Experience is everything in the world of confectionery. Imaginative, multisensorial taste adventures become irresistible, deepening enjoyment for consumers of all
Sudarshan Nadathur, chief flavorist, ADMCourtesy of ADM
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Experience is everything in the world of confectionery. Imaginative, multisensorial taste adventures become irresistible, deepening enjoyment for consumers of allSudarshan Nadathur, chief flavorist, ADMCourtesy of ADM
On the journey to well-being, consumers expect flavor and functionality, all wrapped up in a convenient bite. As a result, brands and formulators are increasingly required to strike the right balance between making offerings consumers perceive as “better-for-you” while maintaining traditional confectionery standards.
Modulating for Flavor and Functionality
The task of reformulating or creating new confectionery items to address evolving consumer preferences presents both opportunities and challenges. Whether reducing sugar, using dairy alternatives, adding fiber or incorporating plant
Amanda Zadroga-Cantada, principal scientist, ADMCourtesy of ADM
The Challenge: Vegan Confections
Many confections rely on milk for both taste and functionality. As consumer demand for vegan and dairy-free options continues to grow, manufacturers are increasingly challenged to replicate the sensory and technical qualities of traditional favorites like milk chocolate and caramel. To successfully develop vegan versions of these treats, dairy alternatives must deliver comparable functionality and flavor.
For a high-protein, plant-based caramel, consider swapping dairy with soy protein. Soy is considered a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids necessary for human nutrition, with a Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of 1. As another alternative, oat powder is often used in dairy-free chocolates due to its relatively neutral flavor and superior mouthfeel compared to other alternatives. The use of oat can add nutty cereal notes but may also leave a lingering bitterness, which requires flavor masking technology to mitigate.
Flavor modulation tools play a key role – not only in masking undesirable off-notes often associated with plant-based ingredients, but also in restoring the mouthfeel that dairy traditionally provides. With a clean, neutral base established, layered flavor systems can be introduced to elevate the final product. To recreate the rich, creamy characteristics typically delivered by dairy, flavor solutions may include profiles such as cooked dairy, caramelized sugar or buttery notes. Additional indulgent flavors – like vanilla, coffee or maple – can be added to enrich the overall sensory experience.
The Challenge: Cocoa Alternatives
As global cocoa prices continue to rise, requests for cocoa replacements in chocolate products have become increasingly common. These replacements often target both cocoa butter and non-fat cocoa solids. To offset costs or address supply challenges, manufacturers have long turned to cocoa butter alternatives such as cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs), replacements (CBRs) and substitutes (CBSs). CBEs offer the closest match in functionality and are compatible with cocoa butter, while CBRs and CBSs are more process-friendly but can impact mouthfeel and texture. These alternatives fall outside the U.S. standard of identity for chocolate and may require adjustments to formulation and processing.
Unlike cocoa butter alternatives, non-fat cocoa solids replacements have only recently gained traction. Historically, carob – naturally sweet and rich in fiber – was the most common substitute, though it lacks cocoa’s complexity. Successful use requires careful formulation and flavor modulation to replicate cocoa’s taste and functionality. Emerging technologies now explore fermentation and roasting of alternative ingredients such as oats, sunflower seeds, nuts and grains to recreate the nutty, roasted flavor notes of cocoa. These innovations offer promising avenues for developing chocolate-like products without traditional cocoa.
Regardless of the source – carob, grains, legumes or seeds – flavor modulation is essential to recreate the rich and layered sensory experience of traditional chocolate. Chocolate’s signature flavor profile is the result of complex chemical reactions during fermentation and roasting, which produce a balance of bitter, sweet, fruity, nutty, roasted and even slightly acidic notes. When cocoa is removed or reduced, these elements must be carefully rebuilt using a combination of natural flavors, masking agents, enhancers and texture modifiers. Ultimately, successful cocoa replacement is not just about cost savings or ingredient swaps – it requires a holistic approach to rebuilding flavor, texture and consumer satisfaction in every bite.
Chocolate’s signature flavor profile is the result of complex chemical reactions during fermentation and roasting.Evgeny at Adobe Stock
The Challenge: Sugar Reduction
Sugar reduction remains one of the most frequent requests across confectionery. As consumer demand grows for not only lower sugar content but also clean label \ingredients, new solutions continue to emerge, including allulose, stevia and monk fruit. These sweeteners aim to replicate the taste and performance of full-sugar products with fewer calories and reduced or no added sugar. However, sugar contributes more than just sweetness—it also provides bulk, which is critical to both formulation and functionality. Since high-intensity sweeteners (often 200–600 times sweeter than sucrose) offer no bulk, additional ingredients are required to replace sugar’s role in a formulation.
Sugar reduction strategies often depend on the degree of reduction desired. For example, a 25% reduction might combine reduced-sugar glucose syrup with soluble corn fiber and flavor modulation. A clean-label, low-sugar formulation could feature a blend of soluble corn fiber, allulose, stevia leaf extract and targeted flavor modulation to maintain sweetness perception and mouthfeel.
