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Flavor and Fragrance Innovation: Regional Inspirations
How cross-regional flavor transfer is helping to create new and enticing products
Reference Code: CM00234-024
Publication Date: 25 September 2013
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About the author
Executive Summary
New and emerging flavors and fragrances
Regional sources of innovation
Latin American influences
Creating the products of the future

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carol Raithatha is the director of Carol Raithatha Limited (www.carolraithatha.co.uk), a UK-based
consultancy specializing in advice, training, and project work within the areas of consumer goods
research and sensory testing. She has worked with a range of consumer goods manufacturers,
including Associated British Foods, Cadbury, and Unilever, among others. The role of flavors and
fragrances in producing optimum products, defining category boundaries, and creating unique
brand messages is one of the areas in which Carol has a particular interest.
Carol has a bachelor's degree in food science from the University of California, a master's degree
in applied biological sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from
the Open University. She is a fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology and the
secretary of its Professional Food Sensory Group, a member of the Society of Chemical Industry,
and a full member of the Market Research Society. Carol has over 20 years of experience of
working in the food and drink industry and has recently also been involved in projects within the
personal care sector.
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necessarily reflect the views/opinions of the Publisher.
Disclaimer
Copyright © 2013 Datamonitor
This report is published by Datamonitor (the Publisher). This report contains information from
reputable sources and although reasonable efforts have been made to publish accurate
information, you assume sole responsibility for the selection, suitability and use of this report and
acknowledge that the Publisher makes no warranties (either express or implied) as to, nor
accepts liability for, the accuracy or fitness for a particular purpose of the information or advice
contained herein. The Publisher wishes to make it clear that any views or opinions expressed in
this report by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and opinions and do not
necessarily reflect the views/opinions of the Publisher.

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NEW AND EMERGING FLAVORS AND FRAGRANCES
This section looks at the top, fastest-growing, and new flavors and fragrances, in product
launches by region, for important categories within three main sectors (food, drink, and personal
care). The categories for which data are shown are savory snacks, soft drinks, and haircare and
personal hygiene. The emphasis is on identifying common trends and evidence of regional
migration, and explaining how and why changes are occurring. Case studies within each category
are shown to help to understand how cross-regional flavor migration happens and how the
concepts might be applied to other categories.
Soft drinks
Figure 1 shows the top, fastest-growing, and new flavors in soft drinks product launches.
Fig 1: Top, fastest-growing, and new flavors in new soft drinks
Source: Product
Launch Analytics
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The top soft drink flavors are quite consistent across regions, although there are some variations.
Orange, lemon, mango, and peach are in the top 10 soft drink flavors in all regions as well as
globally. Grape is a top flavor globally and in four of the five regions. Top flavors that are unique
to specific regions are milk and honey in APAC, chocolate in Latin America, guava and tropical in
MEA, and vanilla and berry in North America.

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REGIONAL SOURCES OF INNOVATION
Fig 10: New food launches featuring quinoa
Source:
Company information
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CREATING THE PRODUCTS OF THE FUTURE
Reverse innovation
Reverse innovation is becoming a popular concept and can be broadly defined as the uptake and
spread of a technology or product created in developing or emerging economies to developed
economies and markets. Because they may have been developed in low resource contexts, these
technologies or products are often cost-effective and/or sustainable. The topic has been
discussed in the bestselling book by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble: Reverse Innovation:
Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere. Applying the concept of reverse innovation to flavors
and fragrances highlights some likely future trends and creates a possible route for exotic,
affordable, and sustainable innovations.
One example of reverse innovation in food and drink flavors and ingredients is the use of insects
as food. Insects are a cheap and plentiful source of protein in some regions where other sources
of protein are scarce and/or too expensive for a large proportion of the population. There is
considerable interest in the possibilities of insects as a global food source and the subject is the
source of research funding. In 2013 the Food and Agriculture Organization published a report
titled Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security.
For example, according to the Nordic Food Lab, a wide variety of ant species are eaten around
the world, and they can be flavorful supplements and are sometimes given as symbolic gifts
(Nordic Food Lab, 2013). The Nordic Food Lab has received DKK3.6m ($650,000) from the Velux
Foundation for "analysis of cultural and taste barriers for entomophagy (the eating of insects) and
development of taste experiences to erode these barriers in the Western society".
Insects could be introduced in the context of increasingly popularity of ethnic street food. In March
2013, Wahaca (a Mexican street food restaurant chain) launched an experimental dish made with
grasshoppers at its Southbank restaurant in London. According to the Wahaca blog, chapulines
(a type of grasshoppers) are considered a much sought-after delicacy in Mexico. The dish was
called chapulines fundidos and the preparation of it described as such:
"We take fried chapulines and cook them with softened shallots, garlic and smoky chipotle chillies
to create a delicious salsa, which is served with queso fundido, a mixture of gratinated mozzarella
and cheddar cheese, perfect for scooping up with corn tortillas." (Wahaca, 2013)
Reverse innovation is an accepted strategy within the personal care sector, and is therefore a
potential source of new fragrance and ingredient ideas. For example, according to the Times of
India, when Jacques Challes moved from the role of managing director of L'Oreal India to chief
innovation officer for the L'Oreal Group in 2012, he said that in his new role he would be
encouraging reverse innovations from India (Times of India, 2012).

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