FLAVOURIST/ FLAVOUR CHEMIST

JOB DESCRIPTION

A Flavourist is a person who creates or improves flavouring using chemistry to enhance the taste of our foods. You’ll use your senses, science background and vast knowledge of flavour profiles to not only make food irresistible, but also to ensure the end product achieves the desired taste and texture. Most flavourists are employed by “flavour houses” which are organizations that consult with food companies or the pharmaceutical industry to develop flavours. Working for a flavour house will give you the opportunity to work on a ton of different projects and products, keeping you on your toes! Alternatively, you might be able to work directly for a larger food manufacturing company, who has the budget and resources to hire specialized staff and equip their facilities with laboratories. In this environment, you’ll get to perfect and monitor existing flavour profiles and lead the creation of new flavours and products. It’s more than just the flavours though, driving cost savings is important for companies, so there’s also a need to make sure the ingredients are cost-effective and easily sourced. This is one of the coolest jobs in the food industry, that will allow you to work with all types of people! What do you think the next wild flavour combination will be? Jalapeno Lavender peanuts?

THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Flavourists work in Flavour Labs! This is a place that is stocked with thousands of chemicals, natural flavours and special laboratory equipment designed to break down the chemical components of our food for further analysis.

As the lab isn’t a food production area, there’s a more relaxed atmosphere in and less requirements for PPE unless you’re handling something that specifically requires protective equipment like gloves, goggles, lab coats, hair/ beard nets, etc.

You’ll be standing, sitting, walking, and working on a computer at a workstation. You won’t be encountering any significant fluctuations of room temperature unless you’re visiting the production line.

It may take weeks or months to formulate a flavour, meaning that there aren’t many urgent jobs in the cue – therefore, you can expect a comfy Monday to Friday position with standard working hours depending on the business.

Note: If you have a number of food allergies, or if you tend to be bothered by smells, this is not the right career path for you – there’s tons of smelling and tasting involved.

FACT: It can take upwards of 80 attempts to reach the right flavour profile.

FLAVOURIST/ FLAVOUR CHEMIST SALARY

Low Range

$50k+ annually

$25 per hour

Average

$110k+ annually

$56 per hour

High Range

$200k+ annually

$102 per hour

*Annual salary calculated by 37.5 hr work week, and by a 52 weeks per year

This position not only requires a science-based education, but also requires several years of experience working under a senior flavourist to become an independent flavourist. Starting in this career path as a junior apprentice, you will earn around $50k annually. Mid and late career, it’s very common to earn from $100- 120k with about 10 years of experience under your belt. As a senior or lead flavour chemist, you have the potential to earn up to $200k annually. It’s not easy to find a flavourist with 20+ years of experience and as such they get paid accordingly. Almost all organizations offer a nice benefit package including health & wellness, dental and vision coverage, RRSP contributions, significant vacation time, sick days and occasionally bonuses or other incentives. Regular upkeep of your education is a must, with organizations usually funding educational opportunities like courses and attendance to events and seminars. Travel is a part of the job, so you’ll receive travel opportunities and allowances.

FLAVOURIST/ FLAVOUR CHEMIST JOB DUTIES

Some of the key responsibilities you’ll have in this role are:

Create flavourings independently for various applications and to meet the needs of internal and external customers.

Develop flavour solutions for clients, such as creating flavour duplications, new creations, and modifications to existing flavour profiles. Ie: Can you recreate the taste of Coke? There’s a reason they keep the recipe in a secret vault!

Modifying flavour formulas and ingredients to help reduce cost or change flavour profile while maintaining product quality.

Converting natural flavours into artificial flavours or vice versa

Provide technical flavour-related support to internal team and external customers as needed.

Maintain your knowledge of applicable flavour legislation in Canada and other markets that the company may be serving. Ie: some chemicals are illegal or restricted in some countries.

Participate- in and manage projects from the beginning to the end. Projects could be of varying time lengths, budgets and product areas.

Liaise with Quality Assurance, Regulatory, Sales & Marketing, and Production teams to support any technical problems that occur.

Conduct experiments and tasting sessions with technical groups. Work closely with sensory/consumer insights to develop highly preferred flavor solutions.

If you’re a senior chemist, you’ll be required to provide training and mentorship to junior flavourists to help them achieve their Flavourist certification.

Participate in the global flavour community, collaborating with other industry professionals in flavour creation and creative insights.

Work with purchasing department or team, to ensure best pricing and quality of materials

Maintain an organized laboratory, a safe work environment and upkeep of lab equipment.

Provide detailed analysis and reports within your organization and to clients.

FACT: Did you know that there are over 2000 chemicals and 500 natural flavours and aromas that are used to architect tastes

BECOMING A FLAVOURIST/ FLAVOUR CHEMIST

Competitiveness & Availability

There is always a need for chemists in the food industry, especially as consumers are starting to drive the demand for sensory masterpieces, like sweet and sour. It’s a niche market and skillset, and as such, there are few positions available in this line of work, however you also have a higher chance of scoring one of those positions if you’re coming prepared. Trends in taste differ from subsector to subsector and around the globe – have you ever checked out chip flavours in different regions of the world? Staying on top of changing trends and exposure to diverse tastes is going to increase your competitive edge.

Advancement Opportunities

All flavourists should, at a minimum, have a degree or higher in chemistry or similar. Advancement opportunities are mainly going to come from higher credentials such as a PhD, differences in experience level (10+ years), flavour specializations and proven track of success. Natural talent definitely plays a role in your opportunity for advancement – you may have a strong sense of smell and taste, yet be poor at identifying and combining flavours to achieve an outcome (designing tastes is both an art and a talent). The better you are at masterminding blends, the faster you’ll advance through your career. Exposure is everything: while you can read about a smell or taste, you need to actually taste/ smell it to truly understand, this is why there is often a requirement for 7 years of industry experience before scoring that perfect role. Also, to diversify your experience, you’ll need to work with a range of products, Ie: Dessert flavours are very different from meat flavours, or drink flavours. Most importantly, communication is key!

Education

For this role, you’re going to need an educational background in chemistry, food engineering, microbiology, biochemistry, etc. A minimum of a 4-year degree is usually required. To do this job, it’s absolutely mandatory that you have chemistry knowledge, you won’t be able to perform without it! The use of flavours is primarily focused in the food industry and there are also some applications in the pharmaceutical industry, having knowledge of small and large-scale food manufacturing operations and food safety practices is important. Flavours need to be tested through the manufacturing and packaging process to ensure they are coming out the same in a consumer product. Imagine if you bought a soft drink and it tasted like carbonated water because there wasn’t enough flavouring, or if your honey garlic sausages didn’t taste quite right because the flavour was too concentrated! It’s a balancing act. After working in the industry for 7 years, you can apply to become a member of the Society of Flavor Chemists. Some employers might be seeking this credential for more senior positions.

- Custom Research Requests