On 20 June, Brussels became the “Capital of Flavor.” Brussels Flavor Day was organized by EFFA (the European Flavor Association), together with AROMA (the Belgian Flavor Association) and IOFI (the International Organization of the Flavor Industry). The event was a great success with more than 100 participants. The journalist caught up with Jean Robello, President of EFFA, who opened the event.

“It was great to see the interest that flavorings raised. It was the opportunity for policy makers, customers and the flavor industry itself to learn more about each other and our common objectives for the coming years.”

“We see many trends that are happening not only in the world of flavors but consumer trends in general and on food in particular that find resonance also in flavors,” Robello explains. “For example conscious diet, with consumers that are aware of what they eat and want to have a more balanced diet with less sugar, salt and fat; sustainability trends which touch upon all aspects of life, including what we eat and of course the creativity and the cultural preferences of each country and region of the world.”

Moving away from sugar is also one of the goals of policy makers, trying to inspire a more conscious diet and asking the food industry to propose products with less sugar, salt and fat.

The flavor industry is well aware of these trends, says Robello. “With approximately 10 percent of the turnover invested in R&D and innovation, our companies always try to anticipate consumer trends and satisfy their expectations. We can help the consumers in the effort on a more conscious diet by ensuring that a low salt or sugar product will still be tasty.”

Another trending theme was on sustainability. “The circular economy has always been in our DNA,” he claims. “We partner with nature preservation programs, local farmers, and the use of co-products to reduce the environmental footprint.”

The Flavor Day was an opportunity to listen to consumer trends of the future, the expectations of policy makers on these subjects and the confirmation that EFFA has similar objectives and a common space to work together on them.

“Flavor is not only taste but a more comprehensive experience,” continues Robello. “At the Flavor Day, I did a little experiment with five volunteers asking them to try a candy pinching their nose, and then releasing it. When the nose was released, one of the volunteers said he experienced ‘a burst of flavor.’ Indeed, you don’t feel flavor only with your mouth, but also with your nose and more importantly with your brain. It’s intimately connected with emotions and memories. So, consumers are looking for flavoring experiences, in particular younger consumers such as millennials,” he notes. “They want to experience different things; there is an archaic trend of revising old flavors such as roots and spices. During the Flavor Day, the trend watcher also highlighted a romantic trend in which we see fruits of colors such as purple and bloody colors.”

Are consumers looking for natural only ingredients as they move away from synthetic ingredients?  “There is a space for both markets,” he says. “The trends are broader and go in different directions: archaic, authentic profiles, discovering and re-discovering some ingredients and processes such as drying, roasting and confit, which, according to some flavorists are more sustainable than fresh products.”

What are the flavor players to watch in the industry going into next year? “It seems like the trend is to move away from sweet to go for rather tart and bitter notes. In that context citrus and some fruits such as cherry are the ones we will be looking at in the coming years,” claims Robello. “But, of course, this may vary according to the regions and countries, and our consumer insights’ departments of our members are always keeping an acute eye on past, current and future trends,” he finalizes.

by Elizabeth Green