Strawberry undeniably evokes emotion. When you enjoy strawberries for the first time each strawberry season, don’t you think back to your childhood? Memories of fresh-picked berries, strawberry jam on toast, making strawberry shortcake, or those little candies your grandma always used to have, all come flooding back like it was yesterday. Strawberry is one of our first loves from childhood, and can be enjoyed as an adult, too.
Comfort, Safety, Authentic
There is something safe and comforting about strawberry. Whenever we ask consumers about a new product concept and include strawberry as a possible flavor profile, strawberry always rises to the top. Flavor combinations that include strawberry are also a sure way to draw in consumers, because they know they like strawberry – it’s approachable and makes new products seem less of a risk. When consumers post about strawberry on social media, it’s usually about summery desserts, lemonades, and other refreshing drinks. Consumers associate strawberry with being healthy, satisfying, and authentic.
15,000 Strawberry Flavors?!?!
So, if everyone loves strawberry, it must be easy to pick the right profile for the right application…right? Not exactly. In fact, a quick tidbit of information: Givaudan has THOUSANDS of strawberry flavors. Yes, thousands. In fact, I once heard we have roughly 15,000 of them to choose from!
We challenged our flavorists to create an ultimate short list of characterizing elements that make up strawberry. They told us about elements like “fruity estery”, “green fruity”, “jammy”, and many more. But that’s not how consumers talk about strawberry, which makes product development a little tricky. Luckily, we have a team of application scientists who help us bridge the gap between end consumers, product developers, and flavorists. By understanding the essential elements of strawberry and what consumers expect from strawberry, Givaudan is able to pull from thousands of strawberry profiles to find the right fit.
What’s your favorite strawberry flavor? What does it taste like? What’s your favorite dish using strawberries? ? Let us know below! ?
Want to learn more about strawberry? Which profiles will our flavorists select for your applications? Contact your Givaudan Account Manager to discover the world of strawberry.
Even though I love strawberries, I’ve never been a big fan of most strawberry flavored products. One notable exception is Smucker’s Strawberry Jam! It is so delicious. I love a good jammy strawberry. Smear that on some potato bread with creamy peanut butter or on a fresh croissant with salted butter – THE BEST!