In 2022, McCormick created its much anticipated and first ever Flavor of the Year: Vietnamese x Cajun. The inaugural spice is a bright, complex reflection of innovations in food and flavor on a global level.
To launch the Flavor of the Year, McCormick needed something big to help deliver on its culture-crush of ingredients, highlighting the taste and aroma of the product in an immersive and experiential way. So, we delivered just that. The only catch? We released Vietnamese x Cajun in a place where flavor doesn't exist: the metaverse.
Using a combination of descriptive language, multi-sensory sound, and visualcues, we created a revolutionary new experience that brings the taste and aroma of our products to life virtually.
First, using AI, we analyzed more than 1,000 of the top restaurant and retail experiences to create a dynamic virtual destination. Then, we extracted the 5 main ingredients from Vietnamese x Cajun, mapping their color profiles throughout the experience to trigger the vibrant flavor blends. The result was an experience so immersive, you could almost taste it.
Users couldn't wait to visit The House of Flavor. After opening its doors at 10:30 a.m., before noon the experience was already trending on the Decentraland event board.
We offered the opportunity to purchase this year’s Flavor of the Year IRL and explore the storied walls of the Hall of Flavor, digging into the past 22 years of award-winning flavor trends.
To gamify the space, we invited users to cook alongside us. An interactive recipe builder required users to learn what key ingredients were included in each featured dish. The interaction proved to be memorable and educational, and users were rewarded with tokens for their participation.
Once players collected all their tokens, they could redeem them for limited edition virtual flavor apparel. More than 1,000 NFTs were claimed within the first 48hrs. And the coveted Boil Pot Helmet was fully redeemed in just over two hours.
In the opening days, House of Flavor hosted more than 750+ visitors, with an average time on site being 25m. ***1min average on mccormick.com***
Overall, more than +357 Million impressions were garnered, 600k organic. With a +525% increase in sales being generated in 3 days over the past 3 years of launches. 71.5% of purchases were made by new customers.
Flavor in the metaverse? Now, that tastes great.
Silver: Online/Interactive > Apps, Games, Virtual Reality - Single
Silver: Elements of Advertising > Digital Creative Technology > Interface & Navigation
Silver: Elements of Advertising > Digital Creative Technology > User Experience