Unlock Indulgence: Flavor Innovations for Foodservice

What if you could serve up pure, satisfying indulgence that’s also smart for your business and better for your customers? Sounds like the golden ticket, right? In the Foodservice industry, balancing consumer desire for rich, decadent flavors with mounting health and cost pressures can feel like an impossible task. Consumers want it all: the comforting sweetness of vanilla, the cozy warmth of maple, and the nutty richness of brown butter. But they’re also increasingly mindful of sugar content, ingredient lists, and price points.

News Sugar Reduction Health & Well-being

This isn’t a zero-sum game. You don’t have to sacrifice flavor for function or profit for preference. The future of Foodservice lies in smart innovation that delivers on the full sensory experience without the operational headaches or health compromises. It’s about creating moments of pure delight that keep customers coming back, and we have the recipe.

The New Rules of Indulgence

Today's diners are savvy. They crave authentic, high-quality taste experiences but are more health-conscious than ever. This presents a clear challenge: how do you deliver that crave-worthy, comforting indulgence while navigating the complexities of sugar reduction and cost management?

The answer isn't to cut back or compromise. It's to innovate. By leveraging advanced taste and texture technologies, we can create solutions that deliver full-bodied flavor and premium mouthfeel, even in healthier or more cost-effective formulations. Let's explore how we're making this a reality across some of today's most in-demand indulgent flavors.

Vanilla: The End-to-End Experts

Vanilla is the undisputed queen of indulgent flavors, but its supply chain is notoriously volatile. As the world's second-largest processor of vanilla beans, we’ve built a resilient, end-to-end business model that ensures quality, stability, and responsible sourcing.

Global, Resilient Supply: With a strong purchasing power of 10-15% of the world’s vanilla beans and a diverse network of partners in Madagascar, Uganda, and Indonesia, we mitigate risks and guarantee supply.

From Bean to Bliss: We manage the entire value chain, from curing and extraction to flavor formulation. This deep expertise allows us to deliver high-impact, authentic vanilla profiles that resonate with consumers.

Sustainability You Can Taste: We believe in creating a positive impact at the source. Through programs like the Livelihoods Fund and the Mahadera Farming Training Center in Madagascar, we’re committed to supporting farming communities, promoting regenerative agriculture, and ensuring a traceable, ethical supply chain. This isn't just good for the planet-it's a story of quality and integrity that you can share with your customers.

Brown Butter: All of the Magic, None of the Guesswork

Brown butter is having a moment—and for a good reason. Its rich, nutty, and caramelized notes transform ordinary dishes into unforgettable culinary experiences. From baked goods to savory sauces, its complexity adds a signature touch that consumers love. But browning butter in a busy kitchen? It’s time-consuming, requires skilled labor, and can lead to inconsistent results.

What if you could skip the pan entirely? Our brown butter solutions are designed to do just that.

Effortless Consistency: Achieve that perfect, deep, nutty flavor every single time. Our Brown Butter Concentrate 16737D delivers sweet, molten, and caramelic notes, while our 111530P concentrate offers a powerful umami and rich flavor profile. This means no more guesswork and guaranteed batch-to-batch consistency.

Built for Speed: Reduce prep time, labor, and energy costs without sacrificing artisan quality. These concentrates are production-ready, allowing your teams to focus on creation rather than preparation.

Sweet or Savory Versatility: The applications are nearly endless. Elevate a classic mac and cheese with a nutty depth, create a decadent sugar cookie with a caramelized finish, or develop a signature brown butter drizzle for pancakes and desserts. It’s one ingredient, formulated for maximum flexibility.

Maple: Capturing Cozy Contentment

Maple evokes a sense of comfort and natural sweetness that is universally loved. Our 2025 Flavor of the Year, Milky Maple, blends the creamy softness of milk with the rich sweetness of maple to create a flavor that provides calm and contentment. This versatile profile shines in everything from beverages and bakery to sauces and dairy, offering a familiar yet elevated taste experience.

The Science of Smarter Indulgence

Delivering on these indulgent flavors while meeting health and cost targets requires a powerful toolkit of taste modulation technologies. This is where science meets satisfaction.

Conquer Sugar Reduction: Consumers want less sugar, but they won't sacrifice taste. Our sugar reduction portfolio is designed to solve this dilemma.
- TasteGEM®: Enables up to 30% sugar reduction by restoring the premium, delicious taste that can be lost in reformulation. It’s the perfect tool for creating healthier options without compromise.
- TastePRINT®: For deeper reductions, this solution enables up to 100% sugar replacement. It combines sweeteners with taste modulation technologies to deliver an optimal, harmonious taste profile.

Unlock Cost-Effective Quality: With volatile commodity markets, managing costs is paramount. Our solutions offer powerful alternatives that deliver authentic taste while protecting your bottom line. We have proven solutions for replacing or reducing expensive ingredients like cheese, butter, and cocoa powder by up to 40% without sacrificing the flavor your customers expect.

Let's Create What's Next, Together

Navigating the future of foodservice requires more than just great ingredients; it requires a great partner. At dsm-firmenich, we co-create with our customers, moving with agility to bring winning ideas to market faster. Our Rapid Prototyping Work Sessions, held at our innovation centers in Golden Valley, MN; Anaheim, CA and Princeton, NJ, bring our technical teams and yours together. In these collaborative sessions, we define challenges, create solutions, and test them with consumers—all in a matter of days.

The demand for indulgence isn't going away. It's evolving. The winners in the next era of foodservice will be those who can meet this demand with creativity, efficiency, and a deep understanding of what truly delights the consumer. Let’s build the future of flavor, together.

Ready to unlock your next indulgent creation? Contact us to start the conversation.