In the headquarters of Creative Flavor Concepts Inc. in Irvine, Calif., the scent of vanilla and chocolate infuse the office with a sweet, tantalizing aroma.

In the back room, hundreds of bottles dwell on three shelving units. In a corner, general manager Richard Fischler mixes the latest sample blend using thin, long medical droppers to add each liquid ingredient and ensure an exact measurement.

Since opening in May 2005, Creative Flavor has created more than 1,000 flavors ranging from raspberry lemonade to french toast. They have more than 50 strawberry flavors alone. The flavorings are used in products such as soups, nutrition bars and protein shakes.

The company is a subsidiary of Shank's Extracts Inc., a flavor and extract supplier in Pennsylvania. The creation of flavor samples and product sales take place in Creative Flavor's Irvine office, while the Shank's plant and a plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, handle manufacturing.

Fischler recently spoke with the Orange County Register about the company's creations.

Q. Why did Shank's Extracts establish Creative Flavor Concepts?

A. Shank's is really well-known east of the Mississippi, but it does not have a big play on the West Coast. Creative Flavor gave the company a venue into the area and into a different segment of the market. Shank's is a major extractor of vanilla, but vanilla is much more commoditized. Creative Flavor Concepts' flavors are not a commodity. If you like our chocolate, you can't just go out to a grocery store and buy it.

Q. What makes your product unique?

A. We are unique in that all of our products are kosher. We also offer organic-certified products. This is fast-growing (trend) in the food industry. Many are switching from natural to organic.

Q. What does being kosher- and organic-certified entail?

A. Our products are kosher-certified by the Orthodox Union. We submit our formula to them without measurements. They review them and say, "Yes, you can do that." The process to make a product organic is more complicated. There are strictly defined organic standards that the product must meet to be certified. Every ingredient has tons of data sheets attached to it.

Q. What makes something a "natural" flavor?

A. Natural flavors come from products that occur in nature. For example, when we make a natural lemon flavor we are saying that all of the ingredients are natural to lemon — their source is lemon. Our focus is on natural, but (some) of our products are offered as (a combination of) natural and artificial.

Q. How long does it take to sell a flavor?

A. It can take nine to 18 months to sell a flavor. There is a lot of back and forth that goes on with clients to get the flavor right. Sometimes we work feverishly on a flavor and then a client may decide to drop the product. The sample flavor that we create can still be used for other clients, though.

Q. Are clients pretty specific in their flavor requests?

A. About 20 percent have specific requests. Other times they may just request strawberry. We have over 50 strawberry flavors so we have to ask if they want it to taste like jam or a ripe strawberry.

Q. What is your favorite flavor?

A. I like maples and caramels.