More consumers than ever are seeking out healthier food options as part of their everyday diet. Food manufacturers need to meet the growing demand for healthy foods by adding healthy ingredients and cutting out unhealthy ones.
For many in the industry, it is a welcome challenge. Making great tasting products that also offer nutritional benefits is a goal that every manufacturer can strive for. There are many ways that manufacturers can accomplish this goal, and every recipe calls for unique ingredients. But one must-have for healthy food manufacturers across a wide range of products are natural sweetness enhancers.
A natural sweetness enhancer is a flavor enhancer which manufacturers can use in place of sugar or other sweeteners. Every flavor enhancer is different, just as is every formulation. But the benefits of natural sweetness enhancers are consistent no matter where or how they are being used.
An obvious benefit to flavor enhancers like these is that they enable manufacturers to remove artificial sweeteners from their products. The more effective a natural sweetness enhancer is, the less reliant the manufacturer needs to be on artificial sweeteners.
For health-conscious consumers, this reduction of artificial sweeteners can be a major selling point. Lower sweetener levels means fewer calories and an overall nutritional advantage for the product. In addition to fewer calories, this can also mean a reduced risk of diabetes or other health complications for consumers. This not only benefits existing consumers, but also helps make products more accessible to individuals with restrictive diets.
A reduction in any sweetener can provide nutritional benefits to a manufacturer. In recent years, high fructose corn syrup has come under heavy scrutiny. Once a widely-used ingredient in a range of products, manufacturers have now begun to eliminate high fructose corn syrup entirely. Natural sweetness enhancers are a great way for manufacturers to transition away from high fructose corn syrup into healthier alternatives.
Natural Flavor is Better
In many cases, consumers also prefer the more “natural” flavor provided by natural flavor enhancers. This is particularly true when compared to artificial sweeteners. Many consumers complain about an unpleasant “chemical taste” when artificial sweeteners are present. Natural flavor enhancers help eliminate this problem entirely.
Natural flavor enhancers can also be used as flavor maskers, which provides another great advantage for healthy food manufacturers. Many health foods, like protein powder, tend to have bitter off tastes which consumers and manufacturers both try to avoid. A sweetener enhancer can help mask this bitterness without compromising the product’s nutritional value.
The opportunity to potentially improve both the flavor and nutritional content of a product does not come very often. But with advancements in the flavor industry, natural sweetness enhancers make this opportunity a real possibility.
Reduced Cost
Providing a healthier and better tasting alternative to other sweeteners are good reasons for manufacturers to consider natural sweetness enhancers. But the benefits of these flavor enhancers can go beyond the food products themselves. Natural sweetness enhancers can also help a manufacturer’s bottom line as well.
By cutting down on the amount of sugar required, natural sweetness enhancers can help keep manufacturing costs down as well. Natural sweetness enhancers make economical sense on top of the nutritional and ethical benefits they provide.
For manufacturers, finding the right flavor enhancers for all of their needs is crucially important. No two formulations are the same, so there is no “one size fits all” model for flavor enhancement. But the importance of high quality, healthy and flavorings is always high.
OSF Flavors understands these and embraces these challenges. OSF works diligently to ensure that only high quality, all-natural ingredients go into every flavor we produce. Visit our website to learn more and request a sample today!