Flavor Ingredients: The Taste Enhancers of Food System

Flavoring Ingredients are liquids, essences, and flavors that are added to foods to enhance their taste and aroma. The innovations in the different domains of food processing and increasing consumer demands for new varieties of flavors have led to an evolution in the industry. The natural as well as artificial flavor market has grown equally. Increasing consumer preferences toward newer flavors has opened newer avenues for innovative flavors.

Flavoring Ingredients: Key Developments, Trends and Innovations

The evolution in the R&D landscape due to the advent of Artificial Intelligence led to Industry 5.0 has led to newer developments in artificial and natural flavors. The newer technological regime uses bioengineered enzymes and novel plant extracts with unique flavor profiles to create new flavors. Further, the 3-D printing methodology is also being used to attain customized flavor profiles.

Innovations in Natural Flavors

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology blends biology, engineering, chemistry, and informatics to achieve desired results in organisms. It has elucidated and deployed in chassis strains, such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in many natural flavors through biosynthetic pathways leading to the development of newer flavors. The engineered microorganisms used by this technology give us unique sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami substances and change the taste.

Companies Involved

Impossible Foods, Apeel Sciences, Memphis Meats, and Nature’s Fynd are some of the top companies that produce natural flavoring ingredients by using synthetic biology.

Encapsulation Technologies

 Flavor encapsulation helps the food processors to coat the Flavor Ingredients with a protective layer. It helps protect the flavor from degradation over time. It also increases the shelf life of the product by retaining its flavor. These flavoring substances are trapped in a carrier or wall materials. This wall ensures the release of flavors at the desired time and in the desired amount.

Companies Involved

The top companies involved in the encapsulation process are TasteTech Ltd., Givaudan SA ADR, Balchem Corporation, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., BASF SE (ADR), and Symrise AG.

Fermentation

Food processors use bacteria, such as Serratia and Streptomyces to produce color for food processing industries. Fermentation-based ingredients include carotene from Blakeslee transport and the Apink red color from Penicillium oxylium.

Companies Involved

Kalsec, Phytolon, Chromologics, and ADM are top companies using this technology to manufacture natural flavors.

Bio-Engineering

The food processors use genetic modification to achieve the desired natural flavor. In May 2024, a team from Tokyo University developed a genetically modified enzyme. It efficiently converts ferulic acid from plants into vanillin, the primary compound in vanilla flavoring. Planet A Foods, Umiami

Innovations in Artificial Flavors

Artificial food flavors play enhances the taste, aroma, and overall sensory experience of the food products. These synthetic compounds mimic the natural flavors found in foods create a heightened perception of taste and entice consumers’ palates. Although there are some concerns related to the use of artificial flavors, these have become an integral part of the modern food industry. These artificial food flavors recreate the distinct taste profiles of natural ingredients that might be challenging to obtain consistently or cost-effectively. The following are characteristics of artificial flavors:

Use of Chemicals

These flavors are developed using a combination of chemicals that mimic the aromatic and taste compounds found in natural foods. The process of developing unique taste profiles requires extensive testing, quality control, and adjustments to achieve the desired balance of taste and aroma.

Versatility

These flavors are versatile and diverse. They have recreated several flavors and their combinations have led to several new flavors. Further, these flavors can be used in a wide array of food and beverage products which range from snacks and beverages to baked goods and frozen treats.

Cost Effective        

These flavors reduce production costs and waste. It can be influenced by factors like weather conditions and pests. These flavors also offer a more stable and predictable flavor profile.

National and International Policies on Coloring and Flavoring Substances

International Standards

FDA Regulations and Revised List

• The FDA maintains a list of natural as well as chemical flavoring agents to be used in food. Recently, it amended its food additive regulations in response to two food additive petitions. Now, it does not allow for the use of a total of 7 synthetic flavoring substances and flavor enhancers (adjuvants).
• According to the reports presented to the FDA by different health organizations, 6 of these synthetic substances caused cancer in laboratory animals under the conditions of the studies. It delisted the seventh synthetic flavor because it is no longer used by industry.
• The 6 flavoring substances include synthetically derived benzophenone, ethyl acrylate, eugenyl methyl ether (methyl eugenol), myrcene, pulegone, and pyridine.
• FDA removed these synthetic flavoring agents from food additive regulations under the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (section 409(c)(3) of the FD&C Act,1958. It requires that the FDA cannot approve, the use of any food additive that has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals at any dose.

National Standards For Flavor Ingredients in India

FSSAI Regulations

• FSSAI has published a set of rules for the food business operator to use natural flavors identical flavors or synthetic flavors in accordance with the provisions of regulation 3.3.1 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
• The food manufacturers must declare the addition of flavor on the labels of such products by the above rule.
• According to FSSAI, the flavors that are added to food items should comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
• The flavors added by food processors must be the least amount possible to achieve efficacy.
• It must become a part of the food during manufacture, processing, or packaging. Further, added flavor should be treated in the same way as the food ingredient.

Analyzing Market: The State of ‘Natural Flavors’ and ‘Artificial Flavors’

• According to Global Market Insights, the global food flavor market size stood at USD 12 billion in 2024. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of over 4.3% from 2025 to 2034.

Trend Analysis

• Shift Towards Natural Flavors: The global flavor market has been witnessing a shift towards these natural flavors. It is due to increasing consciousness towards nutrition-conscious food choices and growing awareness of health and wellness.
• Synthetic Flavors Dominant: Although natural flavors are taking a forward leap in the food market, synthetic flavor dominates the market by generating USD 6.4 billion in revenue in the year 2024.
• This is due to their cost-effectiveness, consistency, and longer shelf life compared to their natural counterparts.
• Despite their affordability and scalability, growing consumer preference for clean-label and natural products is limiting their appeal, prompting manufacturers to explore innovative synthetic-natural hybrids.

Segment Wise Analysis

• Based on flavor, the food flavor market comprises fruit, chocolate, vanilla, nut, caramel, and others. The fruit flavor segment hold a dominant market share of 34% in 2024. It is driven by their natural sweetness and versatility.
• Fruit-based flavors have a natural appeal and the perception of added nutritional value due to consumers’ shift towards healthier options.
• The demand for exotic and tropical fruit flavors has also risen due to global culinary trends and diverse consumer tastes.

Major Market Players in the Food Flavor Market

BioSun Flavors & Food Ingredients, Döhler, Flavaroma, Frutarom,  and Givaudan S.A. are the forefront players in this segment in the evolving global market. These companies have capitalized a majority share in the market.

Way Forward

Although there has been an increasing consciousness of the consumers towards ‘Nutrition’ & ‘Health and Well-being’, natural flavoring ingredients still lag behind Synthetic ingredients owing to their versatility and cost-effectiveness. Further, the demand for the ‘Clean Label’ products has been increasing and food regulators are consistently putting the chemical flavoring agents into the restrictive list. Going by the increasing trend of diet-induced illness, policymakers must restrict the use of chemicals as flavoring agents.