Questions of Taste: How Insights Shape What the World Eats and Drinks

In this episode of the Insighter's Club Podcast, Ross is joined by Basak Oker, Marketing & CSI Director, Europe at Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing.

Someone decided that your coffee tastes the way it does…and it wasn't an accident. Behind every flavor that hits a shelf is a web of consumer research, cultural context and calculated risk that has to drive decisions faster than ever.

In this episode, we're joined by Basak Oker, Marketing & CSI Director, Europe at Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing, who has spent 18 years at the intersection of flavor science, consumer behavior and brand innovation. Basak makes a compelling case that the insights function isn't there to validate decisions — it's there to remove randomness from innovation entirely. She breaks down how flavor trends move through the system, from Michelin-starred bar treks to mainstream shelves, and why that cycle has compressed from five years to six months.

We also cover:

• Why a strawberry flavor that signals joy in one market signals medicine in another + what brands must do before assuming anything travels globally
• How faster access to existing research shifts insights teams from reporting functions to genuine growth enablers
• What GLP-1 medications, Gen Alpha purchasing power, and "fantasy flavors" mean for the next wave of food and beverage innovation

Join The Insighter’s Club and get exclusive industry insights, expert analysis, and cutting-edge trends delivered straight to your inbox.