What is the food industry up against?

Marcus Leben: People’s lifestyle and therefore also their eating habits have changed. We have less and less time nowadays – for cooking, for long, leisurely meals, for taking exercise. Increasing stress and pressure characterize our daily lives. At the same time, we are keener than ever before to eat healthily without compromising on taste. The global megatrends health and convenience, natural goodness and enjoyment will continue to gain significance.

Aude le Guilloux: Consumer expectations are rather complicated: They look for natural, healthy foods that are easy to prepare and readily available. And above all, food that tastes good! On top of all this, we have politically and socially topics such as overweight and diabetes. This is where the food industry must face up to its responsibilities.

Sebastiano di Caro: Guaranteeing the good flavor consumers expect while at the same time reducing salt, sugar and fat content poses us with a big challenge. The Symrise taste for life® product portfolio offers flavor solutions for such foods.

Ronald Skala: Consumers have long accepted the taste of industrially processed foods. But they want their convenience food to be healthy, too - and that’s where flavor companies come in. The industry needs the high-quality, complex and mature aromas that we can deliver.

Joe Scott: At the same time, pricing is playing an evergreater role, too. In increasingly strained economic times such as these, we have to develop good, healthy products and aromas that are affordable, too.

What are the salient features of our dietary culture today?

Ronald Skala: As Marcus said, people today have less and less time for cooking. They are either eating in restaurants or preparing instant meals at home. And more and more people are grabbing a snack to keep them going or consuming fast-food products.
 
Joe Scott: Eating out has become far too expensive for many, which is why, I think, people are tending to prefer to face the challenge of cooking a new dish and experiencing a new taste in their own homes. And the Internet has created a global cooking community that is constantly exchanging recipes.

Mitchell Dingwall: I think most people have waved goodbye to the three traditional main meals. They are tending more toward a series of snacks. And they want to enjoy a broad spectrum of tastes.

How do you see the future of the food industry?

Mitchell Dingwall: Star cooks are now orienting themselves to the kind of food offered on the street and by the food industry. At the same time, consumers of convenience food are demanding fresh, healthy, natural, sustainably produced products with a label stating their regional origin. Not very long ago, these were the kinds of demands only the chefs of expensive restaurants would make. It looks like we’ve now come full circle. I’ll be interested to see how things develop.

Aude le Guilloux: The industry is working more and more closely with qualified chefs to adapt so-called “learned flavor preferences,” such as instant tomato soup, so as to fulfill consumer expectations for healthy food.

What trends do you see emerging?

Aude Le Guilloux: I would say there are three main trends: healthy food, unique food and snacks. Consumers want less salt, less fat and less sugar in what they eat, they don’t want to spend hours over a hot stove, and they want a special taste experience without having to pay through the nose for it.

Mitchell Dingwall: Yes, definitely health. In my opinion, the trend is also toward the multisensory experience. Chefs now seem to be developing a sixth sense when they experiment with flavors, and they combine this with humor, irony and nostalgia. I think the borderline between spicy and sweet is getting steadily fuzzier. My bet is that some new and unusual culinary creations are on the way – for example, grilled peaches, smoked vanilla, roasted ginger and stir-fried pineapples. I also predict a stronger demand for Indian and African flavors. We’re not there yet – but it’s very exciting!

Are global tastes getting more uniform?

Joe Scott: I don’t think so and, if you ask me, that’s what makes international cuisine so unique. Although some cooks are trying to mix everything up together, some of the world’s greatest dishes have been handed down from generation to generation. And despite the fact that many people enthuse about exotic cuisine, in most cases their favorite dishes are still those that remind them of home.

Ronald Skala: Are global tastes getting more uniform? Yes and no. Many strong fast-food brands are getting very popular, especially in those countries where that kind of thing has been difficult to obtain in the past. But the critical thing is local taste. Burgers, tacos and chili con carne can be found all over the world, but their taste has in most cases been adapted to suit local palates. That’s why a burger tastes a bit different from country to country.

Mitchell Dingwall: I think taste is one of the few things that will resist standardization despite globalization. No matter how freely they move in other cultures and no matter how impressed they are by their culinary experiences in a foreign culture, people’s first love will always be the tastes they acquired in childhood. The range of culinary delicacies available in the US is very wide. You can find all the dishes the world can offer, but Americans will never give up cheeseburgers, hot dogs, pizza and apple pie. I think the same applies to all of the world’s cultures.