Inside the lab: Tate & Lyle reveals on-trend prototypes

Last week, FoodNavigator went to Lübeck – located one hour from Hamburg – to visit ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle’s application centre.

On the occasion of the firm’s inaugural European texture event, we caught up with senior vice president of R&D, Dr. Judith Whaley, to discuss major trends driving innovation in food formulation.

“We continue to see expanding clean label demand, so it’s everything from having a simple set of ingredients on the label to having recognisable ingredients, to the removal of E-numbers,” ​Whaley told us.

“All of those trends remain strong. And as those demands are made by consumers, food companies have to then reformulate to deliver that.”​

FoodNavigator tasted a number of prototypes that tap into industry trends, including clean label, vegan, and reduced-sugar offerings, and spoke to Whaley about Tate & Lyle’s TEXTURE VANTAGE Expert Systems – a suite of texture selection tools that help companies “predict texture in simple and even more complex food systems”. ​

Watch the video for behind-the-scenes footage of Tate & Lyle’s application centre, including its most recent range of prototypes, which includes vegan pizza and a gelified burger sauce.