Translating science into emotions with Sense It®
Making history with Sense It®
Discover the history of Sense It®, how it has evolved, and how it supports customer creations today.
It has been 30 years since sensory experts at Givaudan identified the need for a common descriptive language and set to work. The result? Sense It®, Givaudan’s proprietary, standardised language consisting of over 400 descriptors, definitions and physical references that help to unravel the consumer experience of flavoured foods and beverages. Take a look at the history of Sense It®, how it has evolved, and how it supports customer creations today. Fact David, one of the creators of Sense It®, explains how Sense It® has evolved to meet the challenges of communicating consumer sensory experiences. Fact Fact Competitive edge However, consumers perceive a products' qualities as a unified, holistic sensation. Just as a written plant-based burger recipe is not predictive of how the end result will "taste" – a listing of attribute intensities cannot fully describe the overall sensory experience. The interactions of independent sensory qualities often create global effects for the consumer experience that a descriptive profile may not capture. By quantifying key elements of a consumers' perception of a plant-based burger, holistic profiling can provide additional insights that correlate more directly with consumer behaviours such as acceptance, liking and preference. Learnings from past studies indicate that a more complex and balanced plant-based burger may more directly be correlated with a greater consumer liking than a burger that is lacking of such holistic qualities. Descriptive vs. holistic profiling DESCRIPTIVE Complex flavour sensations are divided and measured An analysis of the ‘parts’ rather than the ‘sum’. Descriptive vs. holistic profiling HOLISTIC Complex flavour sensations are evaluated An analysis of the ‘sum’ rather than the ’parts’. Fact Consumer Sensory Insight (CSI) expert Nicole talks about how she uses Sense It® day-to-day, helping customers to accurately describe new categories, like plant-based products, and guide their creation. Looking ahead Fact Kira, one of our leading sensory scientists, imagines the future of Sense It®, leveraging the power of digital to create a seamless user experience. We understand it can be challenging. Let our Sense It® language help to translate our scientific knowledge gathered over the past 30 years into unforgettable product experiences and emotions. Talk to us today to enable the products of tomorrow!
1993
Quantitative Flavour Profiling (QFP) sensory methodology and Sense It® language were created. Focused specifically on flavours in Europe, the language allowed a standard way to describe and characterise flavour attributes.
The first published languages were on ham and bacon flavours. This was the first big step in understanding the perceptual space of meat and meat flavoured applications, and making them taste according to consumers liking.
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1995
Sense It® was expanded beyond flavours to include mouthfeel descriptors like firmness, melting and mouth coating.
For creating great tasting plant alternatives, mouthfeel plays a key role. It is determinant of consumer acceptance and preference for foods, especially in plant-based alternatives.
1998–
2004Sense It® goes global as Givaudan employees around the world were trained on the language and references.
2007
By 2007 Sense It® languages have grown from 0 to 300 attributes, always with a focus on supporting customers and their product development.
2012
With healthier products in focus, the first taste languages were added (Sense It® Salt) to help customers create great tasting, low sodium products.
Salt has several positive effects on the taste and texture of plant alternatives. Since taste is one of the main challenges in plant-based alternatives, it also helps to enhance other positive product characteristics such as meaty notes and masks unwanted off-notes like bitterness.
2016
Holistic profiling and holistic language were created
Holistic profiling is a unique method proprietary to Givaudan. With holistic profiling we can help customers create a plant-based consumer experience that bridges the gap between an original target and the final product.
In traditional descriptive profiling, complex food and beverages are translated into collections of discrete, individual attribute intensities. This allows us to evaluate and potentially modify a product analytically.
What is holistic profiling?
in terms of individual attributes and
unique physical references.
What is holistic profiling?
in terms of the overall sensory perception and
flavour interactions.
2021
Consumer testing during COVID times was complex and sometimes impossible; Sense It® provided an alternative to in-person tests, helping capture the consumer voice and providing actionable perception information – all remotely.
2022
The mouthfeel language for solid applications was developed, supporting the creation of many plant-based products.
Tackling the mouthfeel in plant-based products is essential to create moist, and juicy mouthfeel characteristics that meet the targets.
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2023
Over 400 descriptors are now part of Sense It®.
Using digital technologies such as our creation tools and e-learning, we’ll bring Sense It® forward to the digital world to co-create the future of food.
The digitisation of Sense It® will simplify the use of a language that constantly requires more complexity to describe the richness of the product experience. For example, we are testing a new set of digital tools to help the user put their sensory perception of a plant-based burger, from mouthfeel, to colour, to taste into descriptive words. 
A word from our experts
Still have your sights set on creating the ultimate, desired experience for your next innovation?
With +400 descriptors and digitisation plans, the sensory language is building an ever-clearer window into the consumer mind.
While consumers often have strong feelings about a product, they may not be able to tell you why. Sense It® helps bridge the gap between what consumers perceive and what they are able to express.
What began as a flavour characterisation tool has been transformed into a robust universal language with descriptors for flavour, taste and mouthfeel. Today’s Sense It® language captures the full complexity of the eating experience in everything from healthy beverages to plant-based meat.