Glass campaign aims to define the European tastes

Friends of Glass, a European consumer forum that promotes glass packaging, has launched a ‘Taste of Europe’ campaign to discover how British tastes compare with those on the continent.

Friends of Glass wants consumers to #MapYourTaste via an online quiz. All findings will be combined to define the ultimate ‘Taste of Europe’.

The FoG has called on international taste experts to kick-off the campaign by creating a map featuring personal taste profiles such as salty, sweet, bland, sour or bitter.

Among the experts are: Jane Peyton, UK Beer Sommelier of the Year 2014-2015. She was joined by: Andreas Larsson, Swedish Wine Sommelier, voted Best Sommelier of the World; Arno Steguweit, Europe’s first water sommelier from Germany; Caroline Furstoss, French Wine Sommelier 2014; Professor Giorgio Calabrese, an Italian Nutritionist; Guillermo Cruz, voted Spain’s Best Sommelier in 2014; and Christophe Baert, chef and vice-president of in the Belgian Euro-Toques Association.  

Rebecca Cocking of the British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation (British Glass) which represents the interests of all sectors of the glass industry in the UK, said: “Friends of Glass is very successful at finding creative ways to connect with the thousands of consumers across Europe who believe glass packaging is the best choice for them and their families. Last year, the ‘Look Beyond the Label’ campaign focused on the health and inert benefits of glass. With #MapYourTaste, we are drawing attention to the purity of taste offered by glass while highlighting Europe’s diverse and extensive food and drink cultural heritage.”

Professor Dieter Schrenk, an expert in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, in reference to the existing body of scientific research that has examined the impact of packaging on taste, states: “Taste is one of the most important yet vulnerable properties of food. Effective and reliable preservation of any taste is amongst the most critical requirements food packaging materials must fulfil. Glass is the ideal food packaging material because it’s inert, therefore it does not interact with the food or its flavour components.”

The #MapYourTaste campaign will be featured on the Friends of Glass stand at Taste of London, Regent’s Park, June 17-21. It will also  feature at a number of major  European  events as part of a Friends of Glass taste festival during 2015, including EXPO Milano from May 25-29 and Salon de la Revue du Vin de France on June 5. The campaign will continue until the end of 2015, with plans to visit other European cities such as Hamburg, Munich and Madrid.

How to take part and #MapYourTaste

·      Go to www.friendsofglass.com/mapyourtaste and complete the quiz to #MapYourTaste

·      Discover how your preferences will feed into the Taste Map 

·      Learn more about different tastes from other consumers and the Taste Makers

·      Join the Friends of Glass Community. Find it on Twitter at @friendsofglass or Facebook or on www.friendsofglass.com/tastemap and stay up-to-date with the #MapYourTaste campaign and share what you thought of your result. 

#MapYourTaste