From London to the sun-drenched streets of Grasse, 2026’s leading raw material exhibitions offered a preview of where flavor and fragrance creation is heading next. Together, the events brought suppliers, flavorists, perfumers and product developers face-to-face with the ingredients shaping tomorrow’s formulations—from novel natural extracts and refined woody materials to precision-crafted aroma chemicals and specialty fractions.
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From London to the sun-drenched streets of Grasse, 2026’s leading raw material exhibitions offered a preview of where flavor and fragrance creation is heading next. Together, the events brought suppliers, flavorists, perfumers and product developers face-to-face with the ingredients shaping tomorrow’s formulations—from novel natural extracts and refined woody materials to precision-crafted aroma chemicals and specialty fractions.
At FlavourTalk, more than 50 exhibitors showcased the latest flavor building blocks and innovation platforms designed to support emerging consumer trends and inspire the next generation of food and beverage creations.
Two months later, SIMPPAR transformed the heart of Grasse into an open-air celebration of perfumery ingredients, welcoming fragrance professionals from around the world to explore new naturals, captives and technological advances against the backdrop of the industry’s historic capital.
The following collection highlights some of the most notable gourmand and indulgent flavor and fragrance ingredients presented at these events, revealing how suppliers are balancing authenticity, sustainability, technical performance and sensory creativity in an increasingly competitive marketplace. -Edit
NOTE: Ingredient availability and regulatory status may vary by region. Not all materials featured in this roundup are commercially available in every market. Readers should consult respective suppliers to confirm regional availability, approved uses and any applicable regulatory restrictions before formulation or commercialization.
Gourmand continues to evolve far beyond vanilla and caramel. Across the flavor and fragrance sectors, suppliers are introducing a new generation of materials that blend indulgence with complexity, drawing inspiration from tropical cocktails, roasted seeds, specialty teas, exotic spices, creamy florals and even tingling botanicals.
This roundup highlights some of the most intriguing ingredients gaining attention—from Robertet's piña colada-inspired coconut extract and roasted sesame CO₂ extract to cocoa aldehydes that bring structure and realism to chocolate accords. Alongside these comfort-driven notes, suppliers are exploring sensory contrast through ingredients such as Sichuan pepper oil and spilanthol-rich bunga mas, delivering cooling, numbing and stimulating effects that expand the boundaries of flavor and fragrance creation.
Colada in a Drop: Robertet Bottles Tropical Indulgence
Robertet’s Colada Extract is developed using a hybrid process that combines coconut bioconversion with supercritical CO₂ extraction, yielding a clear, soluble natural extract derived from Cocos nucifera sourced in the Philippines.
The result is a highly versatile ingredient that translates the sensory richness of coconut into a refined olfactive profile—shredded coconut, creamy and toasted nuances, juicy fruit facets, and a subtle pineapple flesh note evoking a natural piña colada impression. Designed for fragrance applications, it offers both gourmand indulgence and technical flexibility in modern formulations.
Cocoa Aldehyde for Gourmand Constructions
O’Laughlin’s cocoa aldehyde (synonyms: coco hexenal, chcolactone) brings a more structural, less sugary take on chocolate accords. The material opens on bitter cocoa and dark chocolate facets, unfolding into nutty-green nuances with soft honeyed backnotes that add lift rather than weight.
O’Laughlin’s cocoa aldehyde (synonyms: coco hexenal, chcolactone) can be deployed by perfumers to sharpen chocolate accords, extend vanilla constructions, or introduce a subtle green-bitter tension alongside nutty notes.Grafvision at Adobe Stock
Designed for low-dose impact (0.01-0.050%), it functions as a precision modifier in gourmand compositions, tightening cocoa realism while adding aromatic contrast. Perfumers can deploy it to sharpen chocolate accords, extend vanilla constructions, or introduce a subtle green-bitter tension alongside nutty notes.
Positioned less as a sweet note and more as an architectural cocoa accent, it offers creators a way to move gourmand fragrances toward depth, texture, and controlled bitterness without losing comfort.
Roasted Sesame, Reinvented
Robertet’s sesame roasted CO₂ extract is derived from roasted seeds of Sesamum indicum sourced in India. This ingredient captures a deep, savory-gourmand profile defined by cereal and peanut nuances layered with toasted, caramelized, popcorn-like and cocoa facets, finishing with a subtle salty edge.
Tea, Tranquility and Tingle
At Origin Oils, a trio of natural materials demonstrates a broad sensory spectrum spanning calm, depth, and stimulation. Its green tea absolute offers a fresh, green, leafy profile with light bitterness, soft floral undertones, and a clean, calming finish, rounded by a gentle astringency—well suited to wellness beverages and fine fragrance applications.
