Flavors for Kids

What parent hasn’t purchased a begged-for box of cereal, multi-pack of yogurt or a carton of fruity drink only to see it abandoned after one taste? If parents don’t know what their kids will eat, imagine how much harder it is for the developer to create a food flavor that will keep kids coming back for more.

There is no standard blueprint for kid-friendly design. Not only do children’s preferences differ as much as their personalities, but tastes change as children develop into adolescence.

Preference development 

How do children’s flavor preferences evolve? We learn about foods before our first taste of solid foods, according to Julie Mennella, Ph.D., Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia. Our first experiences with flavors are in amniotic fluid and breast milk. “We’ve shown that babies learn about these flavors, and they will be more accepting of a fruit or a vegetable if the mom eats these foods while she’s pregnant and lactating,” she says. “Once the babies are weaned, regardless of breast or formula fed, if the mother gives the baby a taste of the food or lets the baby eat the food for eight or nine days, they will be more accepting of that food. If the mother gives the baby a variety of foods, they will be more accepting of a new food. We know that flavor preferences established early in life track into later childhood.”

While it’s impossible for a developer to predict a child’s exposure and acceptance of a variety of foods, they can follow some general guidelines. “Children, babies, infants prefer things that are sweeter, and that preference doesn’t decrease until late teens,” says Mennella. “They prefer things that are saltier. And some children may reject bitter more when they are young.”

Gene variations make some people more sensitive to bitterness, especially in childhood. “But we really don’t have to learn to like sweet tastes, children are born with that,” Mennella says. “There have been studies that show sweets actually make them feel better. It reduces pain.” In addition to sweet and salty, almost all children like fat, she says, and about a third of them are partial to sour.

As children grow, their flavor preferences change. For younger children, keep it simple. “Younger kids, probably age 4 to 6 or 7, like single flavors and flavor combinations, but safe combinations,” says Marianne Swaney-Stueve, global manager youth research, IFF, New York. “It’s something that Mom knows and trusts and gives to her child.”

Jessica Jones-Dille, industry trend analyst, Wild Flavors, Inc., Erlanger, KY, says: “Products designed for young children are generally more mild and easier to understand from a concept point of view. Flavors are natural and simple for younger children.”

Tweens, ages 8 to 12, have more-daring tastes. “They are able to choose a little more what they want,” says Swaney-Stueve. “They’re trying to be independent and try new things.” That’s where “fantasy flavors” come in. These don’t “necessarily even have to say what fruit it is, but it is fantasy in name, and has a generic kid profile,” she explains. Things like arctic blast and riptide rush are examples of fantasy flavors. Fantasy flavors are especially popular in gum, beverages and yogurt.

Sometimes it’s image over actual flavor. While a beverage flavored with dragon fruit (also called pitaya) “fared well, a survey found that kids were more likely to try the product because of its unique name, not the flavor,” points out Dania Rosenthal, marketing manager, natural products division, Mastertaste, Teterboro, NJ.

Fantasy flavors lose their appeal at about age 12, according to Swaney-Stueve. “Fantasy becomes too elementary and too kiddy for them, so now you can even go a little more adult with some of your flavors, like looking at some coffee flavors, though they may not taste like coffee,” she says. “The intensity changes, too. As they get older, it doesn’t have to be so hit-you-over-the-head strong, and the profile is actually changing, too.” By the time children reach their teens, their preferences switch from kiddy, artificial, candy-type notes to much more true-to-fruit.

Teenagers tend to favor products featuring flavors generally thought of as “adult” or “grownup,” says Markus Eckert, technical vice president, flavors, Mastertaste. “Chocolate and coffee are increasingly popular to a teenager wanting to appear older and more mature,” he says. The profile of chocolate flavors will vary, depending on the targeted age group. Chocolate flavors designed for kids, especially younger children emphasize, dairy notes. Chocolate flavors for adults can have more coffee notes.

Also, an increased emphasis on health and wellness “has begun to appear in products geared to adolescents,” continues Eckert. That means flavors that connote some aspect of health, like pomegranate or goji, might appeal to this group. “In addition,” he continues, “teenagers tend to be attracted to extremes, such as extra caffeine, sour, hot, bitter, sweet, etc. Younger children tend to prefer more basic flavors, but also are attracted to the extremes.”

Flavor distinctions 

For those designing for the global marketplace or looking to appeal to the varied U.S. population, Swaney-Stueve finds the same flavor can vary from country to country. “Flavors in the U.S. tend to be a little more candy than a lot of the other regions,” she says. For example, an American strawberry flavor might have cotton candy or bubble gum notes. “In the other countries it’s more true to fruit,” she continues. “They could have a strawberry that has some green notes in it, or maybe a more jammy strawberry in Latin America, but it wouldn’t be quite so ‘artificial candy’ as it is here.”

Likewise, flavor intensity varies, according to Eckert. Flavors in Europe are far lower in intensity than in the United States, he says.

Additionally, some European flavors, such as blackcurrant, are unfamiliar to the majority of American children. This might be because the close proximity of neighboring countries outside the United States means the children are more likely to have been exposed to different flavors and foods accompanying those cultures. For example, “In Germany, pear is a very popular children’s flavor, but does not appear in as many products in the U.S.,” Eckert says.

