Adria, whose restaurant El Bulli in Spain has been named best in the world five times by Restaurant Magazine, will work with PepsiCo to help develop new methods and concepts for creative food innovation.
The partnership will involve sharing creative principles, procedures and techniques for the creation of new snack foods, breakfast options and convenience alternatives, said PepsiCo.
“This partnership, with arguably the best chef in the world, will enable us to move further forward with new creative concepts and ideas,” said Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.
“We will also share our own creative principles and ideas … in order to help assist Ferran Adria with his mission to create a world leading gastronomic think tank and research facility in the future,” she added.
Creative innovation
The partnership follows an existing relationship between the two parties which began in 2005, and involved Adria's consultation on PepsiCo Spain's Alvalle brand of chilled vegetable soups and Lay's Artesanas 100 per cent olive oil among others.
Adria, who said that it would be an honour and a challenge to work with PepsiCo’s “extraordinary R&D teams around the world” will help its product development team by sharing samples, food trends and observations from around the world.
“This is certainly an enriching experience for both parties, from which we hope to obtain interesting results from our joint task, where El Bulli will provide its historic know-how regarding high level gastronomy as well as other areas of the food business,” said Adria.
“While I know think they have a chef in front, I am expressing myself using the language of an artist in the kitchen,” he added.
Healthy snacking
PepsiCo said that one specific area of focus for the partnership will be helping the company broaden its portfolio of healthier choices by developing taste enhancement ingredients and natural preserving techniques, which could reduce the use of fat and oil in current products.