“Not Just Reducing, But Designing Better Taste”
CHICAGO and DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CJ BIO will participate in IFT FIRST 2026, taking place July 13–15, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago. At Booth #1117, CJ BIO will introduce the TasteNrich® Taste Lab, an application-focused tasting experience designed to help food and beverage developers address formulation challenges in sodium reduction, clean label development, fat and dairy reduction, plant protein masking, and savory flavor enhancement.
Presented under the concept “From Lab to Applications,” the TasteNrich® Taste Lab will feature real food and beverage demos that show how CJ BIO’s natural taste solution portfolio can support better-tasting reformulated products while helping developers respond to evolving consumer expectations, regulatory pressure, and product development needs.
Why Taste Design Matters in Food Reformulation
Food reformulation is no longer only about removing or reducing ingredients. Today, food companies are being asked to create products that are healthier, cleaner, more cost-effective, and still enjoyable to eat.
In the U.S., sodium reduction continues to be a major focus for public health and food policy. The FDA has issued voluntary sodium reduction targets for commercially processed, packaged, and prepared foods, while front-of-package nutrition labeling discussions have increased attention on nutrients such as sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. At the same time, consumers continue to look for food products that deliver better nutrition, simpler labels, and satisfying taste.
For food developers, this creates a practical challenge: how can brands reduce sodium, fat, dairy, or certain additives without losing the taste, mouthfeel, and overall eating experience consumers expect?
CJ BIO’s approach is taste design. Instead of focusing only on reduction, CJ BIO helps developers build more balanced taste systems by optimizing salt perception, umami, mouthfeel, masking, flavor balance, and savory impact.
What Is TasteNrich®?
TasteNrich® is CJ BIO’s natural taste solution portfolio for food and beverage applications. It is designed to help developers improve taste quality, enhance savory flavor, support clean label positioning, and address formulation challenges caused by sodium reduction, fat reduction, dairy reduction, plant protein use, and ingredient replacement.
At IFT FIRST 2026, CJ BIO will demonstrate how TasteNrich® works in real applications through the TasteNrich® Taste Lab.
Inside the TasteNrich® Taste Lab
At IFT FIRST 2026, CJ BIO’s TasteNrich® Taste Lab will bring formulation challenges to life through application-driven demos. Each demo is designed to show how TasteNrich® can help developers move beyond simple ingredient reduction and focus instead on better taste design, including salt perception, umami, mouthfeel, masking, flavor balance, and overall eating quality.
Visitors can experience the following TasteNrich® application demos:
- Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing — A sodium reduction demo showing how reduced-sodium formulations can maintain salt perception, umami, and flavor balance for a satisfying taste profile.
- Matcha Latte — A fat reduction demo designed to demonstrate fuller mouthfeel, balanced taste, and overall satisfaction in reduced-fat applications.
- Cheese Ramen — A dairy and cheese reduction demo showing how TasteNrich® can support richer taste perception when cheese or dairy ingredients are reduced.
- Pea Protein Cracker — A plant protein masking demo focused on managing beany, grassy, or earthy off-notes commonly found in plant-based formulations.
- Cheddar Jalapeño Flavored Mayo — A clean label and flavor enhancement demo showing how TasteNrich® can support balanced savory flavor, brighter top notes, and an improved overall eating experience.
Who Should Visit CJ BIO’s Booth?
The TasteNrich® Taste Lab is designed for food scientists, product developers, R&D teams, innovation teams, flavorists, marketers, and brand teams working on sodium reduction, clean label taste solutions, fat and dairy reduction, plant protein masking, savory flavor design, or application-specific formulation challenges.
Taste, Discuss, and Discover What’s Next
At the CJ BIO booth, visitors will be invited to taste expert-developed culinary demos and explore how CJ BIO’s application-driven solutions can support real formulation challenges. CJ BIO’s experts will also be available to discuss customer product needs, technical challenges, and potential collaboration opportunities.
CJ BIO will be located at Booth #1117 at IFT FIRST 2026 in Chicago.
Book a Meeting with CJ BIO at IFT FIRST 2026
Visitors are encouraged to schedule a meeting with CJ BIO’s experts in advance to discuss sodium reduction, clean label taste solutions, plant protein masking, fat and dairy reduction, savory flavor enhancement, and application-specific formulation challenges.
Book a meeting here: https://cjbio.net/ift-2026-pre-booking
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SOURCE CJ BIO