Still, kids’ flavor preferences across the globe are not as disparate as we like to think “Yes, there are regional differences driven by culture, customs and access to regional and/or local foods—that’s inevitable,” says Kristen Heimerl, director of marketing of sweet goods, Givaudan, Cincinnati. “However, we have found in our research that, in fact, some flavors are preferred equally among children of different geographics and ethnicities —quite a powerful finding when it comes to building truly global brands. This finding really shouldn’t be that surprising—i.e., the global forces driving the cross-pollination across cultures impact us all, including kids.”

Traditional flavors such as chocolate, strawberry and vanilla continue to be popular, not only in the United States, but globally, observes Rosenthal. However, she notes, “other, less-conventional flavors like raspberry, banana and peach are seeing a rise in popularity, especially in juices and drinkable yogurts.”

Surprisingly, as popular as cola soft drinks are in America, cola flavors in other products do not appeal to U.S. kids. “Cola in Europe does really well,” says Swaney-Stueve. “We keep trying to introduce cola here and it just doesn’t work. When you put it into a gum or a jelly or anything else, if it’s not in a beverage, it just doesn’t work. Actually, in Europe, cola is one of the flavors that always comes to the top. And so, we’re looking at cola blends now, so it’s going beyond just plain cola. Whereas in the U.S. we’re not looking at cola blends. If we are, it’s not going to be called cola at all. Name makes a difference in some countries more than others.”

Choosing flavors for kids’ products is fairly consistent across the board, Rosenthal continues. “Products typically trend toward the traditional flavors: in beverages, orange, apple and grape; in yogurts and breakfast bars, strawberry and blueberry,” she says.

Heimerl proposes that “the longstanding belief that kids prefer familiar flavors is also being challenged as a result of the shifting environment.” She believes that kids have more-sophisticated palates than they are given credit for. “As a result of exposure and interaction with friends and/or families of different ethnicities, they are more curious than ever before about the foods and flavors their peers consume that are different from their own,” she says. “This is driving a shift toward greater exploration and acceptance of ‘new’ foods and flavors. A word of caution, however: The successful approach is not to swing the pendulum all the way from ‘familiar’ to ‘foreign,’ but rather to strike a balance between the two to meet kids’ increasing need for intensity, novelty and variety brought on by their ever expanding worlds.”

Tropical fruit flavors are growing in popularity. “We’re seeing more tropical than we’ve seen in the past, but instead of it being generic tropical, it’s much more specific tropical fruit, like mango, passion fruit, even guava,” Swaney-Stueve says. “It doesn’t necessarily taste like those things, but kids want more authentic tropical names. They actually want it to be specific fruits.”

Keep in mind that kids’ flavors are evolving, possibly even maturing, compared to flavors of 10 years ago. For example, “We’re getting a little more sulfury,” says Swaney-Stueve. “With the tropical, you can go a little more sulfury than we used to. Kids love the name passion fruit. I wouldn’t necessarily put a whole passion fruit flavor together—so put some other notes in there. But we can be a little more in the sulfur category than we have been in the past.”

Sour flavors, while still popular, have become a bit passé. Kids “still like sour, but is sour a big trend right now?” asks Swaney- Stueve. She doesn’t think so, pointing to the “group of kids absolutely that are eating sour candies, but while it was a big trend and everything was sour there for a while, it’s not as big as it was.”

Watermelon is a good example of a flavor that’s changed over time. The “old nostalgia” candyish watermelon, “has evolved,” says Swaney-Stueve. “Now kids like true-to-fruit watermelon. So the watermelon we have now that kids are eating has green notes. It’s not so candy fantasy. It actually really does taste like watermelon. That’s probably the biggest of the mainstream flavors that we’ve seen a shift in over the last probably five years.”

This is a general movement. Jones-Dille notes that “flavors for kids are becoming more and more natural tasting—closer to the sweetness, acidity and flavor profile of the real fruit. We continually see bold, blended flavors for kids’ products.”

While simple cherry or straight strawberry flavors have their place, older kids’ interests are turning to more flavor depth. Swaney-Stueve notes that some of the flavors in energy drinks are very complex. “You’re seeing teens drinking those beverages,” she says. “You couldn’t really articulate and say exactly what it is, but there is a lot more going on than just a straight grape, or orange or cherry or lime.”

In fact, flavor duos and trios are hot right now, Heimerl believes, because “it enables manufacturers to ‘ground’ a product in a flavor that’s safe and beloved by audiences, yet garner new interest and appeal by augmenting it with something exotic, hip and somewhat edgy. Complex flavors, textures and aromas for kids have only just begun.”

New combinations of old flavors are proving popular among the younger crowd. “Raspberry-watermelon is one that’s been getting a lot of appeal lately,” according to Swaney-Stueve. “We are seeing some appeal for peach-berry, which is surprising. Peach is one of those things that we haven’t really paid any attention to and, all of a sudden, we tested it with kids, and they really liked it. And I think we made some assumptions that peach was too adult or too fuzzy, but it’s turning out to be one that they are actually very positive towards right now.”

