Butter Buds' range of natural dairy concentrates does much more than just provide the flavour of butter, cream and cheese, also enhancing the value and cost perception of lower-cost products - all while providing a clean label.
Butter Buds uses a proprietary enzymatic reaction process that greatly enhances the full flavour profile of the dairy product - from the top note all the way through to the rich creamy background notes that real butter, cream and cheese give to any formulation, instead of only the top-note butter taste that traditional flavours offer.
The benefits for product developers go way beyond flavour. Butter Buds' products are excellent for reduced-fat applications, masking any off notes from added proteins and sweeteners, and enhancing value and quality perception of lower-costs products - all while allowing a clean label claim on the packaging.
The enzyme technology behind Butter Buds serves to maximise the flavour potential of the natural fatty acids found in butter fat. These fatty acids are what give butter not only its buttery taste but also the fatty, creamy richness that we are all familiar with.
The problem is that, in butter fat itself, the fatty acids are bound fatty acids, and bound fatty acids are not very perceptible on the tongue. The enzyme reaction Butter Buds employs liberates the fatty acids, and releases the full flavour profile of butter, cream and cheese. This enzymatic reaction is recognised in the European Union as a 'natural flavouring preparation' under EC 1334/2008 because it occurs naturally in fats all the time - however, Butter Buds has found a way to control it and maximise its effects.
Free fatty acids may not sound very exciting, but they do produce exciting results. In lower-fat applications, Butter Buds products give back the rich, creamy, fatty mouthfeel and richness that go missing in these applications. Because the concentration of these notes in Butter Buds are so intense, the dosage is typically only about 0.5%. The resulting level of fat declared on pack is essentially zero but the result on the tongue is anything but.
It is very trendy today to see additional protein and other nutritional enhancements added to a wide variety of applications in the form of whey, soy, or even things like chia seeds or quinoa. Additionally, sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are being replaced by things like stevia. However, quite often, these things that are good for you don't taste all that good. The medium and long fatty acid chains found in dairy products, and concentrated by Butter Buds, do a great job of rounding off these off notes and essentially hide them from your tongue.
Because the concentrations of these medium and long chains are so intense, you can get the masking benefits at a dosage low enough that you won't notice a buttery or creamy taste. Of course, in applications like a nutritionally enhanced milkshake, you get the dairy enhancement and the masking, but these cream concentrates have been used at low dosages to mask soy protein in meat analogues where no cream taste was desired.
Butter Buds' range of dairy concentrates is also great for maximising perceived value for consumers. Many items made with vegetable fat - ice cream, biscuits, soup and so on - are made that way for one reason: cost. Dairy products make everything taste better, but they are more expensive than things like palm fat in most instances.
However, because Butter Buds products bring the richness of dairy along with the flavour, products made with vegetable fat can be given not only a buttery or creamy taste, but also the full, long-lasting enjoyment that only dairy fat offers. A cookie made with butter and another made with margarine both have a buttery taste, but which one is richer and longer lasting? This is what Butter Buds does for customers around the world - and in just about any application you can think of.
In today's market, where everyone wants clean label, delicious and nutritious, Butter Buds' range of dairy concentrates can really be a key difference-maker in setting your products apart from your competitors'.
