In the past, taking medicine could be an unpleasant and even traumatic experience, particularly for children. Today, however, it has completely different connotations thanks to flavoring. By far the most common flavored pharmaceutical products are cough syrups, followed by flu medication, drops for a variety of uses, vitamins and dietary supplements, in addition to oral care products such as mouth wash and toothpaste.
“They are concentrated, potent flavors that are much more intense than what we would use for a traditional food product since we have to mask the products’ active ingredients, which are generally bitter,” explains Alejandra Marambio, Head of Application and Creation in the Sweets, Dairy and Beverage Area.
This process takes place in the CRAMER Flavor Laboratory, where our flavor specialists design the flavor requested by the customer. Flavors can be developed in both liquid or powder format to ensure compatibility with the base used for the product.
At CRAMER we have a broad collection of flavors that we use in the selection process to meet our customers’ needs as quickly as possible. If they need a flavor that we have not yet created, our lab’s Development Area takes on the challenge, with experts working hard to formulate it.
For cough syrups and flu medicine, the most widely accepted flavors include honey, lemon, raspberry, strawberry, grape and other berries. Fruit flavors work best for children’s products, especially red fruits like cherry, strawberry and raspberry, along with fantasy flavors like “bubble gum.”
Honey, red fruits, lemon and other citrus flavors are extensively used in throat lozenges. These flavors, as well as mint, are also commonly added to mouth sprays. Mint also leads the oral care category, which includes mouth wash and toothpaste.
Since the concentrated flavoring must mask the base, higher-than-usual doses are used.