ADM on reformulating food to boost protein and lower sugar and salt

As consumer demand for healthier food and beverages continues to grow, ADM highlights the importance of consumer acceptance of reformulated options for protein, sugar, and salt content. The company approaches a product’s entire formulation holistically by balancing taste, nutrition, and clean labeling. 

Nutrition Insight meets with Brad Schwan, VP of Global Category Marketing at ADM, to discuss reformulation demands and solutions to create healthier food and beverages. 

“Our consumer research indicates that about 63% of consumers would prefer the brands to reformulate their existing products to make them better-for-you.”

He notes that adding protein, reducing sugar or sodium, and adopting clean labels are key nutrition-driven reformulation goals for consumers worldwide, according to ADM’s research.

“We’ve done the research across regions, and we’re seeing very similar trends across regions. Increasing protein is something that consumers around the world are really valuing and is a space that brands can focus on and grow.”

“Our customers are taking a couple of different strategies to be able to meet these needs,” adds Schwan. “In some cases, they’re reformulating existing brands, and in some cases, they are launching line extensions to meet some of these needs.”

Protein boom

ADM’s consumer research reflects skyrocketing demand for more protein.

“We found that 66% of consumers globally are looking to increase their protein intake,” details Schwan.

“We’re seeing increased protein claims make it into all kinds of categories where, historically, you may not have seen it as much. It shows up in the snacking category in a bigger way, for example. We’re seeing that in many regions of the world.”

Schwan says that adding protein, reducing sugar or sodium, and adopting clean labels are key reformulation goals worldwide (Image credit: ADM).He notes that adding more protein to meals can be a challenge for formulators. “But it can be made a lot easier if you’re leveraging diverse protein sources from things like plant-based protein to augment the protein intake that consumers might normally be getting.”

ADM offers a range of clean-tasting, functional plant-based proteins, in addition to beans, pulses, and ancient grains that can be incorporated into a variety of products, such as protein bars, shakes, drinkable yogurts, or ready meals.

Less sugar and sodium

Schwan says there is meaningful consumer demand for lower sugar and sodium in products.

“The research that we’ve done with consumers shows that 83% of consumers are looking to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet, and 57% are looking to reduce the amount of sodium intake.”

“The challenge for our customers isn’t just about removing or reducing sugar or sodium, but maintaining an overall appealing sensory experience and rebalancing the taste profiles, mouthfeel, and texture of the products when you’re making these changes.”

Schwan says that ADM focuses strongly on this space. For example, the company recently invested over US$40 million in its Erlanger, Kentucky, facility in the US. He details that these investments strengthen the company’s ability to address customer reformulation challenges in the US and beyond and ensure better-for-you products don’t compromise on taste.

“This investment has two key bits to it. The first one is US$26 million that increases our capacity, delivery, supply, and consistency when it comes to our color and flavor solutions derived from natural sources.”

ADM used the second part of this investment to expand its customer creation and innovation center.

Clean colors and sweeteners

Cleaner labels remain a top priority for food and beverage reformulation, continues Schwan, adding that 70% of consumers prefer products that contain ingredients they can pronounce. “There’s just strong commercial demand in that space.”

He highlights that replacing artificial colors with naturally derived alternatives is a key focus for ADM’s customers. The investment in Erlanger has also increased its capacity to provide quality, highly stable colors and flavors derived from natural sources.

“Beyond that space, consumers are finding favor with clean label sweetening solutions,” Schwan adds.

The investment in the company’s Erlanger facility aims to strengthen its ability to address customers’ reformulation challenges (Image credit: ADM).“Stevia, plant-based ingredients, and wholesome ingredients like ancient grains and seeds are becoming very popular because consumers love to be able to see and recognize the ingredients as their food.”

Full reformulation package

Reformulating food and beverages to enhance protein content or reduce sodium and sugar poses challenges for manufacturers. Schwan says that achieving consumer acceptance is the most critical in such reformulations.

“It’s not just about what you’re taking away, like sugar or sodium, or what you’re putting back, such as protein or fiber; it’s about maintaining the overall sensory experience.”

“When you are making these changes or nutritional improvements, these can often change flavor, mouthfeel, or appearance,” he explains. “Even relatively small sensory changes can impact repeat purchases at scale.”

Schwan adds that a holistic view is crucial to solving these challenges, as tweaking or adjusting one component will have knock-on effects.

“Often, customers will come to us with a specific challenge that they’re looking to address, whether it’s clean label, sodium reduction, or increasing protein. But the way to solve that challenge is not just by moving that one thing. You have to consider the entire formulation.”

He highlights the importance of considering the entire formulation and of solving reformulations with ingredient systems that reduce trade-offs. ADM leverages its ingredient portfolio and formulation expertise to navigate these complexities for food and beverage manufacturers.

“Very tangibly, this can include things like combining sweetening solutions with protein ingredients and fibers and flavor modulation to solve taste, texture, and nutrition challenges, all at once.”

Global scale, local execution

As a global company, Schwan says that ADM combines global scale with local execution for its nature-derived solutions, designing innovations with regional adaptability in mind from the start, rather than retrofitting later.

“When you take both this global and regional lens, we’re able to recognize that nutritional needs, regulatory frameworks, consumers, and consumer expectations vary widely from region to region.”

He adds that ADM’s local teams of marketers, regulation experts, food scientists, chefs, and flavorists collaborate closely with its customers in the region to ensure all nutritional needs and regulatory guidelines are met.

“We’ve got customer creation and innovation centers across all four regions of the world: North America, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. They’re part of an integrated global network for us so that we can develop, share, and tailor things across regions.”