What's your flavor? Sensient on earl grey in dairy, Middle eastern spice blends and cutting red tape
...And now back to business!
The next stop was the Sensient Technologies booth, where we caught up with president and COO Paul Manning (pictured) and marketing manager for flavor systems Teresa Olah to talk about the latest developments in flavors.
First of all, where does Sensient sit in the flavors market?
It's a big player, says Manning, but it's not one of the giants, or one of the incredibly long tail of Mom & Pop enterprises (or "two guys in a garage working on some customized flavors" as he puts it).
"We're somewhere in the middle - so we can be incredibly nimble, flexible and responsive, but we also deal with major customers. We're also big on empowering our local business units on a regional basis so people aren't caught up in bureaucracy and things get done."
So what's new?
The company has done a lot of work lately on everything from natural masking technologies to tackle undesirable off-notes and aftertaste in beverages, to salt enhancers, MSG replacement, cheese flavors, and developing advanced flavor systems comprising selective extracts that impart the natural flavor and aroma profiles of the original botanical material from which it is derived, he says.
But it's also invested a lot in identifying the flavor trends of the future ("still a twinkle in a chef's eye") to help customers tap into what will be the hot flavors in three to five years' time as well as what's trending now, adds Olah, who has homed in on four mega-trends: 'Health & wellness', 'sensory', 'comfort' and 'connections'.
Within these groupings, Olah and her team are exploring everything from the potential of Middle Eastern 'za'atar' spice blends (sensory), to French toast (comfort), dandelion honey, pawpaw and blue honeysuckle berry (health & wellness).
A lot of trends start in chocolate, she observes. "Everything launches first in chocolate!"
Thus, earl grey tea might start to emerge in gourmet chocolate ranges as a hot new trend - and then move to dairy applications.
