As a global brand in food, beverage, health, biosciences and sensorial experiences, IFF is an international collective of thinkers who partner with customers to bring tastes, experiences, ingredients and food solutions for products the world craves. We have recently had a chance to meet with Helga Moelschl, VP, Regional President of the brand in Dubai at their legendary stand in Gulfood Manufacturing. Having a very high traffic, with people hardly able to find place to stand in the booth, we managed to sit with Helga and talk about the internationally acknowledged fame and success of IFF. Our visit ended with an impressive naturalistic tour which we had never experienced before. Full text of the interview follows:
As a supplier of a wide range of products such as food and beverage, fragrance, home and personal care, and health and wellness, IFF has been operating in various industries. With our FB magazine, we would like to talk only on the food and beverage part of your company. What is your position in the FB industry in your specialty area?
We are an international collective of thinkers who partner with customers to bring tastes, scents, experiences, ingredients and solutions for food products the world craves. Our legacy combines market-leading, innovative businesses from across food, beverages, health, biosciences and sensorial experiences.
In a world filled with hunger for more, for better and for healthier – we are here to nourish it. We nourish by growing relationships with customers of all shapes and sizes, fuelling them with an end-to-end process and comprehensive portfolio across categories bakery, bars, confectionary, dairy, beverage, culinary and snacks. We nourish by uniting creativity and science to provide what’s essential and beyond what’s expected.
As a member of a global trend-setting brand, how could you read the future trends in the food industry?
Consumers today want to know what they are consuming- that is the ingredients used in food and drinks and what kind of value-addition do they bring in terms of health, environment and sensorial experience. Food and beverage (F&B) manufacturers are now required to foresee evolving trends and how to better meet changing consumer expectations.
IFF leverages PANOPTIC- a proprietary tool that affords a 360°, outside-in and inside-out approach to deriving consumer insights. It identifies the most impactful shifts and dynamics shaping the short, mid and long-term
future of the food industry across categories beverage, dairy, snacks and bakery.
By enlisting external trend and foresight partners, advanced analytics, in-house experts, and proprietary research, the PANOPTIC allows us to innovate and make strategic decisions creatively through a shared understanding of the most influential trends re-shaping the world.
How do you cope with ever-changing consumer needs? Is that the professionality of your R&D department or do you have other factors as well?
F&B manufacturers are looking for food solutions which promise convenience and value more than just single flavors, ingredients and complex in-house formulations. They need partners who are agile, commercially savvy, and well-networked. Backed by our PANOPTIC framework we study and let the insights define the drivers for innovation and concepts. Co-creation is an integral part of the entire process as we work closely with our customers end-to-end, to create market ready solutions and recipes.
Our success is built on a foundation of research and development, where our experts are continuously working on expanding the portfolio of flavors and ingredients, bringing in processes that ensure the highest quality and delivery systems. This entails PANOPTIC and IFF PRODUCT DESIGN frameworks which offer not only strong market insights to address customer needs, but also end-to-end product design approach, featuring an extensive portfolio which includes flavors and colors, functional ingredients, emulsifiers, hydrocolloids, enzymes and inclusions for products across food categories.
Ultimately, IFF has a global network of food scientists and technologists, and our broad range of technologies across flavors and ingredients help customers in all regions to create products with improved nutritional profiles, better taste and texture.
When we talk about sustainability, sensitivity for the environment, and protecting our nature, where does IFF stand at this point?
As reflected in IFF’s nature inspired zones at the booth in Gulfood Manufacturing show, we recognize importance of evaluating environmental impact. We develop solutions that are good for customers, consumers, and the environment, because we know that this will allow us to support wider net zero ambitions and help customers realize their own ESG targets. IFF has several innovation programs such as RE-IMAGINE WASTE and Upcycle (showcased in our Planet First Ocean AR zone), new plant proteins that support the replacement of animal based products, antioxidants and antimicrobials that extend shelf-life, and upcycled flavor extracts like citrus that reduce food waste, are just some of the many examples.
Is there anything that you would you like us to highlight in the interview?
As a global industry leader, we recognize our role as pioneers of food innovation. With our expanded flavor & ingredient portfolio and product design approach, we have merged science & creativity into our entire process,
from conceptualization to commercialization in collaboration with our customers. We create new sensorial experiences for our partners that are value optimized, enhance nutrition, have local taste profiles and simplify manufacturing processes— while evaluating environmental impact.
Our strong market insights, consumer mapping and a proper regulatory procedure, further future-proofs our offerings and sets trends that are aligned with and support consumer needs where taste, health, nutrition and well-being are concerned.
