On October 15th, 2024 experts gathered for an informative webinar exploring Taste Modulation and how it can be used to support positive nutrition. You can watch this full webinar by clicking the video above!
David Deeley (Sr. Insights Manager, Kerry) begins the webinar (at 1:29) highlighting the importance of the consumers’ needs and wants in an ever-evolving world of human nutrition. With upwards of 49% of consumers desiring science-backed ingredients, industry leaders need to create functional products that provide health benefits to the consumer.
Using the concept of “Vitality Unlocked” (at 8:18), David explains how consumer behaviour has evolved significantly. He went on to explain the three categories that make up this concept as well as real-life industry examples:
- Blurred Lines (at 10:48)– how the line between dietary supplements and traditional food and beverage are increasingly blurred.
- Functional Pleasure (at 12:39)– how consumers are looking to implement functionality to indulgency.
- Personalised Therapy (at 14:57)– the need for instant gratification and on-demand functional therapy.
In today’s market, consumers are now less fearful of illness and are more price sensitive. Despite this, they continue to purchase health and wellness products, often willing to trade up for quality over the lowest-priced options. Beyond the health benefits, 59% consumers also want products that taste good. This demonstrates that consumers are not willing to compromise on taste. This poses a unique challenge for the industry: How can food, beverage, and supplement producers add the functionality without sacrificing on taste? The answer is the science of Taste Modulation.
Dr. Alex Woo (Founder and CEO of W2O Food Innovation) dives deeper (at 20:56) into what taste modulation is and how our bodies perceive taste. The technology is used to either increase, decrease, or modify taste detection at the receptor level or in the brain’s perception. Dr. Woo highlights four main methods of taste modulation:
- Sweetness Modulation (at 23:44) – explaining how sweeteners bind to locations on receptors and influence perception. He also highlights seven key types of modulators.
- Salty, Umami, and Kokumi modulation (at 27:46) – explores saltiness and how to make product products taste saltier without adding more salt (negatively impacting nutrition).
- Supplements and Alcohol Modulation (at 30:31) – delves into how to utilize taste modulation for supplements that may cause off-odours, off-taste, and off-mouthfeel. Additionally, covering off on how to recreate the alcohol taste/feel for zero and low alcohol beverages.
- Bitterness Blockers (at 32:51) – which deep dives into how our body detects/perceives bitterness and what types of modulators can be used to block this.
Dr. Woo finishes his section (at 37:00) highlighting the importance of taste modulation for the future of the food industry and how scientists will need to utilize this to ensure foods, beverages, and supplements are delivering positive nutrition to consumers.
Katherine Ceschi (Sr. Scientist for Taste Innovation, Kerry) closed out the webinar (at 38.45) discussing practical applications for the use of taste modulation. Through her work she was able to discuss three successful case studies in which she was able to utilize different taste modulation techniques to enhance products nutritionally, as well as support the need for sustainable practices:
- Addressing salt enhancement through molecular techniques (at 40:33)
- Utilizing Waste Streams by repurposing spent coffee grounds to mask bitterness. (at 44:31)
- Mimicking Animal fat to create a sustainable, vegan, and regulatory friendly taste modulator (at 47:32)
Finally, ending the webinar was a lively Q&A session (at 51:42) where viewers were able to ask questions such as how consumer perceptions have changed over the years, specifics on taste modulation compounds, and further questions regarding the case study.
From this webinar, it’s clear that as consumer knowledge on nutrition continues to expand, the expectation for nutritious food with great taste and flavour also rises. At the same time, sustainability and market trends continue to drive innovation and set the stage for the future of nutrition, demonstrating the essential need for taste modulation.
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Contributors:
David Deeley, MSc
Senior Insights Manager - Kerry
David Deeley is the Insights Manager for Kerry’s Europe Business, where he focuses on crafting insights that inspire and inform. With over 10 years of experience across industry, agency, and Big Four management consulting, his career has been built on the belief that everything must start with a solid foundation of insight.
Alex Woo, PhD
CEO - W2O Food Innovation
Alex is the founder and CEO for W2O, a flavor technology firm for the past fifteen years based in the USA. He specializes in creating Better Food with niche expertise in contemporary taste & smell neuroscience and state of art clean label plant-based ingredients.
Katherine Ceschi, BSc
Scientist, Taste Innovation - Kerry
Katherine Ceschi is a dedicated Scientist for Taste Innovation at the Beloit Kerry Center. With a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from UW-Whitewater, Katherine began her journey at Kerry as an intern in the Taste Innovation department six years ago. Her passion and expertise quickly made her an invaluable member of the team, leading to a full-time position at the end of her internship.
