Kerry introduces Smart Taste platform to address ingredient volatility and regulatory pressures
Kerry has launched Smart Taste™, a proprietary platform of taste solutions designed to help food and beverage manufacturers navigate ingredient cost volatility, regulatory requirements and supply chain constraints whilst maintaining product taste profiles.
The Dublin-based taste and nutrition company positions the platform as an integrated approach that combines flavour creation capabilities with food science expertise across multiple product categories.
Technical capabilities span multiple taste categories
Smart Taste encompasses Kerry’s existing capabilities in Dairy Taste, fire-cooking tastes, and its Tastesense™ portfolios covering salt, sweetness and masking, along with cocoa and citrus solutions. The platform is designed to function as a unified access point to these various technologies rather than as a single proprietary technology.
Leigh Anne Vaughan, VP of Strategy & Marketing – Taste, commented: “Our Smart Taste proprietary solutions directly address our customers’ pain points by optimising flavour profiles in a way that reduces reliance on costly or volatile ingredients, supports cleaner labels, and meets evolving regu-lations, cost-effectively and sustainably.”
Quantified performance metrics for cocoa and sugar applications
In cocoa applications, Kerry’s boosting technology enables manufacturers to reduce cocoa content by up to 50% whilst preserving taste characteristics. The company reports this approach can deliver cost savings of up to 40% and reduce carbon emissions by up to 48%.
For sugar reduction applications, the Tastesense Sweetness technology allows for up to 100% sugar reduction by rebuilding mouthfeel, enhancing sweetness perception and masking off-notes associated with alternative sweeteners.
John Savage, President and CEO of Taste at Kerry, highlighted the platform’s scientific foundation: “At the heart of Smart Taste is the deep integration of advanced scientific processes that go far beyond traditional flavour creation. It combines Kerry’s expertise in flavour development with broader capabilities in food science and processing – including strategic investments in technologies like biofermentation and AI.”
The platform addresses multiple industry challenges including rising ingredient costs, particularly relevant given current cocoa market conditions, new regulatory require-ments such as sugar reduction mandates, and consumer demand for cleaner label formulations and sustainability credentials.
Kerry positions Smart Taste as enabling manufacturers to maintain supply chain stability and cost-efficiency whilst meeting nutritional targets and regulatory compliance requirements without compromising on taste delivery.
For more information, visit: www.kerry.com
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