Clean label, functional beverage solutions

Posted: November 29, 2019
In: In the Media

People love the taste of sugar, but as consumers turn their attention to health, they are cutting back and seeking out natural solutions. In functional beverages, sugar plays a larger role than adding sweetness. Joe Farinella, vice president of product development, Imbibe, calls sugar the world’s best masking flavor. “Adding a little bit of sweetness helps round out off-notes from botanicals, vitamins, minerals and plant-based proteins,” he said.

Read the full article in Natural Products Insider.

beverage scientist, clean label, formulation, functional beverage, minerals, vitamins

Keep Reading:

Decoding Flavor: Imbibe’s Lauren Senne on Taste Modulation, Bitter Blockers, and What It Really Takes to Formulate Great Beverages

Taste modulation is its own discipline. Maskers and bitter blockers aren't the same thing — bitter blockers work at the receptor level, physically blocking the signal, while maskers shift the overall flavor system.

What’s Driving Flavor in 2027 — And What It Means for Beverage Innovation

Explore Imbibe's 2027 Flavor Trends report and discover how formulation complexity, functional ingredients, and evolving consumer expectations are changing the role of flavor in beverage innovation.

Why Relaxation Beverages Require a Different Flavor Strategy

Ingredients commonly associated with calm and relaxation — including ashwagandha, magnesium, valerian root, reishi, l-theanine, and other botanicals — can introduce earthy, woody, bitter, savory, sulfurous, or lingering off-notes.

Clean label, functional beverage solutions

Keep Reading:

Decoding Flavor: Imbibe’s Lauren Senne on Taste Modulation, Bitter Blockers, and What It Really Takes to Formulate Great Beverages

What’s Driving Flavor in 2027 — And What It Means for Beverage Innovation

Why Relaxation Beverages Require a Different Flavor Strategy

Notice: Holiday Closure