Product considerations 

While making a list of children’s flavor preferences can be done with any number of tools, choosing a flavor is part art, part science and part luck. “Flavors are chosen based on their reactions with the other ingredients in the base product and the type of final profile the customer is looking for,” says Jones-Dille. “Nuances of other ingredients in the product can greatly affect the taste profile, so flavors almost always need to be custom fit to a particular product base.”

From a parent point of view, health matters are front and center, according to Eckhart. “Food manufacturers are reacting to this trend and want to have their products formulated with low sugar, low sodium, no artificial flavors, lower in calories, but not sacrifice flavor,” he says. “As flavorists, we are working with companies to overcome these flavor challenges, but still produce a desirable product.” 

Rosenthal suggests: “Especially with the advancement of flavor modulation technology, processors have increased freedom when formulating functional products using natural ingredients and flavors.”

With children, even more than adults, it’s important to maintain taste when formulating healthy products. “Moms are going to know it’s healthy, but the kids still want it to be for them and to taste good,” Mary-Ellen Callahan, youth research analyst, IFF, cautions: “We’ve found in focus groups, moms say that if the kids didn’t finish the box, they aren’t going to go back and buy it again. They are going to buy food that kids will actually eat.”

Fortification that creates healthier products presents additional flavoring challenges. Rosenthal recommends using “flavor modulation technology to help mask unwanted off-notes that often accompany functional ingredients. By masking offnotes such as bitterness and chalkiness, flavorists are able to emphasize the positive flavors to make a product more acceptable to a child’s palate.

Adding omega-3 fatty acids, a popular nutrient for children because of its many benefits, including its relation to brain development, is not easy, Swaney- Stueve says. “Everybody would love to put omega-3 in, but not many people are yet, because it’s a tough one to mask.” Generally this ingredient is prone to fishy or painty off-flavors. Vitamins are easier to work with, she says.

It’s not just fortification that presents challenges when designing kids’ products. As moms look for natural flavors, the flavorists’ resources are limited. Flavors that can be called natural are not always as readily available and may have pricing premiums compared to artificial counterparts. Organics can add another layer of complexity. (See “Conveniently Organic” in this month’s issue of Food Product Design.) 

What’s more, artificial compounds contribute certain notes in popular kids’ flavors. “Cotton candy, marshmallow and other super-sweet flavors are probably your most difficult,” says Swaney-Stueve, because they contain the strong flavor that comes from ethyl maltol, an artificial ingredient that cannot be matched with natural ingredients in strength and solubility. “We can make a cherry that’s natural, but some of the really kiddy cherries the ones that taste like medicine, for example are more artificial,” she says. “If you’re trying to make it taste like candy cherry, that straight red cherry taste would be one that would be difficult to make natural rather than artificial. In the last five years we have access to many more natural ingredients to create natural flavors; however, these are more expensive than the artificial alternatives.”

Importance of focus 

In the end, the only way to judge if a product appeals to kids is to ask them. As adults, we shouldn’t assume we know what they really want. “Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t,” Swaney-Stueve says. “There are times we think if we’re making something apple that we should use that candy-type apple as a reference. And then when we actually talk to the kids, they say, ‘Oh, I expected it to taste like Granny Smith apples.’ We’ve found it’s very hard to predict completely without talking to kids and seeing what their expectations are.”

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to flavors. “We threw one flavor into two different end uses and tested it with two different sets of kids,” Swaney-Stueve recalls. “We found the exact same flavor did really well in one end use, and in another end use didn’t do well at all. It’s the same flavor, but it just shows you that it really depends on what the product is.”

It’s also helpful for the flavorists to be present in a focus group. Children may not be able to articulate what they like or don’t like about a flavor. Because the flavorist knows the flavor well, they may be able to read between the lines and get a sense of how to tweak it.

In talking to kids, Swaney-Stueve is finding there are certain categories where they are willing to explore with new flavors, and there are other categories where they are not going to take the chance. “For gums, you can try all kinds of new flavors. They are very responsive to that,” she says “You can be a little more daring with yogurts and beverages.”

A significant trend for kids is independence and individuality. “For consumers, it’s about ‘Me—my views, my style, my interests,’” says Heimerl. “For us in the industry, it’s about providing enhanced creativity and empowerment, and honoring diversity of the individual. Think about it—media and technologies have enabled us all to be ‘stars’ in a way that was unthinkable in times past. Consumers, including kids, drive content. That’s a huge shift, and a lot of power. We see this extending to foods, as well—from personalized packaging and foods (e.g., Jones Soda— get your photo on a bottle); to create your own foods on demand (e.g., Moo Bella Ice Cream Machine—92 variations, your choice, machine-made for you on the spot). It’s really just begun.”

As kids are looking toward their own flavors, the key for developers, Swaney-Stueve believes, is to determine if the foods are targeted to kids or to the family. Is it a product the kids will buy themselves, or do they have to convince Mom to buy it? “If Mom has to buy a whole box, then Mom’s going to make them eat the whole box.

When it comes down to it, Mom will buy it once, but if they don’t eat it, she’s not going to buy it again,” she says. 

Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at [email protected].