Dive Brief:
- Flavor solutions company Givaudan has come up with a new way to make processed food taste fresher, according to a company press release. The new ingredients, called "FreezeFrame," can add a burst of lime, lemon, asparagus, lettuce, basil, cilantro or parsley to a recipe.
- While this innovation makes dishes taste like they were made moments earlier, the food itself will not be any fresher.
- Givaudan is already working on phase two of FreezeFrame, creating ways to add chive, cucumber, ginger, lemongrass and Thai basil to its lineup.
Dive Insight:
Consumers, especially millennials, increasingly want fresh, healthy and natural foods. Convenience foods have traditionally not met these qualifications, with some gaining an unhealthy reputation. As food manufacturers try to shake that image in favor of fresher flavors, Givaudan appears to be ready to help them.
Marketing these new flavors will take some creativity from ad teams working for the company. "Tastes fresh" sounds terrific, unless consumers catch on that tasting fresh and actually being fresh are two different qualities. Highlighting the flavors that are added, like ginger and lemongrass to a Thai sauce for instance, could be a way around it. Still, the company, or the manufacturer making the food, must be careful not to try to mislead shoppers that the food is fresher or better than it really is.
Food processors also could consider improving the illusion of freshness by moving a product from a center aisle of the grocery store to the refrigerated section of the market. A pasta sauce that incorporates Givaudan’s basil and parsley FreezeFrame ingredients, and which is situated for sale next to chilling parmesan cheese, could be enough to make consumers think the product is less processed.
It will ultimately be up to the marketplace to determine if FreezeFrame has a future. Consumers are more prone to read labels these days, and will perhaps raise a curious eyebrow if the front of a package says "Fresh lime and cilantro flavor," but those ingredients are missing on the back nutrition panel.
Food manufacturers have taken other steps to try to freshen up processed food. One of the biggest trends is the removal of artificial colors and flavors. Some recipe changes have been successful, like when Kraft stealthily updated its famous Mac & Cheese. Others have had some trouble, such as General Mills' Trix reformulation. Consumer backlash against the natural changes led the company to bring back the original recipe earlier this fall.
One area where FreezeFrame could thrive may be in the beverage department. A green drink maker may find these ingredients the perfect solution for a juice that has trouble maintaining the bright flavor of cucumbers, kale and apples. They would already have real ingredients, and FreezeFrame could serve as a way to enhance them without misleading consumers.