Food Entrepreneur - June 22, 2021 - 4

FOOD ENTREPRENEUR®
Do your consumers a flavor -
GO BOLD
Seeking expertise from a food scientist, flavor house or chef can help
BY NATALIE SHMULIK
V
ariety is the spice of life - and today's consumers are
hungrier than ever for exotic flavor profiles. While
brands have traditionally muted their flavors to gain a
wider reach, modern shoppers are less risk averse. Now, they
are turning to startups for authentic, bold taste experiences, to
test their own limits and discover something new. Startups are
well positioned to meet these needs - but success depends on
having an efficient process for breaking boundaries to avoid
becoming too niche.
For startups, the initial
challenge is balancing personal
taste preferences with
mass market appeal. Creating
the right flavor is " a combination
of art and science, " said
Mayssa Chehata, founder of
low-sugar candy brand Behave.
The brand's extra tart tropical
gummy bears were inspired by
her love of sour and fruity flavors, combined with chef Elizabeth
Falkner's culinary instincts. Because startups have limited
data analytics resources, they need to trust their gut and flavor
instincts, Ms. Chehata explained.
As business development director for Synergy Flavors Inc.,
founder. Synergy suggests a four-step process, which includes
trend spotting for powerful patterns, identifying relevant flavors,
technical formulation of shortlisted flavors, and applying
the brand filter.
Seeking expertise from a food scientist, flavor house or chef
may bring a deeper understanding of ingredients and effective formulas
to the process. The co-founders and chief executive officers
of Truff Hot Sauce, Nick Guillen and Nick Ajluni, worked with a
culinary school to develop small batches of their novel condiment.
" Traditionally, we are told
Adventure-seeking audiences
eager to try something new
naturally gravitate away from
conventional staples and
toward emerging brands.
not to mix delicate truffle with
spice, " Mr. Guillen explained.
To successfully break from
tradition - while creating a
product that could be easily
scaled - the pair relied on
professional techniques to formulate
a food-safe, pasteurized
product from the start. It took
two years of experimenting with
Cara Newkirk counsels brands to consider emerging trends in adjacent
industries and categories, like fragrances, home products and
body care. Exploring
these areas can inspire
brands to pioneer
new flavors, while still
aligning with consumer
interests.
Equally important
is setting parameters
around flavor
development. Following
a process with
an end goal prevents
" flavor paralysis " -
the inability to settle
on a flavor to launch,
explained Behave's
34
Food Business News
hundreds of ingredients, applying feedback and continuous
refinement to produce the team's truffle-chili blend.
However, putting all this effort into flavor development
lacks impact without consumer feedback. Brands should have
their products sampled as early and often as possible, advised
Regina Trillo, founder and CEO of Nemi. Ms. Trillo drew from her
Mexican heritage and mother's cooking to inspire the authentic
flavors of her unique nopal (cactus) snacks. Consumer testing allowed
her to temper her fiery crisps to a market-ready spice level.
" Authenticity is an individual experience, " she said, emphasizing
the crucial balance of experimenting boldly with spices, while
taking the target market's tastes and perceptions into account.
Testing can also inspire the launch of something entirely
unexpected. Consumer feedback sparked the creation of Nemi's
popular sweet churro cactus crisp. Meanwhile, extensive testing
gave Truff's founders the confidence to add more truffle - and
eventually launch an even spicier hot sauce. Behave's candy
bravely breaks the mold with super sour flavors.
Simply put, consumers rely on startups to push boundaries.
Natalie Shmulik is the chief executive officer
of The Hatchery Chicago, a food and beverage
incubator. Email editor@sosland.com.
Adventure-seeking audiences eager to try something new gravitate
to emerging brands and away from conventional staples. This
willingness to experiment offers an opportunity for startups to
take risks, go bold and bring crave-able flavors to market. ▪
June 22, 2021
BEHAVE
Food Entrepreneur - June 22, 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Entrepreneur - June 22, 2021
