Imbibe Launches Training Program to Tackle Functional Beverage Flavor Challenges
Interactive training program teaches structured sensory evaluation and taste modulation strategies for proteins, sweeteners and functional ingredients
IMAGE COURTESY OF: Imbibe
As functional beverage formulations grow more complex, Imbibe, a formulation partner and flavor house, launched its Masking & Modulating Session: Landscape & Applications, a hands-on training program designed to help product developers more effectively diagnose and address off-notes in real-world systems.
Developed for product development and innovation teams, the program focuses on common formulation challenges associated with proteins, alternative sweeteners and functional actives—ingredients that often introduce bitterness, astringency, or lingering aftertastes that are difficult to resolve through masking alone.
“Many teams approach masking as a single-step solution, but in complex systems, it’s rarely that straightforward,” Isabel Mirfahkraie, technical marketing associate at Imbibe, said in a statement. “We frequently see layered challenges—bitterness, astringency, or character notes like cheesiness from whey proteins or earthiness from plant proteins—that evolve over time. The key is understanding what’s happening in the system and applying the right combination of tools to address it.”
The masterclass is structured as an interactive, application-driven experience. Participants work through guided tastings that illustrate common scenarios—such as unmasked versus masked systems, sweetness imbalance, and flavor profile distortion—while learning how to more precisely describe and evaluate off-notes using a structured sensory approach.
The program reflects a broader shift in beverage development, where increased use of functional ingredients and “better-for-you” formulations is driving greater complexity in taste. According to Imbibe, product developers are increasingly encountering:
- Several off-notes from multi-ingredient systems
- Temporal challenges, including lingering sweetness or delayed bitterness
- Greater difficulty maintaining flavor integrity in lighter formats, such as clear protein beverages and reduced-sugar applications
To address these challenges, Imbibe combines traditional masking techniques with broader taste modulation strategies, including adjusting sweetness perception, reducing astringency, and shifting overall flavor character to create more balanced, consumer-preferred products. These capabilities are supported by the company’s portfolio of modulation tools and experience across a range of beverage formats, from ready-to-drink to powdered systems.
“This is really about helping teams move from trial-and-error to a more structured approach to flavor,” Nikki Wollak, director of product development & innovation, said in a statement. “By connecting sensory evaluation with formulation strategy, we’re able to help customers solve challenges more efficiently and build better products.”
The Masking & Modulating Session: Landscape & Applications is offered as a customizable session for customer teams and can be delivered in-person or virtually, depending on application needs. This session is part of Imbibe's broader technical training curriculum, which also includes foundational programs on sweetener systems and taste modulation.
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