Ofi combines cocoa with Asian flavors using AI

Dive Brief:

• Olam Food Ingredients (Ofi) have developed a set of trending flavor pairings for its deZaan line of cocoa products using artificial intelligence. These include Asian-inspired tastes like lychee, miso, matcha, yuzu, mochi, and spicy chili.
• In an interview with Food Dive, Ofi pastry chef Andrew Pingul said the pairings will allow the company to bring its cocoa ingredients closer to emerging trends for use in food and beverage applications. These include rich alkalized cocoa paired with miso, and natural cocoa paired with yuzu for a citrusy flavor profile.
• The ingredients company’s research singled out mochi as a booming confection in the baked goods space, and can be paired in ice cream desserts with pistachio and creamy chocolate.

Dive Insight:

By harnessing the power of AI, Ofi aims to bring cocoa producers into a new category that their consumers desire. Asian flavors have been on the rise in the U.S. in recent years, and Ofi’s cocoa products are poised to capitalize on their popularity.

While American consumers are still getting familiar with Eastern flavors and becoming more aware of them on social media, Pingul said there are similarities to tastes they already love. Yuzu’s flavor is reminiscent of orange and lemon, he said, while miso has a taste that some note as familiar to butterscotch.

“Lychee, miso and yuzu, are all quite new to U.S. consumers, but if you look into them deeper, you can see that they also have familiar tasting notes that can help bridge the new trend to familiar flavors,” Pingul said.

The ingredients company sees potential for a range of confectionery products utilizing the trends. Lychee, noted for its sweet and floral taste, can be combined with cocoa powder to produce in a rich pastry filling, Ofi said, while matcha can pair with smooth cocoa in a three-layered tiramisu. Ofi said producers can use its TrueDark cocoa powder, which contains fruit and nut notes, to craft a chocolate ganache paired with raspberry sauce.

Despite the reliance on consumer taste and market data to power the trends, Pingul noted that human expertise is still important in the ingredient development process. Perfecting the finished product, along with ensuring products have desired health and sustainability attributes, are still important details for chefs and formulators to focus on, he said.