Dow: Consumer demand for healthier food solutions continues to skyrocket

03 Nov 2017 --- With one in seven Americans now following a specific eating diet, companies face more pressure than ever to reinvent their products, according to a consumer study highlighted by Dow. American consumers are increasingly conscious of what they eat, 64 percent report eating healthy on a given day, with for example the number of Americans on a gluten-free diet nearly tripling in the past five years. 

More than 70 percent of consumers consider plant-based protein healthy, Dow reports. Manufacturers need to develop food with ingredients to reduce fat and calories, provide better meat-alternatives and gluten-free options.

“As more emphasis is placed on the availability of healthy alternative food options, new strategies must be adopted to reach the growing needs of today’s consumers,” said Chris Spontelli, North America marketing manager, Dow Food Solutions. “Our solutions provide manufacturers and brand owners with the necessary solutions to create the products consumers are craving.”

Although consumer food trends continue to drive the need for healthier food solutions, today’s consumers value taste over everything else. In fact, 84 percent of consumers say taste is the top driver of purchases. 

Dow is currently highlighting its food solutions, which allow companies to supply products that taste and look the same, while also satisfying the dietary needs of consumers. The company products include:

• Methocel Binding and Stabilizing Portfolio: ensures ingredients are bound together, allowing foods to retain their shape and uniformity and improve the formability and cohesion of ingredients.
• Wellence Food Gums Portfolio: provides food manufacturers with easy-to-use and cost-effective ingredients optimized for health-related food applications, including gluten replacement and fat reduction.
• Clear+Stable Stabilizer: offers improved stability and interacts with proteins to protect them against acidification, flocculation, phase separation and sedimentation.
• Walocel Stabilizer Solutions: acts as a water-soluble thickener to maintain texture in a number of food applications to help reach target viscosity and mouthfeel, binds water and retains moisture during shelf life.