Missed FiE in Paris this year? Fear not, FoodNavigator was on the ground to bring you a host of exciting innovations in the ingredients space. From insect ingredients to fava bean protein, scroll through the gallery for some of the most exciting new ingredients available in food and drink.
Missed FiE in Paris this year? Fear not, FoodNavigator was on the ground to bring you a host of exciting innovations in the ingredients space. From insect ingredients to fava bean protein, scroll through the gallery for some of the most exciting new ingredients available in food and drink.
Ingredients supplier Prinova is preparing to launch its range of ‘smooth proteins’ in Europe, made from watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, and mung beans.
According to Michael Robbins, Prinova technical sales associate for nutrition, the range was developed in response to textural challenges with conventional plant-based proteins.
“What we’ve seen within the last few years, is a big rise in vegan proteins. But, they have been standardised under soy protein, pea protein, and rice protein,” Robbins told FoodNavigator at FiE in Paris this month.
“The issue we have found with those, especially in applications such as protein shakes or ready-to-drink beverages, is that they have a lot of issues with mouthfeel and texture.”
Prinova itself markets pea, soy and rice proteins, yet told this publication that rice protein can be ‘quite grainy’, and ‘can quite often have an earthy taste’.
The company’s range of smooth proteins aims to minimise these textural disadvantages. The new line includes hydrolysed protein from watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, and mung beans.
All these sources have a high protein content, varying from 70-85% protein, he elaborated. “This is a similar amount to what is found in rice protein or pea protein. So nutritionally, you don’t lose out.”
Further, the amino acid profile can also be attractive to those in the sports nutrition market. Mung bean protein, for example, has a high leucine content, which the sales associate said is ‘ideal’ for those wanting to build muscle.
Prinova will be marketing the smooth proteins as standalone products, as well as in blends with more conventional sources of plant-based protein. “We’ve seen that vegan blends are favoured over one vegetable protein product,” he continued. In that way, Robbins suggested blends can increase functionality while improving texture and moth feel.
The smooth protein range will have a higher price point than the company’s pea, soy, and rice proteins. The line is already on the market in the US and is expected to launch in Europe at the end of Q1 2020.
Image: GettyImages/Magone
Duch agri-tech company Protifarm claims it has launched the first ingredient range made from inspects for human consumption.
The ingredients line, titled AdalbaPro, was launched together with foodservice distributor Caldic at FiE in Paris. Four products are now available for the B2B food industry: a textured insect protein, an insect protein concentrate, a fibre powder, and a whole buffalo powder.
Protifarm chose to work with the Alphitobius diaperinus, commonly known as the buffalo beetle, due to its flavour profile. “This insect has a very mild, slightly nutty flavour that the food industry loves,” CEO Tom Mohrmann told FoodNavigaor when we caught up at FiE.
It does not have the off-taste present in a number of other alternative proteins, he elaborated. “Pea has an off-taste, soy has an off-taste, crickets have an off-taste, and grasshoppers have an off-taste.”
Beyond taste, the product is nutritious, containing a complete profile of amino acids, as well as vitamin b12, iron, fibre, and healthy fats.
And the sustainability argument is clear. The production of insects for human consumption produces a ‘tiny fraction’ of the greenhouse gas emitted from poultry, pork, and beef production. Protifarm employs a vertical farming method to maximise its productivity per square metre, and the company is on a mission towards 100% renewable energy.
“Compared to conventional livestock or even many plant-based protein sources, our buffalo beetles require a tiny amount of water to grow. That’s because the Alphitobius diaperinus prefer to stay dry through their lifecycle consuming only the water they need for hydration,” noted the firm.
“As they produce much less waste than conventional livestock our farm consumes a fraction of the water of a cattle or pig farm.”
Protifarm uses a patented processing method to transform the buffalo beetle larvae into ‘recognisable’ ingredients for the food industry. For CEO Mohrmann, the reason behind this is two-fold.
