What makes a food or drink product one of the most innovative of the year?
According to market analyst Mintel, there are three main criteria: consumer relevance, innovation edge, and market impact.
Those were the three questions asked of the 2026 EMEA judging panel, which for full disclosure, included this writer.
Each judge considered whether the shortlist of 20 food and drink products met a real need and connected with real people; to what extent it stood out, both strategically and creatively; and whether it has changed the game – or has the potential to.
So which products were crowned the 10 most innovative in the region? The final list is in...
Food-based supplement for weight management
GLP-1 medications have become increasingly popular for weight management, but not everybody wants to take a pharmaceutical drug.
Enter: Elcella. A food-based supplement designed to “rebuild the gut environment” and strengthen the gut-brain connection so that consumers’ own GLP-1 and PYY hormones can function as they’re meant to.
In so doing, the brand says appetite control can be restored, cravings reduced, and steadier energy levels achieved.
According to Elcella, the pills represent a meaningful step forward in how metabolic health is addressed within wellness and supplementation.
Tallow cooking spray
In the supermarket, shoppers can find a wide variety of cooking spray – almost all made from vegetable oils.
Gourmet Tallow’s cooking spray sets itself apart by offering an alternative: a mixture of 67% Wagyu beef tallow spray combined with 33% avocado oil.
The start-up claims to have “conquered the challenge of spraying solid animal fats” with its offering. The product, it notes, achieves “steakhouse quality browning” and champions “nose-to-tail sustainability” – all with a single, powerful press.
The Wagyu beef tallow cooking spray can be used for searing, air frying, barbecuing, roasting and baking.
High-fibre soft, sliced bread
The fibre gap is real. In France, where manufacturer Jacquet is headquartered, just 13% of adults are achieving the minimum threshold for fibre consumption per day.
A new product from Jacquet, coined the Super Tartine, aims to change that. Three slices of the soft, sliced bread covers one quarter of the daily fibre requirement.
The secret lies in the wheat itself, which thanks to more than 20 years of research, is naturally rich in fibre. Indeed, the flour contains approximately 10 times more fibre than standard white flour.
Collagen protein shakes for women
Collagen is among the hottest ingredients in functional food and drink. But the protein shakes category has largely been male dominated to date - often sold in black packaging with bold fonts and marketed for ‘gym bros’.
Goodness Shakes’ Glow brand is doing something different. It’s intentionally designed to appeal to women, which the brand believes will help grow market penetration.
Glow claims to be the only widely available collagen shake and a UK first in mainstream retail. Each 250ml bottle contains 2500mg of collagen, 27g of protein and has 150 kcal.
The new line comes in two flavours: iced latte and white chocolate.
Hidden veg nuggets
Parents struggle to serve up easy, quick and healthy meals to their kids during the week.
That’s according to research commissioned by UK business Little Dish, which is responding with frozen Superstars chicken nuggets packed with hidden vegetables.
The offerings contain 50% less salt than conventional chicken nuggets, and include vegetables like cauliflower – which has been blended into British chicken breast.
Since launching in April 2025, Little Dish Superstars have achieved a ranking of fourth in retailer Ocado’s top-selling frozen poultry products, with more than 50,000 units sold to date.
Low GI pasta
Pasta with a low glycaemic index is hard to come by. But a new brand, GI Pasta 38, has been developed with scientists for diabetics and people with insulin resistance.
The offering is high in protein and fibre, and importantly, does not cause sudden spikes in blood sugar. It achieves this by combining oat fibre with lupine flour, alongside semolina and gluten.
One-hundred grams of cooked GI Pasta 38 provides around 151 kcal, 22g of digestible carbohydrates, 8.8g of protein and 6.6g of fibre (145% more than 100% durum pasta).
Ready-to-use Jollof sauce
The famed West African dish, Jollof rice, is a labour of love. Traditionally, the specialty requires multiple preparation stages, precise seasoning, and long cooking times.
Joyof Jollof Cooking Sauces aims to make meal preparation a whole lot easier with a ready-to-cook format that delivers the dish in just 30 minutes.
According to the brand, the innovation lies not just in the product quality, but in its flexibility. “While optimised for Jollof rice, the product functions across multiple cooking occasions, including stews, marinades and one-pot meals.”
Functional coffee
Functional drinks is having a moment, and Scottish start-up LivOn Artisan Coffee is absolutely on-trend.
Having launched late 2025, the brand is selling ground coffee enriched with functional ingredients like collagen or medicinal mushrooms and vitamins.
Different varieties serve different consumer needs: Immune, Antioxidant, Focus, Glow, Energy and Unwind.
According to the brand, the offerings make it easy to start the morning with purpose “while adding a thoughtful point of difference to a moment people already value”.
Pastry toasties
Consumers want convenient, hot and tasty food at lunchtimes, and UK brand Ginsters says it’s delivering just that in its new line of pastry toasties.
“Whilst we knew consumers were after solutions that are quick to heat, tasty, good quality and value for money, we found that there was not anything in the market to cater to all these needs.”
Proprietary research also revealed that Brits love the humble toaster. From this, the Pastry Toastie was born – ready to eat in less than four minutes.
Flavours include smoked ham & cheddar; tomato, basil & mozzarella, and chicken, pesto & mozzarella.
Savoury purée for sports nutrition
It turns out that most active consumers in France don’t like the sports nutrition products available on the market.
Research undertaken between start-up Yanaa and the University of Caen revealed 77% of athletes find sports nutrition “disgusting”, even more say they’re unhealthy, and 75% prefer savoury food.
Yanaa is responding with portable, savoury and organic alternatives, with pouch flavours like lemon and olive oil.
