Givaudan launches new approach to chicken flavour creation

Givaudan surveyed some 7,300 consumers in 14 countries and observed home-cooking at first-hand, translating their needs and preferences into a sensory language to help guide the company’s flavour creation activity.

01/12/08 Givaudan has unveiled a new, evolutionary approach to creating unique chicken flavours for its customers. Combining global, ground-breaking research with culinary exploration into how chicken is consumed around the world, Givaudan has developed new and better performing ingredients for its industry-leading palette to enable the creation of authentic, superior chicken flavours to help drive product preference.
 
In a pioneering industry move which examined the complex cultural attachments consumers associate with chicken flavours, Givaudan surveyed some 7,300 consumers in 14 countries and observed home-cooking at first-hand, translating their needs and preferences into a sensory language to help guide the company’s flavour creation activity.
 
Givaudan teams also observed chefs cooking chicken dishes – noting chicken meat types, preparations, ingredients, cooking techniques and methods as well as tasting and analyzing the dishes - in 40 fine-dining, quick-serving and traditional restaurants in 10 countries.
 
Givaudan’s in-depth results reveal a comprehensive picture of how chicken is perceived, purchased and prepared globally, as well as the recipes and cooking styles with which it is most closely associated.
 
These studies were complemented by insights and inspiration from leading chefs from four continents working through Givaudan’s ChefsCouncil who explored new chicken recipes and flavour combinations at the cutting-edge of fine dining and culinary creation.
 
This market knowledge has resulted in the creation of Givaudan’s TasteEssentials Chicken programme, designed to enable food manufacturers to rapidly identify their precise chicken essence, signature and aroma needs including taste solutions for low salt recipes. By partnering with Givaudan they can develop unique, differentiated flavours across a range of applications, setting their products apart from the competition.
 
“We know the experience of flavour is more than just sensory, it is also deeply cultural. Givaudan experts literally sat in the kitchens of Russian, Spanish, French, Brazilian, Mexican, Colombian, American, Indonesian and Chinese households watching how authentic chicken dishes were prepared,” explains Andreas Haenni, Global Head of Savoury.  “Consumers used products bought locally, in recipes handed down through generations, and created dishes native to that region. Using this unique insight into flavour creation, we have created a captivating range of distinctive, innovative and authentic chicken flavours which will enhance consumers’ enjoyment of chicken dishes around the world.”
 
Givaudan did not influence consumers to use any specific chicken products, but instead observed them as they sourced spontaneously-purchased ingredients, bought locally and known traditionally. Givaudan noted which cuts of meat were used in particular dishes, the methods of cooking, the tastes and aromas created – and then recreated those dishes in its own kitchens for analysis and flavour creation. Regionalism was identified as the key to authenticity, and a sensory landscape was created from specific consumer panels, pinpointing areas of demand not yet addressed by flavour manufacturers.
 
New flavours created using Givaudan’s chicken palette are suitable for use in low-sodium, allergen-free and clean label applications, while Givaudan’s encapsulation system, PureDelivery, protects flavours from rigorous food manufacturing processes.

Earlier this year competitor International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) announced the availability of a new range of highly authentic, natural chicken flavors based on gold standard culinary benchmarks created by a global team of Research Chefs led by Certified Master Chef Florian Webhofer. IFF's work consists of a toolkit of White Meat Boiled, Dark Meat Boiled, Fatty/Skin, Roast and Grilled Chicken flavours, which can be combined and adjusted to meet particular application needs.