VR for Business – Givaudan Virtual TasteTrek® Citrus – Taking Flavour Creation to the Next Level
Givaudan is the global leader in the creation of flavours and fragrances. In close collaboration with food, beverage, consumer product and fragrance partners, Givaudan develops tastes and scents that delight consumers the world over. Headquartered in Switzerland with local presence in over 180 locations, the Company has almost 14,900 employees worldwide and has achieved sales of CHF 6,2 billion in 2019.
The Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection at University of California Riverside (UCR) contains more than 1,000 varieties of citrus. Each year the company invites small groups of customers to the citrus groves, to discover the collection. This is the TasteTrek® experience. But busy schedules and geographical constraints sometimes make it difficult to offer the experience to all customers. Using VR for business is a game-changer.
To overcome this, Givaudan brought on Groove Jones, to help create Virtual TasteTrek® Citrus, an immersive adventure that uses virtual reality to transport customers to the UCR groves. Combining sight, sound and smell, this truly surprising experience enables users to learn about the citrus market landscape and co-create their own flavours.
The experience takes users through a virtual tour of the Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection at UCR. Created from the combination of 360° virtual reality videos and Givaudan’s proprietary Virtual Aroma Synthesizer® (VAS) technology, Virtual TasteTrek® Citrus is a revolutionary tool with both educational and inspirational applications.
With a large selection of educational content, users can explore the groves while developing their expertise on various topics, such as the origins of citrus, its different varieties and sensory attributes, and the challenges faced by the citrus market.
Beyond education, Virtual TasteTrek® Citrus is also about sparking inspiration: during the experience, users can sample selected flavours, increase or decrease key notes and start co-creating their own flavours. The ability to provide the virtual grove experience while engaging the users’ olfactory senses and their own creativity makes this technology one-of-a-kind.
"Experiencing first-hand some of the unique and surprising aroma profiles the fruits have to offer helps our customers unleash their creativity” says Dawn Streich, Global Product Manager Citrus for Givaudan.
When viewers first enter the experience, they are brought into a futuristic hub nestled above the University of California Riverside citrus groves. From there, a simple server interface guides users through a 360° introduction video that highlights what they will experience in the grove.
The tour is led by Dr. Tracy Kahn, curator of The Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection and Givaudan flavourist Geoff Marshall-Hill.
The Live Action Production
To make these videos uniquely come to life, Groove Jones utilized a drone and an RC rover system with the Insta360 Pro to capture cinematic, stereoscopic views around and above the groves at UCR.
Sense of Smell and Taste via Technology
Bringing the system together was a unique challenge for Groove Jones. We needed to synchronize multiple Oculus Gos or Oculus Quest systems with Givaudan’s unique MiniVAS technology through a networked PC that was intuitive for any team member to set up and use with their client.
The tools are being used in multiple countries across the globe.
For more information about the tools visit – https://www.givaudan.com/flavours/world-flavours/citrus
Check out our other VR for Business experiences – https://www.groovejones.com/xr-enterprise-business/
