This review provides possible guidelines for the food science community to design special foods to meet the needs of consumers with sensory- compromised situations (SCS). Smell and taste losses create challenging clinical situations with few proven therapeutic options. Recent experimental results with people who have SCS suggest that offering special foods as a novel therapy may be an effective intervention for people with smell and taste dysfunctions of multiple etiologies. Therefore, a food with an aroma and taste appealing to the SCS patient would encourage eating it while creating new business opportunities for food companies. This article reviews food characteristics that can be considered when designing special foods for SCS consumers, such as colors, flavors, textures, packaging, labeling, and nutrients.