In this week's NPD Trend Tracker we hear about the first British brand to make baby formula with goat's milk; the power of marine collagen peptides, and the launch of some hot sauces designed to tap the rise of at-home eating occasions.
With a rise in demand for food to eat at home set to increase the UK condiment and table sauce market by 5% in 2020, according to Mintel, small batch sauce maker Orriss & Son has introduced a range of three fermented chilli condiments.
Orriss & Son said the sauces are punchy, fermented chilli, ambient condiments, which offer different levels of heat and flavour profile to satisfy the increasing consumer interest in both world cuisine and hot, spicy sauces and dressings.
Orriss & Son founder David Underwood, the ex co-owner of gourmet American-style burger restaurant Steak & Honour, said: “Having worked in restaurants from London to Australia, I’ve always been fascinated by the ability of flavours within cuisine to transcend a country’s culture. I’m a huge fan of spice – especially chillies, as they can bring so many different layers of flavour profile and levels of intensity to a dish – and I’ve long been passionate about creating well-rounded, balanced flavours in my home cooking. That’s why I’ve created this range of small batch sauces to do just that. No fuss, no chopping; everything in each sauce blend is already perfectly balanced and ready for use.”
Image supplied by Orriss & Son
Thai-inspired plant-based ready meal
Irish plant-based food company fiid has expanded its range with a Thai-inspired Aromatic Lentil & Sweet Potato Curry meal.
Ready in just two minutes, the dish is gluten free, high in protein and fibre, and contains 3 of your 5 a day. This newest meal is the fourth product in the fiid range, which also includes Hearty Chickpea Tagine; Rich Sundried Tomato & Lentil Ragu and Smoky Black Bean Chilli. The products can be stored in a pantry for up to 18 months without the use of any preservatives or additives.
Shane Ryan, founder of fiid said: “Since the beginning we’ve always set out to create classic comfort foods but without the compromise and curries are synonymous with that warming feeling so it was a natural fit for the range. Our Aromatic Lentil & Sweet Potato Curry provides that nourishing belly hug you expect from a curry with real lemongrass, ginger and lime leaf and the beautiful crunch of water chestnut. A labour of love, taking over 12 months to develop, I’m so excited to finally share our newest bowl with the world.”
Image supplied by fiid
Aldi is rolling out flow wrap packaging across its entire Glen Lochy block cheddar range in all 94 Scottish stores, reducing plastic waste by 50%.
The new packaging is being introduced on all seven of the supermarket’s Glen Lochy Scottish cheddar block products from today Monday 30th November and will save approximately 13 tonnes of plastic a year in Scotland.
Flow wrapping is a horizontal packaging technique used for both single and multipack applications. It minimises the amount of packaging, reducing plastic waste and the carbon footprint associated with the transport of goods. The new flow wrap packaging is replacing the previously used aplex packaging, commonly known as zip lock.
Luke Peech, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “The storage of perishable products such as dairy is often challenging and requires a balancing act between tackling food waste and reducing the amount of plastic we use.
“The new packaging enables us to do both in a sustainable manner which represents an important step in our journey to reduce our carbon footprint and the volume of plastic packaging our company produces.”
In July, Aldi trialled wrapping kitchen roll in recycled paper to save an estimated five tonnes of single use plastic from being thrown away in Scotland each year. This follows the supermarket’s pledge to remove two billion single items of plastic by 2025, halving the volume used in that time. The retailer has already removed 6,000 tonnes of plastic since 2019.
Image supplied by Aldi
Kendamil has introduced the only British-made Goat’s milk formula via an exclusive partnership with Waitrose supermarket.
Kendamil Goat is also the first of its kind to contain Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) - the third largest solid component in human breastmilk.
Made in the Lake District, Kendamil Goat contains full cream nutrients including full cream goat milk and goat whey. There’s zero palm oil or fish oil included. The formulation uses plant based DHA and contains no GMOs.
The company said goat milk formula is easier to digest for babies because it contains more short/medium fatty acids, rather than long chain fatty acids of cows’ milk. Kendamil Goat will also include A2 milk, which the company said is more easily digested and absorbed by infants, compared to a recipe exclusively made with A1 milk (milk comes in A1 and A2 variants).
Speaking about the latest launch, CEO Ross McMahon said: “Finally we have achieved another world first, a British made Goat formula using fresh liquid, full cream goat milk from local British farms. Our social media followers have been waiting patiently in their thousands for this launch and we are excited to unveil what we believe is the most Superpremium Goat formula in the world, with this amazing creamy taste. We’ve spent over a year perfecting our formulation with the latest ingredients including HMO’s and plant based DHA, to ensure that we offered UK parents the most scientifically advanced Goat formula in the world.”
Following on from the success of its top tier bovine collagen peptides, ketogenic specialist Hunter & Gather has extended its dietary supplements portfolio into marine collagen; appealing to those ‘healthier living’ individuals for whom whey or dairy-based protein (due to allergies) is simply a non-starter.
According to Hunter & Gather founder, Jeff Webster, “the constant thread behind Hunter & Gather’s expanding portfolio is a return to basics/common-sense thinking, recalibrating everyday eating habits to compensate for the fact that unlike our hunter gatherer ancestors we’re less likely to sip bone broth, chow down on tendons or the entire nose to tail of an animal. This is why we now champion two, easy-to-use collagen powder propositions that can mix into your favourite hot/cold beverage or smoothie that can bridge the growing chasm that exists between collagen requirements and intake.”