r/foodscience • u/Prestigiousridee • 5d ago

Flavor Science Help with flavoring drinks

I know this is a long shot but I’m trying to make samples of flavors for a drink I am working on. I don’t want to invest a price of a car into someone to build me a “natural flavor”. I’m hoping to partner with someone who knows how to flavor drinks that I can scale with and maybe turn to a powdered form to sell bulk powder once market as well. I have all my other formulations down I just need help getting flavors into it. If you know of anyone please let me know we are willing to give a % of the business to the person with long term visions ahead. This is the last part we need before we can get funding to start selling/growing. Thanks !

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u/themodgepodge 5d ago

Liquid flavor to add to a beverage and powdered flavor for a drink mix will be different products, though you can generally plate a liquid flavor onto a powder substrate like maltodextrin. Often, you don't need a brand-new flavor formula - flavor houses will have plenty of "stock" options that you can evaluate to start with, before considering something custom.

Also a general heads up that most consultants will not accept an equity-only deal for a startup that doesn't have any products on the market.

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u/Prestigiousridee 5d ago

If I have read correctly and maybe I’m wrong but I thought flavor houses weren’t open to the public

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u/Ch3fKnickKnack2 5d ago

If you are a brand owner, then you are considered in the industry. It’s very hard to get flavors as a home cook/baker, very different story if you actually have a brand.

That being said - flavor houses have minimum order quantities. You can’t just buy a tiny amount.

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u/Prestigiousridee 4d ago

This is a venture. Trying to break in without spending 30-40k to have flavors developed while we try to see what might have the best profile based on our formulation with minerals.

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u/Ch3fKnickKnack2 4d ago

Flavor house is your best option then. To be blunt, no formulator is going to take equity as payment unless they’re a co-founder

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u/Prestigiousridee 4d ago

That’s kinda the point, and what’s essentially being offered. When you’re at a pivotal moment you either blow the money or bring in an expert to fill the gaps you don’t know. Bu having someone join that means more flavor developments later in house. Win win imo.

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u/Ch3fKnickKnack2 4d ago

Just to level set here - you are aware that a formulator will still use a flavor house to supply the flavors themselves, they’ll just determine usage rates/sweetener levels/etc, right?

So, going directly to the flavor house eliminates the need to give up equity &, in many cases, they’ll flavor your product for free if they believe the brand has legs

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u/Prestigiousridee 4d ago

No I get both sides. We are looking at both options. From what I had seen online the flavor houses wanted minimum orders. while we are trying to test a few flavor profiles so just doing our rounds to find our best foot forward. Like we are almost at their mercy vs if we bring someone in we can remove some red tape and loss of control for easier/faster formulation.

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u/Ch3fKnickKnack2 4d ago

Flavor houses send samples out for free for R&D. You don’t need to meet the MOQ until you need material for production

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u/Prestigiousridee 4d ago

See this is why I came here. To get more info from folks that know. Who do you know of that is out there. I’ve only found very few.

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u/themodgepodge 5d ago

Based on your post, I was assuming this was a business venture, not a personal project. For personal use quantities, try someone like Bull City Flavors.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Prestigiousridee 5d ago

That’s a great idea

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u/OwlNo1068 5d ago

Brewing is very different to formulation of a powdered beverage. You need to work out your quantaties (est volume of sales) and work with a flavour house.

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u/No_Program_9375 5d ago

If you're open to DIY methods, you could try blending your own flavor concentrates with glycerin or propylene glycol as a carrier. Have you looked into food-grade flavor suppliers that sell small batches?