“If you offer whole insects to the food industry, nobody knows what to do with it. And more importantly, if they do know what to do with it, nobody wants whole insects in their factory.”
Secondly, Mohrmann argued that consumers respond better to insect-based ingredients mixed into food products, rather than crunching down on recognisable, dead insects. “Consumers don’t want whole insects ending up in their food.”
Image source: Protifarm
The honeyberry is a nutrient-rich, tart berry native to Siberia. Slightly sour in taste, the vibrant blue berry transforms into a deep red/purple when blended – which it was at SVZ’s stand at FiE.
Otherwise known as ‘haskap’ or ‘fly honeysuckly’, the fruit is an oblong shaped berry similar in appearance to the blueberry. And according to SVZ, the berry is seeing new interest across the food and beverage market.
“A big reason is its health benefits: not only is it full of antioxidants, but it has twice the vitamin A and four times the vitamin C as blueberries,” noted the firm.
“Honeyberries also have the highest content of phenolic acids and anthocyanin of the berries we grow, and contain significant sources of potassium, calcium, phosphorous, and iron.”
In food applications, the berry can be used in juice categories or in the dairy sector. It also has potential as a filling in baked goods. The slightly sour taste can ‘easily be masked’, FoodNavigator was told after trialling the honeyberry puree, suggesting there is market potential for honeyberry’s use in the ‘healthy shots’ category.
Image: GettyImages/
French ingredients supplier Roquette has brought forward the launch of its new fava bean protein, which it launched at FiE in Paris this month.
Fava bean (Vicia faba L.) is a valuable crop, according to the firm. “It is a rich source of proteins and fibre, but it is also gluten and GMO-free and not a major allergen. In addition, like the yellow pea, fava bean culture is environmentally friendly.”
Nutralys TF-C is sourced from fava beans grown locally in France, and the company said it can ‘open up new taste and texture options’ for food manufacturers – and support the development of new plant-based alternatives.
Vice president of the Pea and New Proteins Business Line, Jean-Philippe Azoulay, told FoodNavigator the decision to launch early was driven by the opportunity to launch at FiE.
“The production is ready, the product is well-known, and it is well understood by our sales and technical forces. There was no reason to postpone.
“We had thought about launching in early 2020, but we saw that the market was accelerating. Everything is going very fast in the plant-based mean [sector], so we also decided to accelerate to be one step ahead of the competition.”
Roquette also took the opportunity at FiE to launch to launch Nutralys TP-C – a new plant-based protein made from pea.
Azoulay revealed the ingredients supplier is also looking to other sources of protein. “Fava is the first one beyond pea, and we are [also] looking at oats, mung beans, chickpeas, rice, and potato.”
Image: GettyImages/Geo-grafika
The pressure on manufacturers to cut sugar levels gives them room to innovate with new bitter, sharper, hotter, spicier and more pungent flavours.
To this end, German family-owned ingredients supplier Paradise Fruits by Jahncke launched a new range of Eastern-inspired products at Food Ingredients Europe 2019, designed to help manufacturers experiment with new flavour and texture solutions without adding sugar.
The range takes its inspiration from Japan and meets a growing trend for Eastern flavours. The range is available in a variety of flavours including Mandarin & Yuzu, Lychee & Raspberry, Apple & Green Tea, Lime & Matcha Tea and Ginger & Plum, as well as bespoke combinations that can be developed to suit customer requirements.
The flavours and textures come in a variety of formats including Paradise Fruits’ unique irregular cut granulates, standard granulates, fruit pastes, juice drops and standard and bespoke shapes. They can be used in a wide variety of applications, from baked goods to chocolates and snacks.
Kurt Jahncke, CEO of Paradise Fruits, said: “There is a trend towards Eastern flavours for their widely renowned health benefits and this has been enhanced with the increasing popularity of Japan with tourists, especially in the run up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We created Taste of the East to provide food and drink manufacturers with a number of innovative solutions to meet this demand and get a head start in developing exciting new products for retailers to stock.”
