There’s good tasting food and beverage, and then there’s great; and while flavor is a particularly personal preference, there’s no denying sub-par flavor performances are experienced in an excessive number of products every single day.
In your pursuit to break the mold and develop flavors within your applications that consistently deliver robust, authentic notes, nuances, and aromas, it’s imperative you know how your flavorings and extracts are making your product stand out or holding it back.
Using all-natural extracts and flavorings can certainly push your application forward on the flavor Richter scale. All-natural flavorings and extracts, however, are not all created equal.
In fact, the use of ‘all-natural’ can be an ambiguous label.
Here’s What ‘All-Natural’ is NOT
It can be easy to assume a flavoring is healthy when it's labeled gluten-free, certified Kosher, keto-friendly, and so on. While those are certainly good and highly sought-after attributes for a flavoring to have, they don’t make an extract all-natural.
- A gluten-free flavoring can still include artificial flavors
- A certified Kosher extract can still include synthetic dye colorings
For example, LorAnn Oils has several collections of flavors, like Super Strength Flavors, Essential Oils and others. While most of their flavors are gluten-free and certified Kosher, a number of LorAnn flavoring extracts still contain artificial flavors and synthetic dyes.
Why Do Other Flavoring Methods Include Dyes and Artificial/Synthetic Additives?
Adhering to a natural process is not a simple task, which may be why so many flavor companies follow an inexpensive route that can be completed in less time.
Using artificial flavorings and synthetic colorings provides flavor manufacturers a more cost-effective way of creating a larger volume of product – but, unfortunately, cost-effective usually means sacrificing quality.
The fact of the matter is that cutting corners in flavor production tends to drive costs down, but it also sacrifices the overall excellence of the flavoring and – in turn – your end product.
For some flavor manufacturers, this is simply business as usual, but for those of us striving to offer the highest quality flavor extracts, there is no shortcut to achieving superior flavor.
Why Are Some Makers and Manufacturers Still Flavoring Their Candies, Chocolates & Sweets with Artificial and Synthetic?
There are a handful of reasons why makers use flavorings that contain artificial and synthetic additives, with two main ones being:
- It’s the flavoring they’ve always used
- The flavorings and extracts with these additives are more cost-effective to buy, especially in bulk
We can all agree that trying to maximize profits is a common business practice and, above all, an essential piece to a growing business.
Unfortunately, when it comes to creating candies, chocolates and other sweet treats, choosing anything less than the highest quality flavorings in order to minimize change in processes or maximize cost savings can have a profoundly negative impact on the overall quality of the end product.
So, What is All-Natural?
Simply put, all-natural means just that: completely natural flavor sources.
That means no preservatives, GMO’s, synthetic dyes, or unhealthy, artificial ingredients and synthetic/imitation derivatives are used in the formulation and manufacturing of a flavoring or extract.
We cannot reiterate this enough: Using an all-natural flavoring is essential in order to achieve the highest quality chocolates and candies.
Side-by-Side: LorAnn Oils and Flavorings & Bickford Oil Extracts and Flavorings
While we’ve discussed this topic in depth to this point, a side-by-side comparison of other flavoring manufacturers, like LorAnn flavoring oils, may bring everything full circle.
Here's what it means for your products when your flavorings are and are not all-natural:
| Bickford Oil Extracts & Flavorings | LorAnn Oils & Flavorings |
|---|---|
|
ALL-NATURAL Bickford extracts and flavorings are always all-natural and only derived from premium sources. |
Not all LorAnn flavoring oils are all-natural. Some LorAnn oils contain artificial flavors. |
|
NO SYNTHETIC DYES Bickford extracts and flavorings never contain any FD&C synthetic dye colors. |
Some LorAnn oils do contain FD&C synthetic dye colors, such as FD&C Red 40 and FD&C Blue 1. |
Additionally, when searching for a flavoring manufacturer to partner with, here are key areas to consider:
| Bickford Oils & Flavorings | LorAnn Oils & Flavorings |
|---|---|
|
CREATES CUSTOM FLAVORS Bickford is comprised of an expert team who is highly experienced at creating custom flavorings that are always true-to-source and boast amazing tastes and aromas. |
At this time, LorAnn does not take custom orders for flavoring oils. |
|
FORMULATED TO BE STRONGER & MORE VERSATILE THAN OTHER FLAVORING METHODS Bickford only suspends flavors and extracts in either a water- or oil-soluble base, with the exception of pure vanilla, which is suspended in alcohol. *Water-soluble and oil-soluble base suspensions are more neutral, superior carriers to alcohol. They impart no added flavor and do not evaporate as rapidly when exposed to heat. This allows the flavor to taste better, smell better, and not "bake-out" – as a traditional alcohol-based extract does. |
LorAnn oils usually contain both water-soluble and oil-soluble flavoring components, but many include alcohol in the suspension formula. |
|
QUICK, BENEFICIAL WHOLESALE PROGRAM Bickford’s wholesale program includes preferred pricing, no minimum order requirement and faster than normal turnaround times – with same day shipping, if ordered by the specified time. |
LorAnn’s wholesale program offers two-day shipping. |
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EASE OF ORDERING FOR ALL CUSTOMERS All customers, including customers from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and international countries, can complete their orders online with Bickford. |
Customers from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and international countries cannot order LorAnn oils and flavorings online. |
True-to-Source Should Matter to You, and Here’s Why:
Knowing where your flavorings are sourced from should matter to you.
When using an orange extract, was the flavor derived directly from an orange?
True-to-source flavors deliver unpreceded flavor notes that are undeniably fresh, delicious, and real.
While using all-natural, true-to-source flavors is incredibly advantageous to how your end product will taste, it also matters a great deal to your consumers – and, thus, should matter to you.
Consumers today want candies, chocolates, sweets, ice cream and beverages that deliver on real ingredients and only flavor with naturally sourced candy flavoring oils and extracts.
But that’s not the only reason true-to-source should matter to you. When you use all-natural extracts that are derived from premium sources:
- Your product’s overall flavor will soar
- Your product will align with societal health and wellness trends
- Your product will help people indulge better
- Your product can help people with specialty dietary restrictions treat themselves and enjoy
We’re a Natural Food Flavoring Supplier Committed to Creating Only All-Natural Extracts
For the last 103 years, we have been providing manufacturers, retailers, distributors, caterers, and other food service professionals a solution to help them naturally improve the taste and flavor of products, meet current market demands and specific labeling needs, and tailor fit to certain diets and lifestyles – such as low-protein, low-carb, gluten-free, GSA, and others.
At Bickford Flavors, we firmly believe that using true-to-source flavors will help you develop an enhanced flavor profile that will keep customers coming back.
Suitable for almost any application and formulated to be stronger and more versatile than other flavoring methods, we invite you to get to know our Bottles of Natural Goodness.
Learn more about Bickford Flavors:
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Need a custom flavor for your application? We’re experts in creating one-of-a-kind flavors.