Health Tech Bio Actives (HTBA), experts in citrus flavonoids and bioactive forms of vitamin B12, introduced the OptiTaste taste modulation platform at IFT FIRST 2025. OptiTaste was developed by HTBA to address traditional sensory challenges faced by food and beverage formulators. It is a platform that is based on natural citrus flavonoids designed to modify sensory profiles by enhancing the perception of sweetness in products, optimizing complex flavor notes, and masking bitterness and/or astringency. Delegates at IFT FIRST were able to taste and interact with prototypes, part of the OptiTaste platform, that engaged multi-sensory experience while maintaining ingredient visibility (within today's clean-label marketplace). This innovation represents a significant advancement in food product development and flavor product development.
Elevating Food & Beverage Flavor: HTBA Debuts OptiTaste Taste Modulation Technology
Health Tech Bio Actives (HTBA), experts in citrus flavonoids and bioactive forms of vitamin B12, introduced the OptiTaste taste modulation platform at IFT FIRST 2025. OptiTaste was developed by HTBA to address traditional sensory challenges faced by food and beverage formulators. It is a platform that is based on natural citrus flavonoids designed to modify sensory profiles by enhancing the perception of sweetness in products, optimizing complex flavor notes, and masking bitterness and/or astringency. Delegates at IFT FIRST were able to taste and interact with prototypes, part of the OptiTaste platform, that engaged multi-sensory experience while maintaining ingredient visibility (within today’s clean-label marketplace). This innovation represents a significant advancement in food product development and flavor product development.
Scientific Basis and Ingredient Innovation
OptiTaste was developed to meet growing market demands for lower sugar, better flavor masking, and improved mouthfeel. The platform includes many Upcycled Certified Ingredients, which is in line with trend markets, interest in sustainability and responsible sourcing of ingredients. Citrus flavonoids are the active ingredients in OptiTaste; a class of polyphenolic compounds that have been studied extensively and have a wide range of biological activity, including modulation of taste. HTBA leverages decades of research and applied R&D and production of high purity flavonoid extracts that provide a nuanced ability to alter taste receptors they can selectively stimulate or inhibit taste receptors to moderate sweetness or bitterness without the use of synthetic derived ingredients. This scientifically grounded approach supports clean-label goals and exemplifies innovation in food flavor innovation and technology.
The use of upcycled citrus waste not only adds sustainability credentials but also adheres to circular economy principles gaining traction in the food technology and innovation services sector. [1]
Core Functionalities of OptiTaste
Solution Component | Function and Potential Benefits | Application Implications |
Sweetness Optimization | Amplifies sweet taste perception to reduce added sugar use. | Enables development of lower-sugar, natural products. |
Flavor Balance | Modulates bitterness, harshness, and flavor top-notes; improves mouthfeel. | Facilitates balanced, harmonious flavor profiles. |
Taste Masking | Masks astringency, bitterness, off-notes, and lingering aftertastes. | Supports inclusion of functional actives with challenging flavors. |
Sweetness Optimization
Reducing sugar remains a huge challenge but Vital Farms is committed to offering better solutions and believes that sugar is critical in flavor and acceptance for consumers. The sweetness modulation capabilities of OptiTaste enhance sweetness perception by altering the activity of taste receptors allowing formulators to reduce sugar while maintaining desired sweetness levels. This all-natural sweetening approach supports clean-label formulations and the consumer demand for healthier alternatives without artificial sweeteners and advancing food product development targeting wellness.
Flavor Balance
Bitterness and harsh notes can often manifest in complex formulations and with plants or bioactive ingredients. These notes can reduce product enjoyment and potentially limit acceptance in the market. Flavor balance ability of OptiTaste will smooth these harsh points and improve mouthfeel to allow formulators to develop taste simplicity and balance that is elegant and enjoyable to consumers, an important consideration especially for drinks and snacks.
