Trends
Coverage written for the people who have to put a trend into a formula — what is growing, and what it demands of a development team.
Beverage
How protein soda grew from a Utah TikTok mix into canned launches from Premier Protein and others, why every packaged version is clear whey instead of creamy milk, and the formulation problems of putting protein in a carbonated drink.
October 28, 2026 · 5 min
Confectionery
How the Dubai chocolate craze moved from one TikTok video to national retail, why the big launches arrived after the search peak, and the shelf-life problems that a pistachio and kataifi filling creates.
October 23, 2026 · 6 min
Trends
Why pickle flavor keeps expanding, which pickle profile a brief actually means, and what the vinegar note does in different applications.
October 12, 2026 · 3 min
Product development
Step-by-step guides to the problems that come up most: covering bad tastes, how much flavor to use, and keeping it from fading.
Beverage
0.05% to 0.25% by weight for most beverage flavors. Clear low-sugar drinks sit at the bottom of that range, protein drinks at the top. Treat it as a starting point and taste your way up.
Regulatory
Natural flavor can come from any plant or animal, not the fruit on the label. Natural WONF means the named fruit really is in there, topped up by others. Each step up costs more.
Beverage
In this order: pick the mineral salts, then a flavor that suits a salty base, then get the acid right, then the sweetness. Taste a full glass cold before you decide anything.
Formulation
Change the protein first, blend it second, add a bitter blocker third, fix the thin mouthfeel fourth, and pick the flavor last. Each step makes the next one easier.
Formulation
Liquid if the product is wet and you can add flavor late — it tastes fresher and costs less. Powder if the product is dry, or the flavor has to survive heat or a long shelf life.
Applications
Every category has its own problems. Each hub starts with what makes that one hard.
Flavor library
Profile, applications, pairings and technical considerations for each flavor — written once, properly, rather than generated for every possible combination.
Flavor profile
The difference between marzipan and almond paste, from the almond-to-sugar ratio and texture to the benzaldehyde behind the almond note, kernel paste and labeling.
October 30, 2026 · 4 min
Flavor profile
What Juicy Fruit gum tastes like, what Wrigley has and has not said about the fruits, why people compare it to jackfruit, and how to build a fruit gum-type flavor.
October 30, 2026 · 3 min
Flavor profile
What calamansi is and tastes like, how it compares with lime, yuzu and kumquat, what carries its flavor, and how to build a calamansi drink that holds up.
October 30, 2026 · 3 min
Research
Report
Measured US search demand for 18 candy flavors and formats against the number of brands selling them in Open Food Facts. Includes Dubai chocolate, where search peaked four months before Lindt reached national retail, and freeze-dried candy, down 86% from late 2023.
Report
Measured US search demand for 25 beverage flavors against the number of brands shipping them, cross-checked between two independent product catalogues. Includes the dirty soda case, where demand led a McDonald's national launch by 26 months.
Flavor Chemistry is owned and funded by Brookside Flavors, a commercial flavor manufacturer. Editorial decisions are made independently; commercial links are labeled. Read the full disclosure.