Dive Brief:
- Aromatics offer manufacturers a range of opportunities to retain certain flavors while reformulating products or creating new ones to meet consumers' health-related demands. Aromas tend to carry the bulk of a product's flavor, edible aromatics producer Aaron Wisniewski told Chicago Tribune.
- Manufacturers can emulate bartenders by manipulating aromas to "add" flavor—or at least the perception of flavor—to a product, even without the actual ingredient being present, Ben Carlotto, a hospitality industry veteran, explained at the Chicago Cocktail Summit.
- Edible aromatics can be made from natural ingredients using edible fragrance atomizers, such as those from Wisniewski's company, Alice & the Magician. That means that manufacturers wouldn't necessarily have to abandon a clean label approach if they use smell in their products.
Dive Insight:
The concept of "cocktail aromatics" has already jumpstarted in the bartending and foodservice industries, but manufacturers could also employ smell as a tool to change or retain particular flavors without otherwise changing an ingredients list. Reducing salt or sugar can significantly change a product's flavor, but adding ingredients such as artificial sweeteners to make a product sweet again can be just as controversial.
Incorporating strong smells into either the product itself or even the packaging, such as in the case of RTD beverages, could work to appeal to consumers. When a consumer brings the product close to his or her face, the aromatics emanating off of the product or packaging could register anticipation of the flavor of an ingredient that's not actually in the product.
Using aromatics in packaging could also draw a consumer to a particular product while on the aisle, much like grocery stores, restaurants, and other retailers are known to pump smells into the air to entice consumers to buy.
The power of smell is undeniable in encouraging consumers to want to buy a product, especially food and beverage items. But, such a strategy may end up being more novelty than anything, and it does have drawbacks. Consumers looking for "natural" foods may be weary of a product with a flavor that doesn't match the ingredients list, even if the source of the aroma is itself a "natural" ingredient.