46%
say delicious or good taste strongly influences what they eat and drink weekly, compared with 34% for low/no sugar.*
How sweeteners, sensory science understanding and application expertise connect to create better-for-you performing products
December 1 | 1:00 p.m. EST
Discover how to design sweetening systems that perform across different product matrices - while delivering the taste, functionality and consumer experience your brief requires.
Developing a successful sweetened product is rarely about solving one challenge. Product developers must connect sweetness, taste, texture, mouthfeel, nutrition, processing, stability, cost, consumer preference and regulatory requirements.
When those decisions align, the formulation clicks. That is the SPARK: the moment the product reaches its sugar target, delivers the intended sensory profile, performs in the real application and is ready to move forward.
Join our experts for a practical conversation about how individual sweeteners, purposeful blends and integrated TastePRINT® sweetening solutions can be designed around the needs of carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, dairy and nutritional beverages. Explore how temporal sensory science, our proprietary sweetness lexicon AromaSphere™ Sweet and targeted taste optimization can help developers move beyond matching sweetness intensity to build a more complete product experience.
say delicious or good taste strongly influences what they eat and drink weekly, compared with 34% for low/no sugar.*
say delicious or good taste strongly influences what they eat and drink weekly, compared with 34% for low/no sugar.*
report craving sweet tastes more in foods - and the same proportion report craving sweet tastes more in beverages.*
Together, these insights reveal the central formulation tension: consumers want to reduce sugar, but they still expect products to deliver delicious taste and a satisfying sweetness experience.
* Source: dsm-firmenich ChangeLENZ Wave 7, July 2025; n=4,849 weighted adults across 22 countries.
Sucrose remains an important formulation benchmark because it delivers more than sweetness intensity. It provides a rapid onset, a rounded peak and a relatively clean decay, while also supporting flavor integration, taste balance, body and mouthfeel.
Alternative sweeteners can behave differently over time. A formulation may reach the required maximum sweetness but still have a delayed onset, excessive lingering sweetness or late bitterness, metallic, licorice-like, cooling, drying or astringent perceptions. Replacing sweetness mathematically is therefore only the starting point.
The same sweetener system can behave differently by application
Sweetness must align with acidity, carbonation, flavor release and refreshment.
Sweetness interacts with lactic acidity, viscosity, protein, fat, fruit ripeness and creaminess.
Caffeine, vitamins, minerals, botanicals and functional actives can amplify bitterness and lingering off-notes.
Proteins, amino acids, minerals, fibers and processing can introduce bitterness, astringency, chalkiness or suppressed flavor.
This fireside chat will explore how these variables can be connected through a fit-for-purpose sweetening strategy. Our experts will discuss how TastePRINT® helps developers establish the sweetener architecture first, diagnose the remaining sensory gaps and apply complementary taste, flavor or mouthfeel capabilities where they add measurable value.
In just 30 minutes, you will gain insights into:
Understand why sucrose-equivalent calculations do not capture sweetness onset, rate of build, maximum intensity, decay, persistence, aftertaste or interaction with flavor and mouthfeel.
Explore the formulation roles and potential sensory trade-offs of steviol glycosides, monk fruit, artificial sweeteners, rare sugars and other sweetening options - and why the better-fit route depends on the product, process, market and brief.
Learn how Time-Intensity, Temporal Dominance of Sensations and Temporal Check-All-That-Apply help developers understand when sweetness, bitterness, flavor and residual sensations appear during consumption.
Discover how descriptors such as upfront, maximum and lingering sweetness, bitterness, metallic character, licorice-root lingering, body, drying and astringency can turn vague reactions into clearer formulation hypotheses.
See how carbonation and acidity, lactic fermentation, protein, minerals, functional actives, viscosity, heat treatment and shelf life can change the performance of the same sweetener architecture.
Understand how TastePRINT® can provide the sweetening-system foundation, with complementary flavor and taste-management capabilities supporting characterizing tonality, bitterness control, temporal balance, juiciness, roundness or mouthfeel where the application requires them.
Learn how connecting the product target, consumer expectation, sweetener architecture, sensory performance, application matrix, process and commercial requirements can turn a promising prototype into a formulation ready for its next development stage.
• Carbonated soft drinks
• Energy drinks
• Fermented and drinkable dairy products
• High-protein and nutritional beverages
• Moderate, deep and complete added-sugar-replacement scenarios, where technically and regulatorily appropriate
• TastePRINT® individual sweeteners and purposeful sweetener blends
• TastePRINT® integrated sweetening solutions
• Natural-origin, non-natural and hybrid sweetener approaches
• Temporal sweetness-profile optimization
• Bitterness, metallic, licorice-like and lingering off-note management
• Characterizing flavor and sweetness-associated tonality support
• Roundness, juiciness and mouthfeel optimization
• SweetSphere™ sensory language and temporal sensory evaluation
• Application-specific prototyping and validation
The objective is not to add unnecessary complexity, but to identify the simplest fit-for-purpose sweetening architecture capable of meeting the complete formulation brief.
Amy Czuba
Regional Manager, Tech Sales, NAM
MODERATOR
Francesc Puerto
Global Director, Application & Portfolio, Global Sugar Reduction
EXPERT
Together, they will translate sweetener science, sensory understanding and application experience into practical considerations for R&D teams working across different product matrices.
This fireside chat is designed for professionals involved in:
It is particularly relevant for teams developing or reformulating sweetened products that must balance sugar reduction, taste, functionality, ingredient positioning, processing, cost and consumer acceptance.
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