Paradise Fruits also showcased its new high fibre recipe, which provides less than 40% sugar (naturally occurring) than standard fruit ingredients and almost 40g of fibre per 100g.
The recipe is available as fruit granulates, pastes, drops and shapes and is ideal for manufacturers looking to create products that respond to an increasing demand for functional high fibre snacks, cereals and baked goods.
Richard Horsley, Sales Director, added: “People are wanting to add texture to products either as an inclusion or as a topping. Whilst there is a sugar content in the products, it’s from the fruits. It’s not added sugar. And now with the option of adding fibre it gives customers the chance to play with their recipes and still have something that tastes good.”
Cargill demonstrated a host of solutions at FiE 2019 offering to help food manufacturers cut sugar from products while keeping the taste and texture familiar with consumers.
These innovations have wide-ranging applications. For example, the ingredients giant showed its new Gerkens CT70 cocoa powder, which it said delivers a ‘complete sensorial experience to consumers of baked goods’. The power – perfect in products such as brownies -- offers a true chocolate smell and taste in application, as well as an appetising red-brown colour, it added. The powder has less than 7% alkalising agents - assuming no other ingredient in the recipe contains alkalising agent, then no declaration on the label is needed from that perspective.
The company also demonstrated its IY34 clean label baking fat that contains 30% lower saturated fatty acids vs butter and trans fatty acids below 1%. It also made a ‘Twice as Good’ sandwich biscuit with its WheatWise micronized natural wheat bran, allowing it to cut the biscuits’ sugar and cocoa-based filling by 20%. It also created ‘guilt-free ice cream’ boasting an 80% reduction in sugar and 30% reduction in calories via its combination of sweeteners (ViaTech stevia leaf extract, CMaltidex maltitol syrup and Zerose erythritol) and stabilsers.
“When it comes to the bakery market, indulgence and great taste remain key, despite consumers’ increasing desire for healthier and cleaner options,” said Cargill. “The challenge for bakery manufacturers is to deliver label-friendliness and more permissible indulgence, via sugar reduction or fibre enrichment for example, while maintaining a delicious taste and an exciting texture.”
In the snacking space, Cargill showcased its Alberger Flour Salt, which is made up of tiny, multi-faceted crystals that were created through a proprietary, open-pan evaporation process that forms this uniquely shaped salt. This product, it said, can assist snacking manufacturers achieve a 30% salt reduction alternative with no impact on flavour, while also remaining label-friendly. This is because the crystals have a larger surface area and lower bulk density compared to other cube-shaped granulated salts, it explained.
Cargill set up a food and drink market at FiE to demonstrate its application expertise. “We’ve created 17 different prototypes each targeting different specific needs that we’ve identified from label-friendly sauces or sugar and sodium reduction,” explained Cargill Marketing Communications Manager René Berendse.
“We’re taking an outside-in approach. The benefit of Cargill is probably its broad portfolio but its not just the ingredients we have. What we’ve done here is we also develop the insights and combine that with the reformulation expertise we have. Around the globe we have over 2,000 people in R&D. That’s a blessing because not only do they know about single ingredients, a lot of those folks know how ingredients interact and that’s how you get into an interesting discussion which is very close to the heart of the typical FiE visitor. We might have people coming to our stand looking to reduce calories in cupcakes. And at those stands we have people with a passion for making those formulations and show them the work that we’re able to do.”
Pic: Getty/GrahamParton
Naturex, part of Givaudan, unveiled a range of botanical infusions at FiE 2019 aiming to tap into the health and wellness trend among consumers. Made by gentle water extraction, these infusions preserve the plant’s authentic taste and help manufacturers add the trendy ‘Infusion’ labelling to front of packaging. Available botanicals include chamomile, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender and a peach flavour from Givaudan.
