling significant reductions in added MSG and I+G. The platform is now commercialized across Asia and adopted in multiple regions.
Lead Contributor to High-Impact Launches in Soups, Noodles, Sauces and Bouillon: Drives and co-creates savory systems for key customers. Known for bridging chemistry, process and application to ensure flavors perform consistently from bench to factory.
Mentor and Capability Builder: Actively trains and mentors junior flavorists and application scientists, cultivating tight flavor-culinary-sensory workflows and raising the technical bar for the region.