Product "Fingerprinting:" Flavor Profile
When you need information about what flavors are present in your sample, the intensity of each, and their relative order of appearance, we can use the Flavor Profile method to meet your needs. At the Sensory Analysis Center, our expert descriptive panelists can utilize their vast product experience to determine the specific attributes that are present, the order in which they appear, and provide reliable and reproducible intensity measurements for each attribute. This information can help you to better understand the specific perceptual differences between your product and the competition.
Below is an example of a flavor profile for two bean and cheese burritos.
Table 1. Differences in the flavor attributes, intensity of flavor attributes and order of appearance for two bean and cheese burritos using a 15-point scale with 0.5 point increments
| Company's Current Product | |
|---|---|
| Flavor Attributes | |
| Amplitude | 8.0 |
| Oil-Heated | 7.0 |
| Overall Spice | 4.0 |
| Cumin | 3.0 |
| Meat Identity | 5.0 |
| Bean (Pinto) | 10.0 |
| Wheat | 4.0 |
| Doughy | 4.5 |
| Onion-Fresh | 4.0 |
| Red Pepper | 2.5 |
| Processed Cheese | 2.5 |
| Chile Pepper (Green) | 2.5 |
| Oily Mouthfeel | 3.0 |
| Heat Burn | 2.0 |
| Salty | 7.0 |
| Sour | 2.5 |
| Bitter | 3.0 |
| Market Leader | |
|---|---|
| Flavor Attributes | |
| Amplitude | 11.0 |
| Overall Spice | 5.0 |
| Oregano | 3.0 |
| Tarragon | 2.0 |
| Tumeric | 2.0 |
| Black Pepper | 2.5 |
| Chicken Identity | 5.0 |
| Bean (Pinto) | 4.0 |
| Onion-Dried | 3.0 |
| Wheat | 5.0 |
| Toasted | 4.0 |
| Processed Cheese | 2.5 |
| Chili Pepper (Green) | 2.0 |
| Heat Burn | 5.5 |
| Salty | 8.0 |
| Sour | 2.5 |
| Bitter | 2.5 |
Data presented only as an example of results generated by the Sensory Analysis Center.
Quick Summary
The current product is different from the current market leader both in the flavors present and their order of appearance. The difference in product amplitude indicates that the current product exhibits less impact and blendedness than the market leader. The current product has an initial heated-oil flavor not present in the market leader.
The market leader has more herbs and spices early in the flavor, some of which (tarragon, oregano, turmeric, and black pepper) are not present in the current product. The current product had a fresh onion and red pepper aromatic that was not present in the market leader. In both samples, the wheat identity was present which may be due to flavor carryover from the wrapper.
The current product exhibited a doughy flavor while the current market leader had a toasted flavor. The market leader has a substantially higher heat burn and is slightly more salty that the current product.