Flavor Profile Metafield

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• An active Shopify store

• Accentuate Custom Fields installed from the Shopify App Store

• Staff permissions to access Apps in your Shopify admin

• (Recommended) An Online Store 2.0 theme, which allows metafield values to be displayed via the theme editor without touching code

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Key Concepts to Know First

Scope — The Shopify object the metafield attaches to. For Flavor Profile, this will be Products.

Namespace & Key — The unique identifier for your field. The namespace groups related fields (e.g. custom) and the key is the specific field name (e.g. flavor_profile). Together they form custom.flavor_profile, which is the address used in your theme to pull the value.

Field Data Type — Controls what kind of data the field holds. For Flavor Profile, a Multi Select is recommended. A single food or beverage product typically has multiple flavor notes and taste characteristics — for example, a chocolate bar might be Sweet, Chocolatey, and Slightly Bitter all at once. Multi Select allows all applicable flavor descriptors to be tagged clearly, helping shoppers understand what the product tastes like before purchase.

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Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 — Open ACF from your Shopify Admin Go to your Shopify Admin, click Apps in the left sidebar, and open Accentuate Custom Fields. You'll land on the ACF dashboard, which shows the Metafields and metaobjects section with cards for Products, Shops, Metaobjects, and Customers.

Step 2 — Open Product Metafields In the Products card, click the Metafields button. This takes you into the Product Custom Fields screen where you can see all existing fields listed with their types and manage your definitions.

Step 3 — Add a New Section Click the + Add section button in the top-right area of the Product Custom Fields screen. An Add Section modal will open across two pages.

Page 1 — Basic Details:

• Title: Flavor Profile — displayed in bold as a visual header when editing product values (1–50 characters, no HTML)

• Name: flavor_profile — must be unique within your Product fields (3–64 characters, letters, digits, underscores or dashes only)

• Description: Optionally add a note like Taste characteristics and flavor notes describing this product — supports Markdown

• Color: Leave as the default #dfe3e8, or choose a colour to visually distinguish this section from others in your Food & Beverage field setup

• All fields in this section apply to: Leave as All types unless you want to restrict this to specific product types (e.g. only for beverages, only for snacks, etc.)

• Make visible to the Storefront API: Leave checked (default) — this makes the flavor profile values accessible in themes and custom storefronts

Click Next to continue.

Page 2 — Advanced Settings:

• Repeatable section: Leave unchecked — flavor profile is a single set of values per product, not a repeating block.

• Include value of first text field: Leave unchecked — not needed for a select-type field.

• Show as collapsed when editing: Leave unchecked — keeps the section expanded by default so it is easy to find and fill in when editing a product.

• Hide section: Leave unchecked — checking this would make the section invisible in the editor entirely.

• Show section even if empty: Optionally check this if you want the Flavor Profile section to always appear on products, even before any values have been assigned.

• Exclude from layout: Leave unchecked — only tick this if you want the section excluded from ACF's layout editing tools.

Click Done to save the section.

Step 4 — Add the Flavor Profile Field Once the section is saved, click + Add field to add the actual field inside it. Fill in the details:

• Label: Flavor Profile

• Namespace: accentuate (ACF's default, or use your own e.g. food)

• Key: flavor_profile

• Field Data Type: Select Multi Select — this allows multiple flavor characteristics to be assigned to a single product at the same time

Step 5 — Add Your Flavor Profile Options Once Multi Select is chosen, add each allowed value one by one:

Basic Taste Notes:

• Sweet

• Salty

• Sour

• Bitter

• Umami / Savory

• Spicy / Hot

Intensity Descriptors:

• Mild

• Moderate

• Strong

• Subtle

• Intense

Fruit & Berry Flavours:

• Fruity

• Citrus

• Tropical

• Berry

• Apple

• Banana

• Strawberry

• Mango

• Peach

• Watermelon

• Pomegranate

• Blueberry

• Raspberry

Chocolate & Cocoa:

• Chocolatey

• Cocoa-Forward

• Dark Chocolate

• Milk Chocolate

• Chocolate-Hazelnut

• Cocoa Bitter

Vanilla & Sweet Spices:

• Vanilla

• Cinnamon

• Nutmeg

• Caramel

• Honey

• Maple

• Toffee

• Brown Sugar

Herbal & Botanical:

• Minty

• Herbal

• Floral

• Lavender

• Chamomile

• Ginger

• Basil

• Oregano

Coffee & Tea:

• Coffee

• Espresso

• Mocha

• Tea-Forward

• Green Tea

• Black Tea

• Chai

Savory & Umami:

• Cheese

• Garlic

• Onion

• Tomato

• Beef

• Chicken

• Mushroom

• Soy

• Miso

Nuts & Seeds:

• Nutty

• Almond

• Walnut

• Peanut

• Sesame

Texture & Mouthfeel:

• Creamy

• Smooth

• Crispy

• Crunchy

• Chewy

• Light

• Rich

• Velvety

Seasonal & Festive:

• Holiday Spices

• Pumpkin Spice

• Gingerbread

• Peppermint

• Eggnog

Add, remove, or rename options at any time to match your store's specific range — existing product values are preserved when you edit the list.