Sichuan pepper essential oil introduces a bright citrus lift layered with spicy warmth and a distinctive mild numbing effect, finishing clean and energetically—delivering high aromatic impact even at low dosage levels.dashu83 at Adobe Stock
In contrast, the black tea absolute moves into a warmer, more fermented territory, delivering earthy richness, subtle smoke and mild tannic depth, making it particularly relevant for cosmetics, creams, serums, and soaps.
Completing the set, Sichuan pepper essential oil introduces a bright citrus lift layered with spicy warmth and a distinctive mild numbing effect, finishing clean and energetically—delivering high aromatic impact even at low dosage levels.
Clean and Intense Profiles for Confectionery and Oral Care
Among the mint profiles offered by Frey & Lau is a Mentha arvensis oil (rectified), which offers a cool, balanced and clean mint character with a fresh, gently cooling profile. The oil is designed for applications where clarity and smoothness are key, making it particularly well suited to confectionery and oral care formats that require a refined, non-overpowering mint freshness.
Alongside this, the company’s Indian peppermint oil (rectified) delivers a more intense cooling effect, with a bright, herbal-sweet and powerfully minty profile. This variant is tailored for impact-driven applications such as gum, sweets, and chocolate, where a stronger burst of freshness and lingering cooling sensation is desired.
Nutmeg, Refined: Removing Regulatory Roadblocks from a Historic Spice Oil
Indesso is bringing a modern twist to one of the world’s oldest and most prized botanicals with its refined, terpeneless nutmeg oil. Derived from Indonesian-grown Myristica fragrans, the ingredient delivers the warm, sweet-spicy, woody character formulators expect from nutmeg while addressing increasingly stringent global regulatory requirements.
Indesso is bringing a modern twist to one of the world’s oldest and most prized botanicals with its refined, terpeneless nutmeg oil.Narsil at Adobe Stock
The company’s safrole and methyl eugenol-free (SMEF) grade is designed to retain nutmeg’s authentic aromatic profile while removing naturally occurring compounds that can face usage restrictions in markets such as the European Union and China. The result is a more versatile ingredient that offers greater formulation flexibility for flavor and fragrance applications without sacrificing sensory performance.
Produced through advanced distillation and selective fractionation, the oil preserves the characteristic warmth and complexity of Indonesian nutmeg while meeting strict quality and safety standards. Indesso says the process enables the removal of trace compounds such as safrole and methyl eugenol while maintaining batch-to-batch consistency through in-house analytical validation.
Sourced from Indonesia—the world’s largest producer of nutmeg oil and home to the historic Banda Islands where the spice originated—the ingredient combines botanical heritage with modern compliance demands.
Creamy Floral-Gourmand Complexity with Exotic Fruit Nuance
Payan Bertrand’s ylang oil fractions (farnesene; CAS# 83863-30-3; FEMA# 3119) offers a richly layered flavor profile that combines classic ylang floralcy with fatty, sweet and slightly sugary nuances. The material unfolds with banana-like fruit tones supported by subtle spicy eugenol facets and a woody, chestnut-like depth, evolving into a creamy chestnut and chestnut cream character that enhances its gourmand appeal.
Payan Bertrand’s ylang oil fractions (farnesene; CAS# 83863-30-3; FEMA# 3119) unfolds with banana-like fruit tones supported by subtle spicy eugenol facets and a woody, chestnut-like depth, evolving into a creamy chestnut and chestnut cream character that enhances its gourmand appeal.Passakorn at Adobe Stock
Well suited for desserts, yellow fruit profiles, raspberry flavors, chestnut applications and cocktails, the ingredient brings both lift and indulgent roundness, making it a versatile tool for adding exotic floral-fruity complexity and smooth, creamy texture across sweet goods and beverage formulations.
Spilanthol from Bunga Mas: A Functional Bioactive for Oral Care and Cosmetics
In Indonesia, Indesso and partner farmers cultivate bunga mas (acmella or electric daisy), a botanical source of spilanthol that is increasingly being explored as a functional ingredient for oral care and personal care formulation.
Rather than being positioned as a novelty botanical, spilanthol is of interest primarily for its defined bioactivity profile. As a bioactive alkylamide, it produces a characteristic tingling and mild numbing sensation and has been documented in studies for anaesthetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and salivation-stimulating effects. These properties are particularly relevant for oral care formats such as mouthwashes, tooth gels and gum care products, where sensory relief and functional efficacy are both formulation targets.
