Behind every successful flavor, there is a decision made before it is demanded by the market.

Brands are competing to connect with rapidly changing consumers, and those behind each development have to read the signals, interpret data and blend intuition with science, because thinking ahead has become as important as getting it right.

We spoke with Andrea Schwartz, Commercial Manager of Flavors for Chile, to understand how those “winning flavors” that manage to stay in the market’s memory are built.

Talking to her is like entering into a creative process that combines method, sensitivity and a lot of observation. For Andrea, a winning flavor is not defined by its immediate success, but by its ability to project itself towards what the consumer will want tomorrow.

“For us, having a winning flavor means working in advance on what the customer will ask for in the future,” she summarizes.

Innovation, Andrea explains, never starts from scratch, nor from an isolated impulse. There is always a clear and formal starting point, which has two sides: the view of the global or local leader; and the permanent market radar.

That combination – what is happening in the world and what is happening locally – guides the initial plan. But a great diagnosis is not enough: sensitivity is needed.

“Our work relies heavily on intuition. It is not something that one person does; it is the combination of talent from the technical, marketing and sales areas. We are all very attentive, detecting what could become a future trend,” Andrea comments.

And one of Cramer’s greatest contributions is its ability to anticipate needs, offering ready-made proposals when the client is just beginning to explore a new idea.

“When a request comes in, we have already developed the flavors that a particular project requires. The customer evaluates them and usually loves them, because we have already studied what the consumer will like.”

This advance work materializes in collections and concepts that connect trend, consumer and application: in summary, flavor proposals that consistently align with the expectations of the target consumer.

“We provide a starting point, which the client translates into what they want, and then together we develop the final product.”

Andrea defines this process using the example of a fashion show, showing the client what they did not know existed, but with the rigor and technical depth of a house of flavor.

In terms of trends, the fact that Cramer’s headquarters are in Chile offers unique advantages, mainly due to the openness of the country’s market to foreign ones.

“In Chile, you have the world at your feet. In the aisles of supermarkets and specialty stores you can find a wide range of products from all over the world, a great source of inspiration for the categories under study,” Andrea tells us.

And regarding what is coming in the world of flavors, she explains that the signals from today’s consumer are clear: the push for low/no alcohol products, the preference for less sweet profiles and a permanent coexistence between nostalgia and novelty.

But beyond trends, markets and applications, Andrea always returns to a central idea: trust as the backbone of the industry.

“The customer should be reassured that when Cramer offers a flavor, it will be successful because the consumer will love it.”

 

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