TasteTech’s encapsulated high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) are designed to produce longer lasting flavour in sugar free chewing gum. They can also improve consumer experience and even reduce costs.
Going the distance
Our encapsulated HIS have an insoluble barrier, delaying their release and extending the flavour throughout the chew. HIS release quickly in their unencapsulated because they are highly water-soluble. Also, as the consumer chews the gum, all the sweetener is released in one go. Our matrix particle encapsulation technique is designed to extend the release of HIS. Not only is the encapsulation barrier insoluble, but each particle has multiple pockets of the active ingredient inside, meaning that each chew releases another burst of sweetness.
Working together
We believe that the ideal customer experience is an intense burst of flavour that lasts. To achieve this, we recommend using a combination of free and encapsulated sweeteners. The free sweeteners give a burst at the start of the chew, before the encapsulated sweeteners get to work, providing a longer-lasting sweetness and flavour. The graph below compares the sweetness intensities over time of gum made with free, encapsulated and a combination of the two.
As you can see the free sweetener in blue has an intense impact from the very start then trails off rapidly, whereas the encapsulated sweeteners in pink show a gradual rise that lasts far longer. We believe that the green line, which represents the blend of free and encapsulated sweeteners, shows the best results. It starts with a high-intensity burst that comes from the free sweeteners but doesn’t have the rapid decline due to the steady release of the encapsulated HIS meaning the gum tastes great from start to finish.
The right levels
Encapsulation isn’t the only way that gum manufacturers try to extend the chew time of their gum. Many choose to dose unencapsulated HIS up to the legal limit. Unfortunately, as free sweeteners are highly soluble they flood the taste buds with sweetener. In fact, the maximum EU legislative amounts for some sweeteners can be higher than the amount people perceive, so dosing them at the legal limits results in sweetener being wasted. Avoiding this wastage is an effective way to potentially reduce costs in manufacturing.
Teaming up
Alongside encapsulation and dosing, another technique for getting the best out of HIS is blending sweeteners together to further enhance flavour perception. The industry standard blend of Aspartame and Acesulphame K has been shown to improve the perceived sweetness in the gum by more than the sum of its parts. This blend is just one that’s available and making a unique blend could be a smart way for manufacturers to make their gum stand out from the crowd.
Stick around
There are many techniques and skills for keeping consumers brand loyal and ensuring they come back time after time. Using blends of different sweeteners as well as a mix of free and encapsulated means manufacturers are doing everything they can to make their gum stand out. No matter the technical sweetness level, the blend of sweeteners used or the dosing limit, the consumers’ perception is the crucial factor.
For more information on our High-Intensity Sweeteners, click here.
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