Beyond bulking and sweetness, sugar influences overall flavor and texture – factors that are critical to consumer satisfaction. Reformulation efforts must consider these attributes by replacing, rebuilding, and rebalancing components. Sweetness can be rebalanced using both high-intensity sweeteners and flavor modulators that recreate the layered sugar experience: delivering upfront, mid-palate and lingering sweetness while restoring mouthfeel and characteristic sugar flavor.
In some cases, reduced sugar can enhance specific sensory notes. For example, in chewy sour candy strips, lowering sugar levels may intensify sour and acidic components. Flavor modulation can then help round out the profile, rebuilding sweetness and mouthfeel. Incorporating colors from natural sources and finishing with globally inspired flavors – such as Asian citrus fruits like pomelo and calamansi – can keep better-for-you confections exciting and on-trend.
The Challenge: Functional Ingredients
With more consumers proactively incorporating wellness goals into their daily routines, they are becoming more intentional about buying products with functional ingredients – even decadent confections that are better-for-you in disguise. The addition of botanical ingredients in chocolates is especially popular with consumers, such as guarana as a natural source of caffeine to support energy and focus or acerola to deliver vitamin C in support of immune function.
However, some botanical and plant extracts may add bitterness or astringency to a formulation, and a flavor masking system is crucial to reduce any undesirable off-notes. It takes a flavorist’s keen understanding of the source of an offending note to determine how to counter it with appropriate flavor modulation. For example, the bitterness from pea protein is different from bitterness presented by grapeseed extract, and fiber can impart astringency into a formulation. Fruit flavors help offset bitter compounds with sweet and juicy characteristics, and fruit inclusions are plentiful in chocolate confections.
For another functional boost, clinically studied postbiotic strains may be incorporated to provide support for digestion, weight management, women’s health or other areas of wellness. Postbiotics are ideal for confectionery, because they contain inactivated microorganisms that can withstand tough formulation conditions – like temperature, water or high-pressure processing – without losing efficacy. Prebiotic fiber is another microbiome-supporting ingredient that can be added to confectionery, helping to nourish intestinal flora and maintain a healthy intestinal tract environment. Additionally, most biotics are virtually undetectable from a sensory standpoint, with little to no impact on taste, aroma, mouthfeel, due to low inclusion levels. Nevertheless, when biotics react with flavor systems, sweeteners or other active ingredients within a formulation, flavor modulation might be needed to balance the final product’s taste profile.
Flavors can be loud, limited edition, uncommon combinations, globally inspired and so much more.G-Media at Adobe Stock
Possibilities Flourish in Next-Generation Confections
Besides opportunities in format and formulation, emerging confectionery trends indicate the entire sensory experience is open to reinvention. Innovation will challenge conventional shapes, textures, colors and flavors to maximize joy for all consumers. This “newstalgia” will deepen connections between generations, as trustworthy and timeless confections are reborn to come alive and thrive.
Sensory Theater Experiences
Texture is the elevated hero of experiential eating, combined with interesting shapes, intense flavors and vivid colors to stimulate, amuse and amaze. Super-sour candy takes center stage, delivering fizz and tingle on the tongue from chewy bites, strips and shreds. Fantasy flavors are popular here, like blue raspberry and rainbow, as well as a wide range of citrus, tropical and forest fruits. Sour plum is poised to be the next-gen sour cherry flavor, and with a punchy purple color, it’s sure to have visual appeal.
Adventurous Flavor Pairings
Flavors can be loud, limited edition, uncommon combinations, globally inspired and so much more. One trend to watch is “swicy” (sweet + spicy) confectionery. Think chamoy and chili pineapple, tajin watermelon, spicy guava passionfruit, cinnamon cayenne, honey ginger, spicy tamarind, even wasabi cotton candy. Swedish gummies are also having a moment, in playful shapes like sneakers and soda bottles and fun flavors like strawberry vanilla and sour lemon fizzy pop.
Irresistible Temptations
Nothing takes indulgence over the top like rich, comforting flavors of chocolate, coffee, toffee, vanilla, brown sugar and toasted pecan. The famous Dubai chocolate bar features layered textures and flavors, including creamy pistachio filling and crunchy kataifi (shredded phyllo dough) encased in decadent milk chocolate. This trending flavor combination has inspired several iterations, from cookies to ice cream to tarts. Another approach to reimagine indulgence pairs sweet flavors with savory or salty notes. Miso salted caramel paved the way – up next, we anticipate flavors like salted cream cheese, charred coconut, salted butterscotch, garam masala snickerdoodles and honey mustard ice cream.
Spark Joy Through Taste and Texture
Confectionery and candies are playful by design, making them the perfect category to push the boundaries of what’s possible – and what consumers are willing to try. Yet it takes more than imagination and successful execution of this creativity to enliven the senses and hold consumers’ attention. Flavorists and formulators also must be technical experts with experience in advanced technologies and apply quality ingredients that consistently deliver delicious confections. As consumers increasingly expect these treats to provide wellness benefits – like support for sleep, focus, digestion or women’s health – leveraging flavor modulation technology to master the delicate balance between functional ingredients and formulation requirements will go a long way to creating the types of confectionery that inspires fond memories.
Author’s Note: This communication is only intended for business-to-business use. No statements are meant to be perceived as approved by regulatory authorities.
