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BUYER NEEDS & OUR APPROACH
Helping a UAE buyer compare sweetener prototypes in coffee and tea
An anonymized application example: translating a buyer’s taste brief into prototype comparisons, sensory observations and the next development questions.
A UAE-based sweetener development team wanted a sugar-like experience in tea and coffee, with clear ingredient exclusions and a smaller sachet serving if the taste could be maintained. We used the brief to plan prototype comparisons and shared a preliminary sensory evaluation summary for the buyer’s review.
What the buyer wanted to compare
The brief went beyond sweetness strength. It asked for a clean taste, fast sweetness onset, minimal lingering aftertaste, no cooling sensation and good dissolution in hot drinks. The buyer also wanted to compare different prototype serving weights before choosing a packaging direction.
How we compared the prototypes
The evaluation compared two prototype doses with a sucrose reference in coffee, tea and water under several temperature conditions. The record set out the serving amounts, beverage volume, presentation method and scoring scale. Sweetness, mouthfeel, clean taste, aftertaste, sweetness onset, sweetness progression and closeness to sucrose were assessed separately. This made the taste discussion more specific than a single overall preference.
How the findings shaped the next step
The preliminary rounded scores showed similar overall profiles, with a difference in sweetness onset. We shared the conditions, observations and interpretation with the buyer. Their follow-up focused on a further comparison against the original sugar-sweetness target, possible improvements to onset and physical samples for their own evaluation. The discussion therefore linked the tasting observations to concrete development questions.
