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Rose petals ready to be loaded into the extraction unit at Mane SA. Photo credit: Mane SA
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Fabrice Taulane, deputy director, Mane SA. Photo credit: Mane SA
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Emilie Nault, managing director at Hertz Flavors’ offshoot, FLAVORIQ. Photo credit: Hertz Flavors GmbH/Flavoriq
Whether for combustibles, e-liquids, HTPs or orals, crafting a new flavor is a complex undertaking.
In theory, any given flavor can be used for combustibles or orals, heated tobacco products (HTPs), e-liquids, or shisha molasses. In reality, though, what works in one product can potentially taste or smell terrible in another. For instance, while a cinnamon-apple crumble flavor may sound great for an e-liquid, it’s not something that would likely be a hit with cigar consumers. Another aspect is that the delivery methods in combustibles, orals and vaporizing devices differ fundamentally from one another. Though what is applicable to all product types across the board is that flavor creations must be suitable for inhalation (or ingestible, as in orals), an aspect comparable to flavors used in the food and beverage industries. It goes without saying that the ingredients coming together in such recipes also must be safe for human consumption. That is where the art of engineering customized flavor recipes comes into play.
No flavor without solvent
Then there also is the matter of solvability. All flavors, regardless in which product category, need a solvent to function. Sometimes, a combination of various solvents may be necessary, referred to as a “solvent system”, According to Petra Koß, senior flavorist at Hertz Flavors GmbH in Germany, the choice of solvents is application specific. “Depending on the flavor profile and the tobacco application for which the flavor is intended, we may need one or more solvents,” she said. For e-liquids, the most common solvents are polypropylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG). Occasionally, ethanol (a.k.a. ethyl alcohol) or distilled water can be options that are going into the mix, too.
“Some solvents may be more suitable for specific product groups due to factors such as taste, vapor production, or compatibility with the base flavor extracts,” pointed out Fabrice Taulane, deputy director of Switzerland-based flavor house, MANE SA. He added that “dissolving a flavor allows for optimal, even spread within the finished product.”
Carrier oils and casings
More and more in vogue these days, vaping liquids containing cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive substance extracted from cannabis plants, require an oil carrier agent, because CBD will not dissolve in PG or VG alone. Capsule flavors likewise need a carrier oil, usually MCT oil. It is a type of fat made up of medium-chain triglycerides. MCT molecules are smaller than those of most other ingestible fats, which are long-chain triglycerides (LCT). And where tobacco is directly infused with flavor blends – a process known as casing – solvents are likewise indispensable. “Casing flavors still require a certain level of dilution,” ascertained Emilie Nault, managing director of Hertz Flavors’ Dubai-based offshoot, FLAVORIQ. Otherwise, the flavor blend either won’t infuse the tobacco evenly, or the flavor notes become too intense; or both, actually.
“Products where flavors can be directly infused or conditioned with the tobacco blend include cigars and some shisha molasses, the method helping to preserve the natural tobacco flavor as well as enhance the overall smoking experience,” said MANE’s Fabrice Taulane.
Preventing bi-phasing
So-called “bi-phasing” is a problem to be avoided. The term describes the process where flavors or other components separate from the solvent or carrier substance over time instead of remaining in stable homogeneous solution or suspension. “It is important for all applications to be homogeneous. Having multiple phases within the flavor may affect the performance in the end product,” explained FLAVORIQ’s Emilie Nault. “For this reason, our quality control does not allow bi-phasal flavors to leave our facilities, and if there is a solubility issue, the flavor goes back to the development phase,” she elaborated. Optimizing the solvent system can remedy the bi-phasing issue. Adapted emulsifiers can also be used in certain cases to ensure a homogenous and stable formulation, according to Fabrice Taulane.
