Confectionery industry at ISM hones in on better-for-you snacking trend

06 Feb 2020 --- Consumers are increasingly being lured by better-for-you and clean label sweets and snacks, with natural ingredients and vegan positionings set as key growth drivers. At ISM 2020, NutritionInsight spoke with a range of sweet and snack companies who elaborated on how delectable yet healthy sweets and snacks don’t have to cancel each other out.

Innova Market Insights has pegged “The Right Bite” as its fourth Top Trend for 2020. As modern life pushes more consumers to juggle careers, families and social lives at quicker paces, consumers also strive to maintain healthy lifestyles, both physically and mentally. Simultaneously, taste should not take a backseat as flavorful indulgence plays a role in relaxation and enjoyment.

In the past, healthy snacks and sweets weren’t necessarily tasty. “However, it doesn’t have to be either-or,” Leon van der Made, Product Manager at Netherlands-based Rio Mints & Sweeteners, tells NutritionInsight. “The trend is shifting. We offer good tasting products that still have those health claims, showing how this dichotomy has changed,” he says.

Fruit Forest snacks arrive in fruit gummies and chocolate-covered applications.Van der Made presented Rio’s Fruit Forest vegan fruit snacks made from all-natural ingredients and free from artificial additives, preservatives and colors. “Some of our products are high in fiber, others high in protein and some are high in both,” he explains. 

Sugar reduction is also a growing nutritional trend; however, it becomes obsolete in the case of the Fruit Forest line. “They’re not necessarily sugar-reduced because they contain only the sugar that is naturally available in fruits,” van der Made continues. As clean label, 100 percent natural products, Fruit Forest snacks arrive in peach, apple, mango with passionfruit, pear, raspberry and strawberry.

To ensure maintained stable fiber and protein properties throughout a 12-18 month shelf-life, van der Made explains that the fruit snacks are vigorously tested and evaluated. “For different destinations, we also have different transport recommendations,” he adds.

Ramkalni highlighted its various better-for-you dried fruits portfolio.Sugar reduction not the only road?
Latvian sweet ingredients company Ramkalni honed in on the vitamin-rich profile of its sugar-infused, dried fruits and vegetables. “We dry all our products at a low temperature, which is why they keep all of their vitamins inside. Blackcurrant and raspberries have a lot of vitamin C. Meanwhile, rhubarb has a lot of fiber,” Sanda Auzina, Export Manager at Ramkalni, tells NutritionInsight. Besides the former two fruits, the company also offered samples of its pumpkin and rhubarb snack bites.

The sugar-reduction trend is surging due to its better-for-you health connotation. However, sugar-infused products offer other advantages in different aspects. “We add as much sugar as necessary to maintain the one-year shelf life. If you do not add sugar, you lose the structure. For all products, they are greasy if we don’t add sugar,” Auzina explains. Ramkalni uses both regular and bio-cane sugar for its organic products.

The best tasting protein
Berries, seeds and vegetables importer Berrico followed suit with the better-for-you trend by exhibiting how plant-based, vegan proteins can be combined with fruits to create protein-rich, organic concepts.

“We’re specialized in the date-based products from our partner Boudjebel in Tunisia, where the farms and production are fully integrated. All of their by-products are incorporated into the nutritional concept,” says Gregory Ford, Sales Director Europe.

Beauty Sweeties are touted as beneficial for skin, nail and hair health.The snacking market is also seeking health-boosting, animal-free protein alternatives, but not just any plant-based protein is suitable for sweet snacks. “We recommend hemp as opposed to pea protein because the hemp is very nutty. It is quite similar to flavor to nuts, while pea protein is very bitter. We like pea protein because of its high percentage, its popularity and frequent usage. However, in terms of taste, hemp is one of the best tasting vegan proteins,” Ford affirms. Moreover, he highlights that the amino acid-rich range of hemp protein is still one that the industry needs to discover. 

In terms of health benefits, Berrico’s snack portfolio is omega- and protein-rich as well as low-sugar and suitable for balls and bars applications. “For example, you could include the plant-based protein in a sweet-tasting date with some sour references of berries and add some fiber to balance out the overall nutrition,” he suggested.

Other better-for-you snacking options spotted at the event included Beauty Sweeties, a lifestyle confectionery company presenting its vegan gummies beneficial for nails, skin and hair health and growth. 

Wellsweet’s acai-flavored function dextrose drops provided hyaluron, zinc and vitamin C boosters in flavorful hexagon-shaped candies. Made with natural aromas and colors, the lavender compress glucose compositions are vegan and help protect the body from oxidative stress. 

By Anni Schleicher