According to the International Taste Institute, taste drives 88% of F&B consumer purchase intent, making it the most important attribute for food and beverage products’ success and overshadowing other considerations like price, health and convenience. Yet taste, as the palate perceives it, is not merely a combination of aroma and flavor.
A significant part of the perception of flavor is found in trigeminal sensations, including texture. In many cases of product development, while a general flavor is desired, only when the texture–the base–of a product is finalized can developers fine-tune flavor. Essentially, as with aroma, flavor and texture are in many products inextricably intertwined. An expected buttery, flaky croissant would be perceived as terrible if it had the texture of a fudgy brownie.