A Guide to Flavor and Extract for Product Formulation
A Guide to Flavor and Extract for Product Formulation
It is easy to see why product formulation can be a daunting task for founders. With so many ingredients to choose from, it can be difficult to decide on the best way to bring your product idea or recipe to life. One important decision that must be made is between flavors and extracts. This article will provide an overview of what flavors and extracts are, their differences, various types, and their applications in product formulations like beverages.
What are Flavors?
Flavors are generally characterized as natural (derived from natural sources such as vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices) or artificial (synthetically created in a lab). Both types of flavors contain combinations of ingredients that make up the flavor profile. Natural flavors are usually more complex because they often include multiple components found in nature while artificial flavors usually have fewer components. In addition, natural flavors tend to be more expensive due to the complexity of sourcing quality raw materials and formulating them into a finished product.
What are Extracts?
Extracts are concentrated solutions of plant-based components or chemicals derived from plants that are used to impart a specific flavor characteristic in food or beverage products. Extracts differ from flavors because they contain only one component such as vanillin (from vanilla beans) or citrus oil (from oranges). While extracts may seem simpler than flavors at first glance, developing them requires significant skill and expertise due to the concentration levels needed for optimal performance in various food applications.
Types of Flavors & Extracts
- WONF (with other natural flavor): WONFs include both natural & artificial flavoring substances with other natural flavoring substances added for characterizing ingredients
- Type: Types refer specifically to the type of ingredient being used such as "vanilla type" or "lemon type" flavorings, which may contain both natural & artificial flavoring substances
- Artificial: Artificial flavoring substances are synthetically created chemical compounds that mimic the taste & aroma of a particular ingredient but do not necessarily contain any part of the actual ingredient itself
- Natural: Natural flavoring substances come from naturally occurring edible sources such as fruits & vegetables and have been purified into a liquid format without altering the essential characteristics & properties associated with their original source material
This article has provided an overview of how flavors and extracts work together within product formulations like beverages. We discussed what each one is and its differences compared to the other along with various types including WONF, Type, Artificial, and Natural Flavors. Finally we looked at how each one works within product formulations like beverages and how they impact taste profiles differently depending on application types. Founders should consider all these factors when making decisions regarding their product formulation processes and selecting appropriate ingredients for success!
Here is a useful chart from Foodbabe that breaks it all down.
So what should you use? It truly depends on what you are claiming in your product.
Taste: This really depends on the ingredient and can go either way. Sometimes flavors are much more potent than extracts and they can be extremely helpful with covering bitterness in alcoholic beverages. Other times, extracts have a cleaner, more dominant, less muddy flavor profile.
Functionality: Extracts! Flavors have 0 functionality.
Health: Extracts have a cleaner label, you know what you’re getting in the ingredient and there is less of a chance of having an allergen issue.
Cost: Flavors are always going to be cheaper than extracts.
