Human olfactory and taste receptor assays for quantifying sensory perception in food and beverage samples

Overview

Aromyx provides a bioassay platform that uses human olfactory and taste receptors to objectively quantify how people perceive flavor, aroma, and taste. The technology measures biological responses to individual compounds and complex mixtures, capturing nuances that traditional sensory panels may miss. By identifying synergistic and antagonistic binding between chemicals, the platform helps companies understand how ingredients interact to drive overall perception.

The service has been applied across multiple sugar reduction projects in beverages, including bitterness detection, malodor identification, and off-note characterization. Clients use the data to select alternative ingredients that trigger the same biological response as a target reference product, enabling reformulation without sacrificing consumer-acceptable taste and smell profiles.

Technical specifications

Core capabilities:

• Quantifies human olfactory receptor responses to single compounds and complex mixtures
• Measures taste receptor activation, including sweet, fruity, floral, and bitterness perception pathways
• Identifies synergistic and antagonistic interactions between sweeteners and other flavor-active chemicals
• Detects and characterizes malodor and off-note compounds in product samples
• Supports ingredient screening for reformulation, including sugar reduction and bitterness masking

How it works:

The platform expresses human olfactory and taste receptors and measures their activation when exposed to customer-provided samples. Results are translated into perception-relevant data that map chemical composition to predicted sensory outcomes.

Typical engagement:

• Client supplies complex mixtures and/or single compounds and ingredients
• Project turnaround of 4 to 6 weeks
• Aromyx delivers receptor response data and interpretation; ingredient manufacturing and final reformulation remain the client's responsibility

Technology readiness level

The bioassay and screening workflow is commercially validated through multiple completed projects and recurring customer engagements across the food, beverage, and consumer goods industries. Aromyx was founded in 2013 based on Stanford research and has secured Series A funding to scale the platform. The underlying receptor assay technology does not require further internal research and development; deployment depends only on receiving customer samples for analysis.