The Swiss flavour and fragrance firm recently introduced a new TasteEssentials chicken programme, which it says lets customers identify the precise chicken essence, signature and aroma they need.
“We know the experience of flavour is more than just sensory, it is also deeply cultural,” said Andreas Haenni, global head of savoury.
Givaudan’s approach to tapping that culture was to observe consumers in Russia, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, the US and Indonesia, as they purchased locally available chicken produce and created native dishes, sometimes using family recipes handed down through the generations.
The results of the studies were combined with insights from a team of international chefs working through the ChefsCouncil. This, Haenni said, enabled the development of “a range of distinctive, innovative and authentic chicken flavours”.
A year of meat flavours
2008 has seen a lot of activity in the meat flavours arena. Competitor IFF has also been active on the chicken front. In August it announced the launch of a new range of chicken flavours, developed using gold standard chicken recipes. IFF also studied consumer behaviour in home, in relation to chicken stock use.
The trend towards natural meat flavours is not just dominated by the big boys in the market. Earlier this year Dutch flavour firm Exter Aroma, which targets smaller firms, introduced five new flavours that meat clean label demands: meat, roasted beef, chicken, roasted chicken, and boiled chicken.
As for Givaudan, it has also unveiled new beef and pork flavour lines this year, and held a Chefs Council event in Barcelona at which there was a strong focus on beef.