Create longer lasting gum with TasteTech encapsulation
Encapsulated ingredients in chewing gum offer many benefits. Manufacturers often include high intensity sweeteners, food acids and flavourings in chewing gum. This improves the flavour whilst minimising its calorific content and effect on tooth decay. It may be logical to think that in order to make the gum taste better for longer, we simply add more of these ingredients. However, this may be cost inefficient and could have a negative effect on the consumer’s perception of the gum. Luckily, encapsulation can help.
Optimising taste perception
Overdosing flavour ingredients in gum simply serves to overload our taste receptors. Whilst our sensory organs are sensitive to change at low concentrations they are relatively insensitive at high concentrations. We will probably notice the difference between a 10g/litre and 20g/litre sugar solution. However, it might be harder to distinguish between 100g/litre and 110g/litre. A consumer’s response to increased flavour over a certain point gets weaker and weaker. Eventually the perceived taste is topped out and no additional flavour ingredient can be detected. Any additional flavouring ingredient added above this point is simply adding cost with little benefit.
A better way
At TasteTech we know there is a better way. Our Matrix encapsulation technology protects the ingredients as the consumer chews. In our dissolution tests, Matrix encapsulated ingredients last almost 3.5 minutes longer than unencapsulated ingredients, with lower dosing required. This means longer lasting gum without wasted, overdosed ingredients.
Best of both worlds
The best way to get a high impact flavour is to use quick releasing unencapsulated ingredients in tandem with encapsulated ones. This way, you get the immediate flavour impact combined with the longer lasting flavour experience that customers want.
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