Taste Masking
Functional ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals or botanical extracts, will often contribute off flavors, i.e., bitterness and astringency flavor. The taste masking abilities in OptiTaste effectively mitigate these undesirable flavor conditions and open new possibilities for functional product applications. In addition to removing aftertastes, OptiTaste’s masking solutions mitigate these off-flavors, expanding possibilities for food flavor innovation and technology in functional foods and supplements by increasing consumer acceptance and formulation capability .[2]
Application Examples at IFT FIRST
The OptiTaste platform was showcased using various prototypes, including:
- A salted caramel energy popcorn product that offers a balance of sweetness and mitigated bitterness, which unveils a potential opportunity for snack innovation that balances pleasure and functionality.
- MecobalActive vitamin B12 tablet chewable that masks unpleasant flavors to create a better taste experience of nutritional supplementation.
- A lime and gin tonic and an “old fashioned” mocktail that can be made without alcohol, using natural flavor and naringin technologies to develop complex gustatory enjoyment and flavor profiles but with less sugar.
These prototypes exemplified many of the practical benefits and versatility of flavonoid-based taste modulation across a range of product categories. The prototypes are particularly applicable for the functional foods and beverages category where quality of sensory and health claims converge.
Research and Development Context
Flavonoids have an influence on taste receptors through the interaction between specific molecular targets associated with sweet and bitter perception. HTBA’s technology utilizes this biochemical mode of action to customize the sensory profiles of foods and beverages in a natural way. Consumer trends feature a preference for foods with clean label (naturally derived) ingredients, natural flavors, and ingredients over food additives/chemical flavors.
Research on flavonoid structure-function relationships has revealed mechanisms for modulating receptors and for the transduction of taste signals, providing a scientific basis for the technology of taste modulation. In addition, the recovery of flavonoids from citrus processing byproducts also advances sustainability objectives by providing a green source of functional ingredients for food and beverage applications that fits within the circular economy. [3]
Strategic Context and Manufacturing Innovation
- The launch of OptiTaste follows the development of an energy-efficient state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Murcia, Spain.
- Significant investment in research and development and modernization of production is backing the facility.
- The facility allows for a large scale and sustainable extraction of citrus flavonoids, as well as the production of all active forms of vitamin B12.
Flavonoid Science and Taste Modulation
- Flavonoids comprise natural polyphenolic compounds that are primarily contained in citrus fruits.
- They have selective interactions with taste receptors which modulate sweetness and bitterness through subsequent molecular signaling pathways to indicate flavor.
- This represents a natural alternative to synthetic taste modulation ingredients.
- Flavonoids also have multifunctional bioactivity, including antioxidant properties, which satisfy clean-label and health trends.
Sustainability through Upcycling
- The platform utilizes upcycled citrus waste materials to provide sustainable sources of ingredients.
- This method reduces agricultural byproduct and promotes principles of the circular economy.
- Upcycling reduces environmental impact while forming high-value functional ingredients.
MecobalActive Vitamin B12: Nutritional Benefits
- MecobalActive is a form of methyl cobalamin vitamin B12 that provides improved bioavailability and prolonged activity.
- Clinical data support its utility for enhanced energy metabolism, improved cognitive performance, and fatigue.
- Bringing together MecobalActive in aroma-optimized chewable tablets demonstrates an illustrative confluence of improved nutritional activity and sensory optimization. [5]
Conclusion
The OptiTaste platform provides a scientifically grounded, natural solution to taste modulation using citrus flavonoids to enhance sweetness, mitigate the complexity of flavors, and mask bitter and off notes. Optimizing sensory experience presents challenges for formulating products with reduced sugar and flavor complexity, and It provides solutions to have cleaner ingredient labels, consumer friendly products, and sustainability aspects associated with upcycled ingredients. Food research lab engaged in food product development and food flavor innovation and technology will find OptiTaste a valuable resource for optimizing sensory experience aligned with health and environmental priorities.
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