Naturex set up a ‘hipster-style coffee shop’ at its stall to illustrate the hot and cold drink applications offered by its botanicals. This included an organic Peruvian superfood cafe latte with Andean maca root extract, a blue moon milk made with Naturex’s Ultimate Blue Spirulina for a tranquil pastel blue colour, and energy-giving sparkling water containing guarana extract and acerola, which has naturally occurring vitamin C and which allows a product to use an energy claim.
“This is addressing the trend of bringing more to water, not just more flavour but more functionality, more reasons and purpose to water,” Romain Thevenot, Global Product Manager of Wellness at Naturex, told FoodNavigator.
He added that botanical ingredients are rooted in “ancient wisdom and traditions” which “brings meaning to consumers, connected with health and wellness, as well something exciting and fun”.
“Flowers are very hot, which is why we are addressing them with chamomile and lavender concentrated infusions. It's all about experiencing wellness throughout the day. Adaptogens for example is a very hot trend because it’s all about using ancient wisdom to give you energy and relaxation and lift your mood throughout your day.”
Visitors to the Naturex stall were also invited to taste mini cup tacos filled with a meat analogue. The texturised vegetable protein filling was coloured with Naturex’s range of colouring foodstuffs, giving it both an appealing meaty taste and appearance. For complete nutrition, the addition of Ultimine iron, a whole food fermented mineral, provides 15% of the recommended daily value of iron.
The iron “avoids the problem of when you have a big peak and your body absorbs it but doesn’t last quickly,” explained a Naturex spokesperson. “Through fermentation we’ve made a form of iron which is much more bioavailable in the body. With this technology we also reduce a lot of the off notes of iron.”
The tacos also came with a choice of two sauces: a mayo-like sauce that was stabilised against oxidation with Xtrablend RN, a clean label alternative to EDTA.
The spokesperson said the plant-based space was a big trend at FiE. “The real trend here is plant-based and how to replace meat and still make it super tasty with a good nutritional profile and with an appealing colour,” she said. “We’ve developed a full new line of colours dedicated to meat analogues. There’s a challenge with meat analogues: you want it red at the start then brown during the cooking process. We’ve developed the technology which allows this change of colour during the cooking process and we’ve combined our capabilities into natural colours and preservation to make the blends last longer during the shelf life of the product so it stays redder for longer.”
Naturex also launched at the show its VegeBrite Golden Yellow colour, which is obtained from carrot concentrate and provides a great alternative to beta-carotene for creating a ‘golden glow’ in bakery and dairy products. Available in liquid and powder forms it answers the “clean label” demands of European consumers, removing E-numbers from the list of ingredients, the company said.
DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences has built a new plant-based solutions portfolio to help food producers meet the growing demand for healthier, more sustainable foods and beverages that are meat and dairy-free. The portfolio – a comprehensive launch pad for new product development – was presented at FiE 2019, where a selection of innovative plant-based concepts gave visitors a taste of the potential.
The global sales growth forecast for the plant-based sector is huge, noted the US conglomerate. As more consumers choose a flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan diet, it cited estimates from Euromonitor that the market total will boast an annual growth rate close to 9%.
The DuPont plant-based solutions comprise a comprehensive portfolio of plant proteins, cultures, probiotics, enzymes and stabilising solutions that deliver all-round nutritional and functional benefits.
“Using our plant-based solutions, food manufacturers can redefine existing products or create entirely new categories that give consumers a wider range of choices,” said Sonia Huppert, Global Marketing Leader for Plant-Based Health at DuPont. "If the plant-based movement is to have a long-term impact on health and sustainability, we need to provide more options so consumers can quickly identify their personal preferences and speed up change in their purchasing habits.”
Jane Whittaker, Principle Application Specialist, told Food Navigator that many more innovations were set to hit the plant-based space.
“Hand in hand with the drive for plant-based is also the backstory,” she said. “There are two drivers behind plant-based: the health and the sustainability. So going forward we’ll see more and more questions about how the products are made and what they do to the planet. This will generate new ingredients and different requirements in applications.”
Pic: iStock/goolyash
