We had the privilege of speaking with Juan José Thuemme, Global Flavorist at Etadar By Deiman. With an impressive career spanning more than 30 years, Juan José Thuemme has committed himself to the craft of developing unique flavors, particularly those inspired by authentic Mexican cuisine — flavors that are becoming increasingly rare in today’s world. In this in-depth discussion, Juan reflects on his career, significant challenges and successes, the growing impact of technology, and his vision for the industry’s future.
Career Journey: From Inspiration to Global Influence
We kicked off our conversation by asking, “Can you tell us about your professional journey and what led you to your current role?”
Juan responded, “I am a Global Flavorist with about 48 years of experience in the development of flavors. Being the Senior Creative Flavorist, I started working in Etadar By Deiman, creating nature-identical flavors and creating systems of flavor with innovations on new chemicals alongside developing plant-based flavors. We created a school in flavors called ‘Native Flavors’ for Mexico, Spain, and worldwide where people were introduced to Mexican flavors.”
Milestones That Define Success
We wanted to understand which milestones stand out the most in Juan’s journey, so we asked, “What has been your business’s biggest achievement to date?”
He shared, “The most relevant flavor success was creating sugar replacements. We have made some modulation in sugar, creating some Mexican native flavors such as zapote, which is a characteristic of Mexico.”
Overcoming Roadblocks with Persistence
Every successful career has faced difficult moments. Curious about how Juan and his team pushed through those, we asked, “What have been some of the most significant hurdles you’ve encountered in your business, and how did you address them?”
Juan explained, “The most significant hurdles in my business are the lack of new flavors molecules technology, the Mexican situation, the relations of my country and USA are limited and l have made replacements of materials imported with too much work to get the profiles in flavors. The way to address them is working very hard in the replacement of raw material.”
A Memorable Lesson in Business
We were eager to find out if there was any particular business advice that has guided Juan over the years. We asked, “What is an excellent piece of business advice you have ever received?”
He answered, “My excellent piece of business advice was the reaction with vanilla beans from Papantla Veracruz. It was about the reaction of vanillin naturally and with oak extract getting more Vanella character in the vanilla industry to create the Mexican extract for the industry.”
Leadership Grounded in Innovation and Mentorship
To better understand his leadership philosophy, we asked, “How would you describe your leadership style?”
Juan replied, “My primary leadership approach involves coming up with innovative concepts grounded in global technology to train all of my assistants and collaborators and demonstrate the outcomes we’ve achieved.”
The Role of Technology in Flavor Development
We also asked, “What role do you see Artificial Intelligence or technology playing in this industry?”
Juan shared, “With Artificial Intelligence in some of the largest industries, I’ve seen how they explain the process of building a robot with all the data required to produce flavors in a highly confidential matter.”
Looking Ahead: The Future of Food and Flavors
Finally, we asked, “How do you envision the future of your industry?”
Juan expressed, “The future of this industry is becoming increasingly important with the rise in food costs and to cope with this, we must use plant-based foods to replace dairy, cheese, meat, chicken, shrimp, and fish.”
Follow Juan José Thuemme on LinkedIn.
Find Etadar By Deiman on LinkedIn and visit their website http://www.etadar.com.mx.
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