Step 6 — Save Click Save. Your Flavor Profile field will now appear inside its section on every product edit page in your Shopify admin.

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Populating Flavor Profile Values on Products

One by one: Open any product in Shopify Admin, scroll to the Flavor Profile section added by ACF, select all applicable flavor characteristics from the multi-select dropdown, and save.

CSV import: Use the Export button to download a CSV template, fill in the flavor_profile column for each product row (separate multiple values with the delimiter shown in the template), then re-import via the Import button. Best for large catalogs or when importing a product range with consistent flavor profiles.

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Displaying Flavor Profile on Your Storefront

Theme Editor (no code, OS 2.0 themes): Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize. Open a product template, click Add Block, select an ACF or Metafield block, choose the Flavor Profile field, position it on the page (typically in the product description or key details section), and save. It will display automatically for any product with values set.

Liquid Code (all themes): Add this to your product template file where you want the flavor profile to appear:

{% if product.metafields.custom.flavor_profile %}

<div class="flavor-profile">

<strong>Flavor Profile:</strong>

{% for flavor in product.metafields.custom.flavor_profile.value %}

<span class="flavor-tag">{{ flavor }}</span>

{% unless forloop.last %}, {% endunless %}

{% endfor %}

</div>

{% endif %}

If you used a custom namespace (e.g. food), replace custom with your namespace name.

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Tips & Best Practices

• Flavor Profile is a key discovery driver — food and beverage shoppers often browse based on taste preference before anything else. Someone looking for "sweet and fruity snacks" or "savory and spicy chips" can instantly find matching products through flavor filtering.

• Use flavor tags customers understand — avoid overly technical tasting notes unless your brand positions itself as premium/gourmet. For most food products, use descriptive, everyday language: "Sweet", "Minty", "Chocolatey", "Fruity" rather than technical wine-tasting terminology.

• Be honest about flavor intensity — include intensity descriptors (Mild, Moderate, Strong) so shoppers understand how bold or subtle the flavor is. Someone wanting a gentle vanilla won't be happy with an intense vanilla product.

• Pair primary and secondary flavours — tag the dominant flavor along with supporting notes. For example, a product might be "Chocolate-Hazelnut" (primary) and "Nutty" (supporting).

• Use Flavor Profile for collection filtering — connect flavor_profile as a filter in Online Store → Navigation → Filter menus. Shoppers can then browse "All Sweet Snacks" or "All Spicy Products" directly.

• Use Flavor Profile to build flavor-based collections — create automated collections for each flavor (e.g. "All Fruity Beverages", "All Minty Products") by filtering on custom.flavor_profile. These collections help shoppers discover products by taste preference.

• Keep naming consistent — decide on a format and apply it uniformly. For example, always use "Chocolate-Hazelnut" (hyphenated combination) rather than "Chocolate Hazelnut" or "Chocolate & Hazelnut". Consistency makes filtering work smoothly.

• Avoid over-tagging — only tag flavors that are genuinely present and noticeable in the product. Over-tagging creates noise in your filters and confuses shoppers. Limit products to 3-5 flavor tags maximum.

• Display flavor tags as badges — consider styling flavor profile tags as small, colorful badges or pills on product pages and collection cards for a more visual, appetizing presentation.

• Update with seasonal variations — if you release seasonal flavor variants, update flavor profile tags accordingly. For example, "Pumpkin Spice" might only apply during fall.

• Test your flavor tags with customers — if possible, conduct research to ensure your flavor descriptors match how real customers perceive the product. One shopper's "Strong" might be another's "Moderate".

• Distinguish Flavor Profile from Ingredients — if you have a separate Ingredients metafield, use Flavor Profile for taste/sensory descriptors and Ingredients for the actual ingredient list. This keeps both fields focused on different aspects.

• Consider cultural flavor preferences — if your store serves international markets, be aware that flavor preferences vary by region. Tag with this in mind; "Sweet" may be more or less popular depending on geography.

• Avoid the shopify namespace — it is reserved by Shopify and can cause conflicts. Use custom or a brand-specific name like food.

• Multi-language stores — ACF supports translatable metafields. Mark Flavor Profile as translatable if you need localised flavor descriptors for different markets, particularly where taste preferences or flavor terminology differs by region.

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Quick Reference

Setting	Value
Scope	Products
Section Title	Flavor Profile
Section Name	flavor_profile
Field Label	Flavor Profile
Namespace	custom
Key	flavor_profile
Full Identifier	custom.flavor_profile
Field Data Type	Multi Select
Options	Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Umami, Spicy, Fruity, Citrus, Chocolatey, Vanilla, Minty, Nutty, Creamy, Savory, Herbal, and more (see Step 5)
Storefront API	Enabled (checked by default)
Liquid Reference	{{ product.metafields.custom.flavor_profile.value }}
Best Practice	Tag 3-5 flavors per product maximum to avoid clutter
Best Practice	Use everyday language shoppers understand
Best Practice	Display as visual badges for appetizing presentation

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For further details, visit the official ACF documentation at help.accentuate.io