This year's Sabor in America dove into consumer behaviors in Latin American culture through food and beverage tasting events, market segmentation and demographic updates.
Last year's event garnered an enthusiastic response, leading Symrise to return as host for Sabor in America in Chicago on July 13, 2015. Highlighting the expanding Latin American population in America, chefs, marketing experts and flavor chemists teamed together to collaborate on Latin American-infused foods for commercial applications.
Emmanuel Laroche, vice president of marketing and consumer insights of Symrise North America, explains the importance of deciphering U.S. Latino millennial’s food palates in order to “offer a penetrating review of this group’s food culture heritage and how it is driving macro trends.”
The event featured a two-part chef’s demonstration that translated authentic Latino foods into commercial utilization, featuring a collaboration between Junior Merino, master mixologist and founder, The Liquid Chef, and Symrise flavorists.
Merino exhibited his take on the sweet and spicy chamoyada, a Mexican smoothie comprising ice chunks, real fruit, chili powder and chamoy sauce. Using the flavors of this recipe as creative inspiration, Symrise flavor chemists created a series of chamoyada-infused foods for commercial application, including alcoholic beverages, chips and iced popsicles.
Guest speakers throughout the event included Starcom MediaVest Group's senior vice president Danielle Cherry and executive vice president Esther Franklin; and about marketing solutions inc.’s president and CEO, Terry Soto.
Offering business psychology and brand strategy expertise, the experts connected the cultural impact of the Latin American population with the trending flavors. Symrise also published the in-house magazine, Sabor in America 2015, to supplement the event, including articles from experts and Symrise marketing professionals.
Laroche concluded that the diverse program benefited the attendees from the food and beverage industry by “providing them with what they need to know to prepare their brands for the rapidly changing face of America, which is being dynamically altered by the growing Latino population.”
Click here to learn more about trending food flavors for 2015.
