Seville Oranges
In a previous post I wrote a bit about the growing trend of marketing aimed at Hispanic consumers, and how the fragrance industry might capitalize on this trend.
The food products industry has a wide lead in this area, with several years of introducing snacks, beverages and dairy products with flavors that are inspired by the Latino culture and taste palate.
Chips & Salsa
In the late 90’s we saw how sales of salsa nearly caught up with those of ketchup. Today, chipotle & jalapeno and dulce de leche & tres leches are just as part of our culinary vernacular as are salt & pepper and vanilla & cinnamon. But more recently, we are seeing other regional ingredients combined with the better-known Mexican and Cuban ones, in a Pan-Latin flavor fusion where the common denominator is their cultural diversity, depth and contrasting textures.
Black Bean Soup
Some of the more popular emerging “new” flavors include:
– Seville orange – Mediterranean variety with a more bitter, less nectar-y flavor that imparts a citrus character with greater “zing & heat” for a “Caribbean tang”.
– Aji Amarillo (Yellow chile) – This peruvian original imparts a fruitiness to its inherent chile heat for more complexity and depth of flavor.
Aji Amarillo
– Epazote – a Mexican herb that in its raw state smells pungent, but when simmered in dishes, it imparts a rich mellow flavor that American chefs are finding “addictive”.
Epazote Herbs
As these and other flavors become more popular and are adopted into the mainstream, expect to see them used in scented personal care and household products, as they inspire innovative fragrance combinations that remain true to the trend toward globalism, food-inspired scents and contrasting textures…
Fragrance Insights 