Take a Foodstep into the Future

Puratos Canada releases data from Taste Tomorrow - the world's largest bakery,
patisserie, and chocolate consumer survey.

• The Taste Tomorrow event for North America was held between April 30 and May 2, 2019, in Chicago, IL
• Taste, health, and freshness remain the top three criteria amongst North American consumers
• The Taste Tomorrow research is a key driver for innovation for Puratos and their customers

TORONTO, May 6, 2019 /CNW/ - Puratos Canada, the Canadian arm of global Belgium-based brand Puratos has released select data from their 2019 Taste Tomorrow study. Taste Tomorrow is the world's largest independent bakery, patisserie and chocolate consumer survey.

The 2019 Taste Tomorrow study is the third of its kind, with events taking place in Asia, Europe, North & South America. The study is conducted once every three years on a global scale. The results provide Puratos with in-depth insights into global and local consumer behaviour while identifying future trends into bakery, patisserie, pastry, and chocolate.

For this year's study, 17,000 consumers in 40 countries were surveyed. The survey also included interviewing 80 foodies in 8 trend-setting cities and conducting additional interviews with both customers and industry experts.

"As leaders in innovation, Taste Tomorrow has become a key factor in our decision-making as a business and also in being at the forefront of this industry," says Liesbet Vandepoel Director of Marketing for Puratos Canada. "Exclusively available to Puratos customers, insights from the full Taste Tomorrow research gives a head-start within R&D departments, product development planning and marketing."

The study offers a Foodstep into the future by tracking the evolution of trends and unveiling new ones. The top nine trends within the North American region include :

• Taste above all
• A Healthier future
• Freshness defines the quality perception
• Consumers crave for craft
• Ethical food choices shape our future
• Clear labels provide transparency
• Ultimate convenience
• Next level experience
• Hyper-personalization

Canadians highly value the quality of ingredients and the authenticity of recipes and packaging - food with a real, human touch. Sixty-two per cent of Canadian consumers are willing to pay more for artisan, handcrafted products.

The report also states that 77 per cent of Canadians are drawn to traditional flavours while 55 per cent want to try exotic new global flavours.

Consumers seek greater transparency and increasingly consult packaging labels to have a more informed choice of consumption. Sixty-five per cent of Canadian consumers read ingredient lists and nutrition labels.

The perception of freshness is based on the manufacturing date for 72 per cent of Canadian consumers followed by the smell at 58 per cent.

These figures are a sample of the insights the Taste Tomorrow study contains. For more information about the survey and its results, please visit www.tastetomorrow.com or reach out to the media contact listed to speak to a spokesperson from Puratos Canada.

About Puratos
Puratos is an international group which offers a full range of innovative products and application expertise for artisans, industry, retailers, and foodservice customers in the bakery, patisserie, and chocolate sectors. Our headquarters are located on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium, where the company was founded in 1919. Puratos counts over 9,000 employees, and our products and services are available in over 100 countries around the world. In many cases, they are produced locally by our subsidiaries. Above all, we aim to be 'reliable partners in innovation' across the globe to help our customers deliver nutritious, tasty food to their local communities.

For further information, visit www.puratos.com.

About Taste Tomorrow
Taste Tomorrow is a large-scale global research study conducted for Puratos by Ipsos. The goal is to enhance customer knowledge about important consumer trends impacting the bakery, patisserie, and chocolate sectors and to provide inspiration for innovative product development.

For further information, visit www.tastetomorrow.com.

SOURCE Puratos Canada

Media Contact: Tasneem Dasoo, Media Relations, [email protected], 416-522-0829