We have conversations with Cascade Glacier SVP of sales & marketing Joelle Simmons; Christophe Bourgeois, co-founder of Notoryou; and Dr Luigi Rossi executive director of Sacco System agro-food business unit.
We also have our weekly look at the global dairy markets with Liam Fenton at StoneX.
Cascade Glacier taps nostalgia trend
US ice cream producer Cascade Glacier is bringing the flavors of popular childhood candies to life in a new dairy-free sorbet. Green apple, watermelon and lemon meld for a taste reminiscent of childhood treats like Jolly Ranchers and Starburst.
With new and improved innovation, Cascade Glacier said it has ‘cracked the code’ on a creamy dairy-free sorbet. The new Sour Splash has a luscious mouthfeel, scoopable texture, and isn’t icy compared to traditional sorbets.
The trend towards nostalgic flavors saw a surge during the height of the pandemic as consumers craved comfort from food and beverages. According to Kerry’s Global Taste Chart report, this trend will persist throughout 2021 in products from sweets to salty snacks.
“Over the past year we’ve seen an increase in interest from consumers for nostalgic flavors and novelties. The inspiration behind Sour Splash taps into the love for classic sweets and offers a fun escape for customers. Plus, the creamy consistency and allergen-friendly recipe will allow foodservice retailers to delight both dairy and dairy free customers,” said SVP of sales & marketing Joelle Simmons.
The Cascade Glacier brand has more than 50 options for foodservice retailers to choose from. As consumers start to travel and take summer vacations, they can find the new Sour Splash flavor at popular destinations like national parks, waterparks and tourist destinations.
Cascade Glacier products and the new Sour Splash flavor can be found through distributors like US Foods and CHEF’STORE.
Notoryou offers virtual assistance to welcome visitors
The pandemic has taken its toll on many sectors, including tourism and foodservice.
There are plenty of companies from small to large in the dairy industry that have been adversely affected, none more so than artisan cheesemakers who open to the public to not only sell their products, but also to offer tours of their facilities.
A French company, Notoryou, is bridging the gap.
It creates virtual content for companies, museums, art galleries, schools, tourist destinations and more around the world.
It can design tours, augmented reality, VR and 360 experiences, and add in videos, audio, and other components to bring visitors in for ‘virtual tours’ of facilities, which can often lead to online sales of products for those companies offering ecommerce options.
Some of its creations are available for viewing on its website, as well as at www.wherevart.com.
Sacco System launches agro-food business unit
Italian company Sacco System has reorganized its agro-food division by proposing new product lines, adding new personnel and giving the leadership of the business unit to Dr Luigi Rossi.
Rossi, executive director of agro-food, said, “My dairy team and I have experienced exciting years, during which we have built a worldwide network by selecting the best distribution channels and sharing with them a partnership path that has allowed business developments in more than 110 countries around the world.
“The new role of commercial director of the agro-food business unit has a particularly important significance to me. By leveraging my accumulated experience, I will give my contribution to positioning Sacco System in new emerging sectors that foresees very important growth trends in the upcoming years.
"The new agro-food BU is made up of several market segments, all of which are nonetheless characterized by one important element they share, namely the innovation and enhancement of our microorganisms as an added value to our customers’ production processes.”
Rossi said the probiotics the company offers for the plants and livestock sectors allow, in addition to improving the health of plants and animals, for the increase of yields by reducing, or in many cases even eliminating, the use of antibiotics, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers.
“We are fully aware of the relevance this element carries in the choice made by the final consumer,” he said.
The company is also extending its interest to other sectors such as fermented food vegetables, non-alcoholic beverages where it is experimenting with the culture that improves the aroma, especially in fruit-based ones. Other rapidly-evolving segments, Rossi said, are the bakery and the beer sectors, where the company will experiment with mixtures composed of yeasts and bacteria to enhance the organoleptic properties.
“Research and development have always been a fundamental pillar for Sacco, also in light of our growth-oriented mentality,” Rossi said.
“For what concerns the plant sector, the company has recently signed a collaboration agreement with a technological platform, Landlab, to cooperate in the testing of innovative microorganisms, both in vitro (greenhouse) and directly in the field.”
Rossi said Sacco System’s customers are interested in creating products with a high quality and safety standard, and Sacco System’s process and protection crops allows for a controlled fermentation while the protection ones act as a natural antagonist towards the unwanted flora that can give rise to deterioration of the product.
He said the cultures can also be used as an alternative to yeast for consumers who wish to switch to a diet without added yeasts, which he said is “a revolution for yeast-intolerant people, and even more so for gourmets, continuously in search of particular products reminiscing of the ancestral tastes of leavened bread and cakes.
“The use of our crops has therefore become "transversal" to multiple sectors, ranging from the dairy sector to many other markets in the food and agri-food sector.”
Rossi said the company will target the B2B sector and complete the production chain starting from agriculture, and for this reason, it has joined the "farm to fork" program.
