Tasting the past: Alberta scientist explains how the pull of nostalgia influences companies
The orange cream flavour train has been picking up steam.
Coca-Cola is launched an orange-cream version of its signature soda this week.
The company says it developed the flavour in response to growing demand for it. So what’s the appeal?
Wendy Wismer studies people’s responses to the taste of food products. She’s a certified food scientist and associate professor at the University of Alberta and joined CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM to talk all things orange cream.
The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Why do you think people are drawn to novelty flavours like orange cream?
I think for orange cream that it’s the nostalgia. So certainly there may be a younger group of people who are trying orange cream for the first time. But because the Creamsicle or the Dreamsicle has been around for so many years, I think for many of us it has that nostalgia, that great memory of summertime and great flavours.
Do you think a lot of things that people choose for flavours, that sort of thing, are based on emotions and how they connect to it?
Absolutely.
Is that something that you study or people do study?
Yes, it really is. So there’s a lot of, you know, person-to-person variation in our sense of taste and smell. But then because our sense of smell is processed through our limbic system in our brain, it’s connected to that emotion and memory. So it can bring back a lot of really great positive memories. And that’s how you get that sense of nostalgia.
So do companies, when they’re developing flavours, they must take all that into account?
Yes, they do. It’s a real balance of of nostalgia, you know, if that’s something that’s needed. And I would suggest that maybe in this day and age, given our socioeconomic times, yes, we are looking for nostalgia, but also excitement. You know, as people were travelling more, we saw a lot more development of tropical fruit flavours and things like that. And then also what we would call contrast. So, I think we saw that most as a combination of sweet and salty … and then moving into things like chocolate with a really hot pepper, like a ghost pepper.
It’s always interesting to hear what flavour combinations people might like, but some seem to make sense and sometimes it doesn’t make sense to me. So I’m curious when when these kind of formulations are being made, are there certain formulas they use to calculate it?
I think it’s very much up to the flavours. So a strong knowledge of organic chemistry is really helpful here to know what you know sort of molecules will go together and traditionally what fits. And there are some analytical chemistry methods where we could look at all of the flavour profiles or flavour compounds in a couple of foods and see where they might complement each other and where they might overlap.
Is it common for brands to jump on flavour trends like this as well?
Absolutely. That’s how you draw consumers in and that’s how you get them to buy your product and make money. So you’re going to go out and you’re going to buy this case of Creamsicle-flavoured soft drink. And you might decide not to purchase it again, but at least you purchased it once. And if we get some repeat purchases, well, that’s great. And that often only lasts so long, and then a a food company will come up with another flavour of, let’s say, soft drink or ice cream or potato chips.
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