Did you have a Magic 8 Ball?

Did you know, it was invented by the son of a fortune teller in Givaudan’s very own Cincinnati, Ohio? Step aside Easy Bake Oven, Spirograph, and Strawberry Shortcake (ahem — all from Cincinnati’s rich toy history).


Advertising from 1945 leads with the consumer benefit….”Want to know what the future holds?“
Heck yeah I do. Every. Single. Day.
As advisors and innovation consultants in the flavor business, we’re often asked — “what’s the next flavor” my consumers will want in my food or beverage category?


What’s the next flavor we should be focused on for Fall? Winter? Summer? Spring? Fall and Winter? Spring and Summer? Summer and Fall? You get the idea.
We – and by we, I mean our seriously meticulous Head of Consumer Understanding – decided that using our Magic 8 Ball wasn’t really the best way to go about answering these questions. Nor was searching Google, or just talking to each other on our usual teams.
And while informative, it’s not new insight if we’re just looking at what’s already happened on menus or in retail secondary research. It’s got to come from CONSUMERS.
Enter… Givaudan Seasons
We went about this the way we love to do — conducting bespoke primary research. Givaudan starts with original insights, and the kind of data that comes from real investigation. We need consumers to tell us what they think.
What can we learn that will help us to create stronger seasonal flavor concepts?
We designed and commercialized seasonal insights that connects products with consumers. Givaudan Seasons. A custom research program, fielded over one year, with four individual studies conducted in each season. We talked with over 3500 respondents, and asked them about flavors, occasions, emotions, and seasonal descriptors. What can we learn that will help us to create stronger seasonal flavor concepts?
Wouldn’t it be great….
….if you knew which flavors consumers most closely associate with a season? In your category?
….to know how adding culinary or menu style descriptors could strengthen a seasonal connection?
….if we could link brand positioning elements like emotions and consumption occasions– to seasonal flavor concepts?
We can help with that. Contact us to learn more.

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