Electric Taste Enhancement

Two companies are innovating in taste enhancement technology without changing the actual nutritional content of food and beverages, allowing people to eat healthier while maintaining desired flavors.

Key Points:

• Kirin's Electric Taste Enhancement:

  • Uses weak electrical current in bowls and chopsticks
  • Makes food taste saltier without adding sodium
  • Developed in partnership with a Japanese university
  • Works through ionization effect on taste buds

• Air Up's Scented Water System:

  • Creates scented ring around bottle's lip
  • Plain water tastes flavored through scent
  • Raised $68M in funding
  • Estimated $100M+ annual revenue (according to Glimpse)

• Market Opportunity:

  • Addresses universal desire to eat healthier
  • Maintains desired taste without changing caloric/nutritional intake
  • Creates new category of taste-enhancement technology
  • Offers alternative to artificial ingredients and additives

The business opportunity lies in developing similar technologies that enhance taste perception without changing the actual food composition, targeting the health-conscious consumer market.