Navigating the regulation jungle
You may have guessed it… regulations, regulations, regulations are a crucial aspect in flavor engineering. Cases where clients request a certain flavor or flavor blend that actually contains ingredients that are not permitted in their home markets are rather common. “It is a scenario which happens often,” confirmed Emilie Nault. “We may receive benchmark samples for review and reverse-engineering, which show, when passed through technical analysis, undesired ingredients that don’t abide by their market’s regulations.” Flavor engineering can become even more complicated when it turns out that it is exactly these non-permitted ingredients themselves which are characterizing the new flavor product’s desired taste profile. “But thanks to our internal portfolio of over 2,000 ingredients, we can often find a suitable replacement within the limits of the law,” asserted Nault.
MANE’s Fabrice Taulane added that these situations are “more likely to happen when a client doesn’t have sufficiently deep knowledge about regulatory requirements or if their market is undergoing fast changes in its regulatory framework.” It surely is worthwhile, both time-wise and in cost terms, to dive into some research before approaching a flavor company with a specific flavor engineering project.
Reverse-engineering a flavor
Interestingly, Emilie Nault also pointed out a phenomenon in the vape industry, where companies source their ready-made disposable products from China, i.e. the device plus pre-filled e-liquid. In their search for safer and better tasting alternatives, these companies then may contact a flavor house with their current products for flavor replication. Nault recalled a recent case where FLAVORIQ received samples of a disposable device containing a fruity e-flavor. Chemical analysis revealed that the liquid contained “unusual ingredients which are banned under the EUTPD.” “We had to rework the entire flavor recipe to exclude those non-permitted components,” she said.
Expertise and guidance
According to Fabrice Taulane, whether clients do have a very clear idea of which flavor profiles they want for their product or whether they are pretty much stepping in the dark often depends on the product type. “If their finished product is in a category that is already well established, clients tend to have a rather accurate picture of what they’re looking for; but less so when the finished product belongs to a new or more recent category,” he said. “Then, clients tend to be more flexible and rely on our professional expertise for guidance.”
That guidance is not only provided by marketing staff and experts in the regulatory environment but of course also by the flavorists tasked with designing the actual flavor.
The flavorist, an unsung hero
A highly-skilled professional, the flavorist uses his or her expertise in sensory evaluation, chemistry, and ingredient knowledge to craft unique and authentic flavor profiles. “Flavorists are crucial [in our business] because they bring innovation and creativity to the industry, helping companies differentiate their products and catering to evolving consumer preferences,” elaborated Fabrice Taulane. “They play a vital role in translating clients’ visions into tangible flavors while ensuring compliance with regulations and maintaining the desired taste consistency.”
FLAVORIQ’s Emilie Nault bestowed similar accolades: “[Flavorists’] incredible knowledge of ingredients, their sensory memory and their understanding of taste translation in different applications allow them to design flavor solutions specifically for the products customers have in mind.” She quoted one of her company’s flavorists as once saying that she can literally “smell the ingredient in her head” just by seeing the name on paper. “One thing is for sure,” asserted Nault, “AI can’t replace a flavorist. Ever.” And that’s a good thing.
When a Flavorist Goes to Task
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Although “one size fits all” solutions do exist in the flavor industry and are employed on occasion, engineering a flavor profile from scratch is recommended when a client desires a very specific taste and aroma as part of their product positioning. According to Hertz Flavors’ senior flavorist Petra Koß, such requests trigger a set of procedural steps:
1. An in-depth conversation with the customer to understand the requirements and gain a clear idea of the customer expectations;
2. The customer provides the target parameters, which are assessed through sensory and technical reviews;
3. The flavorist will review all ingredients needed to create the targeted profile and map out the flavor “in the mind”;
4. For further inspiration, the flavorist will search internal and, if needed, external libraries to review possible similar past projects;
5. The flavorist creates a first version of the target profile, which is then sent to customer for evaluation;
6. Depending on the customer feedback, the initial recipe may need to be adjusted or changed until the perfect flavor version is achieved.
Additional tasks include ensuring the ingredients’ regulatory compliance with the customer’s target markets, as well as assessing the new flavor’s industrial manufacturing scalability. For instance, some ingredients may be negatively affected when exposed to the high temperatures or pressures created in manufacturing machinery.