12Taste vs Nutrada

If you're sourcing ingredients for your food business, chances are you’ve come across 12Taste. It’s a platform designed to help users discover and sample food ingredients. But is it also the best option for buyers who need certified suppliers, structured data, and bulk purchasing?

This article offers a direct comparison of 12Taste vs Nutrada, with a focus on helping food brands, manufacturers, and procurement managers choose the right B2B sourcing solution for their needs.

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Who Is This Comparison For?

This guide is intended for sourcing professionals, importers, and food companies that are navigating the growing number of online B2B Food Marketplaces. If you're looking for a digital tool that supports industrial-scale sourcing, transparent supplier data, and long-term business relationships, this comparison will help clarify which option is best suited for you.

Some buyers also evaluate platforms like Tridge, which offer managed trade services for global supply. If you're exploring those options, take a look at our Tridge alternative comparison to see how it compares to Nutrada’s direct sourcing model.

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What Is 12Taste?

12Taste is an ingredient marketplace that enables users to browse and order samples of food ingredients online. The platform is tailored primarily toward product developers, R&D teams, and startups looking to test new ingredients in small quantities.

It offers a user-friendly interface and quick access to a variety of ingredients. Supplier profiles are public, and products can be purchased directly through the platform. This model is helpful for early-stage product experimentation and rapid prototyping, where small volumes and ease of access are essential.

However, for buyers dealing with recurring orders, a focus on quality or specific sourcing criteria such as processing methods or certifications, 12Taste has limitations. It lacks detailed search filters, and buyers don’t interact directly with the original supplier.

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What Is Nutrada?

Nutrada is a B2B search engine built specifically for ingredient sourcing. Unlike marketplaces, Nutrada doesn’t process transactions or act as a middleman. Instead, it offers verified buyers direct access to certified suppliers, without taking commission. You may compare it to Google, but with very specific filters, specific to the food industry.

The platform is built around structured search. Buyers can filter ingredients by origin, processing method, certifications, and form, making it ideal for companies with specific requirements. Because Nutrada operates behind a login, supplier information is only visible to verified buyers. This helps protect supplier privacy while ensuring that inquiries are legitimate and relevant.

Nutrada is particularly suited for buyers who are looking to buy directly from manufacturers, wholesalers, and import/export companies, where compliance, certifications, and consistency are critical.

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Comparing 12Taste and Nutrada

12Taste

• Samples: 12Taste functions as a digital marketplace for ingredient discovery and sampling. It provides access to about 800 products and allows users to purchase samples and small batches directly on the platform. Supplier listings are public and accessible to anyone, which can be helpful for quick browsing but may expose suppliers to spam or scraping.
• Not-certified: A very important detail is that transactions go through 12Taste itself. The platform effectively becomes your supplier, which may impact your compliance and risk analysis, especially if you’re looking to buy from certified companies. At the time of writing, 12Taste does not list any platform-level food safety certifications.
• Short-term: For buyers who are seeking long-term supply relationships, this model may present some friction. While it’s efficient for one-off sample requests, it’s less suited to organizations that prefer to work directly with the original producer. Especially if you wish to request product information or product updates, it can become inefficient to do this through a middleman like 12Taste.
• Basic Tools: 12Taste’s filtering tools are basic, often limited to product categories or names. This can make precise sourcing more time-consuming for buyers working with specific technical or certification needs.

Nutrada

• Specific Search: Nutrada prefers to be known as a search engine, rather than a marketplace. It enables buyers to search for certified suppliers and product configurations using detailed filters, including processing method, country of origin, certifications, and form. Just like a search engine, such as Google for instance, it lists suppliers based on a search query. And just like a search engine, it does not take commission or participate in any of the trades, or negotiations. 
• Security: Unlike open marketplaces, Nutrada operates behind a login. Buyers are verified before gaining access to supplier data, which helps reduce noise and protects suppliers’ commercial information. This setup encourages more focused communication and increases the likelihood of meaningful business inquiries.
• No Commission: As mentioned before, Nutrada does not act as an intermediary in the transaction and takes no commission. Buyers deal directly with the supplier, which allows for more transparent pricing, clearer accountability, and the ability to build long-term partnerships.

This makes Nutrada particularly attractive to procurement teams that need scale, efficiency, and traceability, especially in industries where certifications like organic, halal, kosher, or GFSI-recognized schemes are non-negotiable.

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Is Nutrada a good 12Taste Alternative?

Yes. Nutrada is a strong alternative for companies that have moved beyond sampling and need access to certified, scalable supply. Where 12Taste serves early-stage development, Nutrada supports the operational phase of ingredient sourcing, from discovery to procurement and relationship management.

For buyers who prefer to work directly with the source and avoid third-party markups, Nutrada provides a cleaner, more transparent sourcing model.

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When Should You Use 12Taste?

12Taste is a useful tool for startups experimenting with new product concepts, R&D teams testing ingredient performance, and businesses that need a quick sample and low-commitment access to products. Its open-access model and integrated ordering process make it well-suited for those working at the testing or development phase of product creation.

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When Should You Use Nutrada?

Nutrada is designed for food brands sourcing bulk certified ingredients, importers and wholesalers who need verified supply chains, procurement teams building long-term supplier relationships, and buyers with specific filtering needs like organic, halal, EU compliance, or processing type. It provides a structured, scalable alternative for serious B2B buyers who need to reduce sourcing time while maintaining full control over supplier selection and compliance.

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Ready to Compare Suppliers?

Nutrada is built for companies that take food sourcing seriously. If you're sourcing certified ingredients in bulk, Nutrada gives you the tools to find the right supplier in minutes, not weeks.

Compare suppliers, explore filtering tools, and take control of your ingredient sourcing.

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