Flavour prediction tool can cut development time in half

Flavours firm Quest's new 'Linking sensory data to acceptance' (LISA) method can accurately predict worldwide taste preferences in record time, claims the company.

The method combines flavour ingredients with sensory and consumer research and allows Quest to predict flavour preferences for very specific target groups. "For example if a customer wants to make an orange soda containing vitamin C for Brazilian women aged between 25 and 35, we could make the appropriate flavour," says Quest's consumer understanding manager Tom De Bloc.

The firm is extremely confident in LISA's ability, claiming that the methodology has been shown to boost consumer preferences for known brands by up to 30%.

Development time is also greatly reduced. "If we get projects on applications we've already researched, then the time it takes to develop a new product will be cut in half," says Esther van Ommeren, a senior flavourist at the firm.

In 2005 the LISA method was used to test strawberry flavours for use in milk and orange flavours for soda in 28 locations across the globe. The next eight months will focus on vanilla ice cream preferences.

Quest has already found the LISA method to be very revealing. "We found things you wouldn't expect," says van Ommeren. "Everyone we tested liked freshly squeezed orange juice, but in Europe nobody adds sugar, whereas in India and Brazil 50-70% of the population add sugar."

The methodology can be used on any product and Quest expects to work in partnership with manufacturers in the future.