Young Kim, vice president of taste for the Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region for Kerry, a world leader in taste and nutrition, believes that sweetness in food and beverage (F&B) triggers a variety of emotional responses in people across countries and cultures.
“Our research shows that among consumers in APMEA, sweetness brings on feelings of comfort and happiness,” explained Kim. “But as much as they love sweet indulgences, people are looking to cut back on sugar intake for health reasons.”
Reducing Sugar Content in High-Sugar F&B Products
Kim said that consumers are also concerned about artificial solutions in F&B that act as sugar substitutes, including tea beverages like ready-to-drink teas.
As a result, Kerry recently launched its next-generation Tastesense Advanced range of solutions, aimed at reducing sugar content in high-sugar products, with the ability to deliver a sweet taste and full-bodied mouthfeel, as well as sustainability benefits.
“At Kerry, we understand that taste is a crucial factor in low- and no-sugar products and with Tastesense Advanced, we have developed a solution that will allow manufacturers to create products with that clean sweetness profile and full body mouthfeel that consumers crave,” said Kim.
Kerry’s Tastesense Advanced supports the development of a sweetness profile closer to that of sugar, optimized flavor, better mouthfeel and reduced off-notes. The solution contains plant derived materials and reduces on average carbon emissions by 30 percent and water usage by 45 percent, while catering to consumers' demand for superior tasting and healthier food options.
Ian McGarvey, senior vice president of technology and innovation for taste at Kerry, said, “We are excited to introduce our new Tastesense Advanced range that addresses sweetness optimization and delivers high levels of sugar reduction, reaching beyond 50 percent. This new solution is more advanced compared to single ingredient solutions, offering added benefits across sustainability, taste and health.”
Creating an Advanced Taste Solution
To create Tastesense Advanced, Kerry conducted extensive research into solutions that could satisfy consumers' taste preferences in low- or no-sugar products.
Kerry's innovation teams carefully selected raw materials and examined the interaction with proprietary solutions. Tastesense Advanced provides a balance of sweetness impact, mouthfeel and masking outperforming single-ingredient solutions, while also providing great performance and taste.
The new solution is non-GMO and is available in kosher, halal and vegan-suitable options.
Kerry, which offers a wide range of food and beverage technologies to assist product developers in optimizing sweetness, has extensive expertise in flavor creation, product development, sustainable sourcing and proprietary processing.
To learn more, visit Kerry.com.
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