In today’s competitive CPG landscape, great products are not accidental, they are intentionally developed. This interactive session explores how taste can be thoughtfully designed long before the consumer takes a bite by aligning ingredient systems, sensory structure, and commercial strategy from the start. From coatings and inclusions to variegates and water activity, every ingredient decision shapes the final sensory experience.

Rather than designing to our own palates, successful teams design toward a defined consumer sensory target. Attendees will participate in a live sensory assessment of a brand-new ice cream product, using descriptive analysis and Degree of Difference methodologies to evaluate flavor, aroma, texture, and performance attributes in real time. This hands-on example demonstrates how structured sensory data moves teams beyond simple “liking” scores and toward understanding what is driving preference or rejection.

The session will also illustrate how sensory insights, when combined with sales data and AI-driven modeling, reveal the full picture of product performance. By connecting ingredient systems to measurable sensory outcomes and real-world market behavior, attendees will leave with practical tools to reduce guesswork, accelerate iteration, and design products with clarity and purpose.

CEU's Eligible: 1 CEU

Speaker

• Andrea Bouma (Business Development Manager, Ever Fresh Fruit Co.)