I.T.S. Supports West Berkshire Christmas Toy Appeal

Giving something back this Christmas.

The I.T.S. team will once again be supporting the West Berkshire Toy Appeal this Christmas. The special cause is an important charity that helps ensure underprivileged children receive gifts at Christmas. 

Last year we were introduced to the charity by our very own, Sam Tucker, who works in our Technical and Quality teams. Sam was alerted to the fact that donations were down and asked I.T.S. Founder, Mike Bagshaw, if I.T.S. could step in. 

After seeing the help and joy the donations spread last year, we committed to continuing donations to the West Berkshire Toy Appeal. 

Click here to find out more and find out how can get involved with the West Berkshire Toy Appeal. 

A Day in the Life of Natural Flavour Manufacturing

Understanding Natural Flavours.

In September 2023, leading food and drink publisher, Food Manufacture, came to visit I.T.S. HQ for a quick tour of what life is like in the world of flavour making. 

A day in the life of I.T.S and natural flavour manufacturing.

We love it when friends come to visit at I.T.S. – that is why our door is always open to customers and suppliers to pop by and say hello whenever they are in town. Our good friends from Food Manufacture (Bethan Grylls, Editor, and William Dodds Deputy Editor) approached us to ask if they could come and shoot a short video highlighting what goes on in the day of a natural flavour manufacturer.  Never one to pass up an opportunity, we obliged and welcomed the team on-site. 

Natural flavours don’t have to be so secretive

Why is it that most natural flavour companies are so secretive about their work? We love sharing how we do things and are happy to shout it from the rooftops. 

That’s why we gave a special tour to Food Manufacture to show them all about what we do. We gave a complete tour of our facilities- test bakery, flavour library, flavour production facility, and beverage development suite – even our very own bar! 

Step inside I.T.S. flavours

Click here to watch the video and find out more about what Food Manufacture had to say about their day exploring I.T.S. 

Indulgent Plant-Based Bakery Flavours

I can’t believe there’s no butter: New vegan flavour solutions from I.T.S
deliver indulgence in plant-based bakery applications.

We have developed Vegan Boost – a new range of natural flavour enhancers that replicate the indulgent characteristics of traditional bakery products in dairy and egg-free alternatives. The launch, which taps into the growing consumer interest in plant-based diets, is timed to coincide with Veganuary.

How does Vegan Boost improve plant-based bakery?

Available in liquid and powder formats, Vegan Boost offers an all-in-one solution to improve the sensory quality of a range of plant-based cake and patisserie products by accentuating buttery and creamy flavours. A higher strength range, Vegan Boost Extra, is also available if more intense flavours are required.

There are several ingredients bakers can use to rebuild the structural properties of a product when dairy and egg ingredients have been removed, some of which may create off-notes. Vegan Boost masks these and delivers an authentic flavour experience to ensure those who follow a plant-based diet can enjoy the same delicious bakery products as other consumers.


Request a VEGAN BOOST sample

Making plant-based bakery easy

Carl Smith, our Head of Innovations, says: “Consumer demand for plant-based products is rising, but until now the bakery sector has been a little behind the curve. Our bakery customers know we are easy to work with and they asked us for help in enhancing the flavour of their vegan cakes and bakery ranges. We set about creating a straightforward alternative to the options currently available from the larger flavour houses. Vegan Boost offers no-nonsense flavours, and it provides an easy-to-use solution that is proven to work.
“At I.T.S we’re passionate about helping our customers stay a step ahead of their competitors. That’s why we developed our message “A Braver Flavour”, which describes both who we are and the benefits we offer. We stand with anyone who wants to do something new, something different or something braver. And we believe Vegan Boost thrusts the plant-based bakery sector into a new era of innovation.”

How Vegan Boost works its flavour magic in plant-based bakery

To assess Vegan Boost across different bakery products, we produced a cupcake and a brioche in-house and presented these to a team of panellists. The group compared the organoleptic characteristics ¬– such as ‘buttery’, ‘richness’, ‘indulgent’ and ‘creamy’ – of a vegan versus a non-vegan version of the recipes.
The vegan cupcake fell short on many of the sensory elements, but when our flavour experts added Vegan Boost to the plant-based recipe, it enhanced the buttery qualities and delivered more fatty notes to amplify the cupcake’s perceived indulgence.
To create the vegan brioche, we replaced the milk, butter and eggs with almond milk, olive oil, vegan butter and a small amount of lemon juice. The vegan brioche performed poorly, but when Vegan Boost Extra was added, the panellists said that the enhanced dairy and egg-free brioche was richer, with significantly improved creaminess and buttery characteristics.
Click here to get in touch to find out how Vegan Boost could be used in your bakery products and request a flavour sample.

Request a VEGAN BOOST sample

I.T.S. Live on BBC Radio Essex

Mike Bagshaw, Owner and Founder of I.T.S. took to the airwaves of BBC Essex Radio to talk trends in food and drinks.

Want to hear I.T.S. talk flavour trends?

Mike Bagshaw, owner and founder of I.T.S. took to the radio airwaves of Essex on Saturday 23rd January to talk flavour trends in food and drink.

Mike joined BBC Essex Radio host, Kath Melandri to give listeners a rundown of our latest flavour trends report. Mike and Kath got the whole of Essex hungry during lunchtime by highlighting all the tasty and exciting products that will be filling our supermarkets in 2021.

The pair also gave the lowdown on what natural flavourings are and why they are so important. They also gave an insight into how COVID-19 has accelerated global food and drink trends and what that means for flavourings.

You can listen back to the show at the below link for the next 28 days: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p093pfwp

“Stay Positive” I.T.S. Featured In Newbury News

Newbury Today News have interviewed Mike Bagshaw for their Newbury Business News magazine for insight in how I.T.S. is coping during the Pandemic.

Our local news paper, Newbury Today recently featured Mike Bagshaw and I.T.S. in the latest edition of their business magazine.

The team at Newbury Today interviewed Mike who tells the story of how I.T.S. started and it’s swift journey to success. Mike then goes onto to explain how the strong foundations of the business has helped it thrive during difficult times in 2020.

Click here to read the article.