Building on its long-term partnership with the University of California, Riverside (UCR), Givaudan is launching a multi-sensorial virtual reality tool for citrus beverage applications.

Combining sight, sound and smell, it is designed to enable customers to learn about the citrus market landscape and co-create their own flavours.

Imagine, Givaudan says, strolling through UCR’s Citrus Variety Collection, stopping to learn about unique varieties, enjoying their delicious scents and creating a new, personalised citrus flavour, all from the comfort of one’s own office. Users of Givaudans Virtual TasteTrek Citrus tool will, it says, be able to do just that. Created from the combination of 360° virtual reality videos and Givaudan’s proprietary Virtual Aroma Synthesizer (VAS) technology, Virtual TasteTrek Citrus is described as a revolutionary tool with both educational and inspirational applications.

The experience takes users through a virtual tour of UCR’s extensive Citrus Variety Collection. With a large selection of educational content available at their fingertips, users can explore the groves while developing their expertise on various topics, such as the origins of citrus, its different varieties and sensory attributes, or the challenges faced by the citrus market.

Beyond education, Virtual TasteTrek Citrus is also said to be about sparking inspiration: during the experience, users can sample selected flavours, increase or decrease key notes and start co-creating their own flavours. The ability to provide the virtual grove experience while engaging the users’ olfactory senses and their own creativity makes this technology one-of-a-kind, Givaudan says.

“Experiencing first-hand some of the unique and surprising aroma profiles the fruits have to offer helps our customers unleash their creativity,” said Dawn Streich, Global Product Manager for Citrus at Givaudan. “Commercialising on-trend beverages with increasingly shorter time-to-market is a challenge that every manufacturer must face. By combining Givaudan’s knowledge on more than 250 citrus varieties with the latest digitalisation technology, Virtual TasteTrek Citrus helps create beverages that stand out on the market, in a shorter time frame.”