Scan Magazine | Special Theme | A Taste of Sweden
The science of taste While simplicity is part of the charm when adding a stock cube to your casserole or sprinkling some spice mix over your curry, the process behind most food solutions is both long and complex. Solina Group marries expertise with passion to make cooking simple, healthy and enjoyable. By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Solina Group
“There’s a lot to consider: different legislation about what can and can’t be included in food products, certain allergy requirements, sustainability, price…” says Susanne Rask, research and development manager at Solina Group. “Of course the most important thing is flavour, and having that feeling for what works.” Rask is a trained engineer and has spent her entire professional career in the food industry, working on taste sensations, deli meats, snacks and more. In January last year, she joined Solina Group. “I enjoy an incredible variety in what I do,” she says. “In my position, you need to know a little bit about a lot of things; you need to understand the law but also know everything about the production processes as well as how different ingredients work and interact.”
Strength in numbers Solina Group was technically founded in 38 | Issue 85 | February 2016
2012 through a merger between Savena Group and Sfinc Group, but the collective experience now comprised within the group counts to 40 years and an expertise covering areas such as cheese powder, food colouring, gelatine and stock, not to mention a foothold all over Europe. “This really is one of our greatest strengths,” Rask points out. “When a customer comes to us looking for help to develop a product, we already have a lot of the competence and contacts within the group. We cover something like 8,000 ingredients already, all our suppliers have been checked and approved and we’ve got experts within pretty much everything that concerns food. We can move fast.” Today the group works with the biggest and most loved brands in the food industry as well as small companies and new brands. Backed up by a huge network of chefs, cooks, flavourists, engineers, nutritionists and scientists, the com-
pany develops everything from stocks, marinades and seasonings to dry-curing products, texture improvers and a wide range of nutritional snacks and sports products. “You could say that we work locally, yet we utilise the international competence,” says Rask. “So we have development centres in all the countries and work locally with clients, which is crucial as each country and culture has its own taste preferences. Yet all our customers benefit from the wide knowledge base throughout the group.”