As the cost-of-living crisis continues to reshape consumer behaviour, the concept of value is being redefined. While affordability is a clear priority, many consumers are still willing to pay more for products that they believe deliver greater worth. Crucially, this worth must be demonstrated through tangible product benefits – not just through brand reputation or price positioning.
Recent insights from Kantar highlight that consumers are willing to invest in products that deliver superior benefits, such as great taste, nutritional profile, and textures. In this environment, brands must carefully assess how they build and communicate product value.
Mouthfeel as a strategic lever
A critical and often underestimated contributor to perceived value is mouthfeel. Defined as the texture and sensation experienced when consuming food and beverages, mouthfeel is an integral part in unlocking the taste experience. It influences consumer satisfaction and plays a key role in how indulgent or healthy a product feels.
In reformulation scenarios – whether to reduce fat, cut sugar, or introduce functional ingredients – mouthfeel can be compromised. This is where technical innovation has a significant role to play. By using advanced ingredient systems, manufacturers can maintain or enhance mouthfeel, ensuring the sensory quality that consumers value remains intact. At Tate & Lyle, we see three primary routes for brands to drive value perception through innovative reformulation.
1. Calibrate the cost while making food tastier and healthier
We supported a manufacturer in reformulating a full-fat mayonnaise into a healthier and more affordable version with a lower-fat version using Merigel and Stamist starches.
The reformulation delivered a 30% cost reduction while preserving key sensory characteristics such as firmness, mouthcoating and overall taste. Sensory testing showed that consumers had a similar ‘liking rate’ when tasting lower fat mayonnaise and their original versions, demonstrating that indulgence, healthier formulations and efficiency can coexist.
2. Reformulate to deliver cleaner labels
Consumers are actively looking for clean labels and healthier product options. During a yoghurt reformulation project, for example, our experts helped to remove stabilisers while maintaining a creamy texture using tapioca starch. This allowed the brand to meet consumer expectations for simplicity without sacrificing the overall taste and sensory experience.
3. Innovate with novel textures to drive engagement
Innovative mouthfeel solutions can set a product apart in competitive categories, offering new sensory experiences that captivate consumers. Through formats like hyper crunch, aerated layers and multi-layered textures, brands can offer new sensory experiences that reinforce their positioning and engage curious consumers.
These formats align with several emerging trends identified in Tate & Lyle’s report, The Future of Mouthfeel, including ‘Mouthfeel Mimicry’ – the replication of familiar textures in healthier formulations, and ‘Multi-layered Mouthfeel’ – where different sensations gradually reveal themselves as the food item is consumed.
By embracing these evolving preferences, brands can lead the way in meeting consumer demand, delivering dynamic and sensory-rich experiences that excite and delight.
Reformulating with reason
As consumer definitions of value continue to evolve, mouthfeel will remain central to how products are experienced, judged, and remembered. Brands that succeed will be those that reformulate not only for cost or health – but also for satisfaction, relevance, and long-term trust.
