Where Passion and Profession Meet: Career of a Consumer Insights Manager at McCormick

“McCormick turned my dream job into a reality,” says Marta Di Iorio, Senior Consumer Insights Manager in the Specialty Flavor division at McCormick Italy. As a professional sommelier and passionate foodie, flavor has always been an integral part of Marta’s life, guiding her to her present role.

Now, she serves as our go-to expert on consumer behaviors and market trends for the flavors we sell to food and beverage manufacturers across EMEA and beyond.

In this story, we explore Marta’s career at McCormick, where her passion for flavor and professional expertise meet.

But first, what are the responsibilities of a Consumer Insights Manager?

A Consumer Insights Manager translates complex consumer and market data into clear, actionable strategies. In Marta’s case, working in Specialty Flavor, she has the unique opportunity to identify the most compelling flavor trends across categories like beverages, bakery, and snacks. Her work ultimately guides our portfolio development, customer engagement initiatives, and commercial decisions.

Overall, a Consumer Insights Manager like Marta acts as a bridge between consumers and the business, ensuring that every decision is grounded in a deep, evidence-based understanding of what people want and why.

What does a Typical Day-in-the-Life of a Consumer Insights Manager look like?

In this job, no two days look the same. 

“I love the variety in my role,” Marta says. “One day I’m analysing beverage market data, the next I’m partnering with Commercial and R&D to satisfy an ice-cream related request, or uncovering insights from customer surveys, or creating newsletters and toolkits to showcase our portfolio at its best.”

What does the Specialty Flavour Team at McCormick do?

The Specialty Flavour Team works on McCormick’s most challenging flavor projects. They devise new strategies and use advanced technologies to tackle challenges that come up while perfecting a new flavor or product. 

They tap into their immense knowledge, proprietary technology and local heritage in Vanilla, Citrus & Fruits and Botanical extractions and creations to create authentic, high-performance flavours. These three are the team’s strongholds and are used resourcefully to drive innovation and meet consumer demands.

In this manner, the team plays a big role in enabling McCormick to deliver flavors that are not only technically superior but emotionally resonant.

Merging Passion and Profession at McCormick

“Food and flavor mean joy, discovery, and the art of bringing people together,” shared Marta.

Universal and uniquely personal at the same time, food and flavor create powerful experiences. To this day, Marta carries certain tastes in her heart, like her grandmother’s lasagna at Sunday lunch.

Today, at McCormick, Marta gets to do what she loves every single day. She says, “Joining McCormick allowed me to bring together my passions and professional expertise, making them part of my everyday work.” 

While she handles flavor and taste regularly at a professional level, she doesn’t forget to keep the passion for the same alive outside work. She actively engages in wine and food tourism several times a year, even using those experiences to nourish her professional insights.

When passion and profession meet, excellence naturally follows. Marta’s story is a perfect example of the same. With the support of employees like Marta, McCormick is able to fuel our passion for flavor and share it with the world.