Unlocking the potential of the metaverse: Foodarom eyes new heights in flavor innovation

06 Feb 2023 --- Foodarom, a Canada-based flavor company, is elevating taste creation to a new universe with its latest flavor concepts, Electric Punch and Cyber Treat. The company, which is part of Glanbia, has unveiled its eighth annual edition of its Flavour Trends for 2023, which taps into the digital opportunities of the metaverse.

According to Foodarom, the Electric Punch flavor offers an “extraordinary and explosive taste experience, releasing sensational flavor with a hint of peppery cherry and captivating citrus notes.” 

Meanwhile, Cyber Treat is a flavor experience that “instantly transports you to a world of warmth and comfort.” The flavor is a blend of comforting notes of oats with a hint of vanilla, creating a unique and satisfying taste sensation.

Virtual flavors trending 
The metaverse, a virtual shared space created by the convergence of the physical and virtual worlds, offers new opportunities for professionals, product developers and innovation partners to interact and engage with each other and with digital content in a more immersive and interactive way. 

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Jessica Haddad, marketing and communications advisor at the company, says: “The metaverse is already impacting our lives in many ways and creating an extensive effect. Our flavor experts discovered a new range of metaverse-inspired flavor profiles never explored before. The metaverse is a new and exciting frame of creativity that will increasingly influence product portfolios, in the way we think about flavor creation, and the way we approach the development of new products.”

Foodarom’s team of flavor experts welcomes the metaverse as a new frame for experimentation and exploration, bringing a positive impulse and a new style of taste innovation.

“This year, we’ve taken it to the next level by tapping into the unlimited creative potential of the metaverse,” says Noémie Loiselle, marketing and commercial group director at Foodarom.

The Electric Punch flavor offers an “extraordinary and explosive taste experience, releasing sensational flavor with a hint of peppery cherry and captivating citrus notes.”“At Foodarom, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of flavor development, and we are using this new virtual shared space to create flavor experiences that exceed consumer expectations and deliver a new level of taste innovation.”

Loiselle believes the metaverse presents “a new and exciting canvas for designing flavors,” as it boosts product development possibilities to better respond to consumer demand.

Foodarom is inviting the product development community to “elevate its senses in 2023” as it continues to push the boundaries of taste innovation and decode market forces to deliver the best product experience. 

Virtual reality and its latest mainstreamed product, the metaverse, is taking over the cyberspace and will definitely have an impact on our future daily life, says Haddad. “However, the metaverse is lacking the flavor component to complete the immersive experience. People will be missing what a real meal or beverage can provide. That’s where brands – alongside and innovative flavor house like Foodarom – can step in and deliver a complete immersive and flavorful experience to consumers.”

“Our day to day has become completely immediate; meaning that anything can be achieved in a matter of minutes or even seconds. Overtime, the metaverse will increase the immediacy to the point where we could be anywhere in the world in seconds. This will influence our daily lives, and it will certainly cause a shift on the everyday consumption of food and beverages. People will need to consume things that will add value to their life, not only with more useful active ingredients, but also with flavorful rich profiles that will transport their senses to another universe to complement an immersive experience,” she explains. 

“Although each flavor has its own characteristics and profiles, both have been carefully designed to allow each consumer take ownership of their own tasting experience. We have initiated a journey to elevate the consumer senses as we continue to push the boundaries of taste innovation and decode market forces to deliver the best product experience.”

The power of the metaverse
Metaverse flavors and developments have been gaining traction in recent months, with a wave of shifts shaking up the sector. 

Last month, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that McDonald’s partnered with viral digital content creator Karen X Cheng to launch an interactive Lunar New Year campaign to honor the Year of the Rabbit. This marked another foodservice player leveraging digital experiences. 

Fast food competitors are months ahead in experience with the metaverse. Wendy’s launched its Wendyverse inside Meta’s metaverse Horizon worlds in April 2022. The company created a digital castle where one can reach the top through “teeter-tottering bacon bridges and flying biscuits.”

In-N-Out Burger also wants to provide online (but non-downloadable, as seen in the application form) virtual food and beverages for use in virtual environments. It also intends to protect its digital brand to build its online retail space.

Food giant Heinz has also moved to protect a flurry of its brands in the digital spaces. The company is protecting the name Heinz from its ketchup, filing for similar protections as Moët Hennessy: downloadable multimedia files, online retail services of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other virtual goods and operating virtual restaurants.

Gaming culture is also interlinked with the metaverse, with Coca-Cola unveiling “the first-ever Coca-Cola flavor born in the metaverse” in April 2022. Hosting immersive experiences on the video game Fortnite, the brand also created its own augmented reality (AR) minigame and has its own sets of NFTs.

By Elizabeth Green