Fiber NPD sees “double-digit growth” one year after FDA fiber classification

25 Jun 2019 --- With two-thirds of consumers in Europe and the US saying that digestive health is very important to them, products that tout gut-health continue to be on trend. The green-lighting of – what was initially – eight fibers by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June last year to be classified as “dietary fibers” on the Nutrition Facts label, marked a turning point for the industry. Now, a year on, from the FDA announcement, has NPD gathered pace as rapidly as predicted?

The new Nutrition Facts labeling regulations initially included a list of eight fibers including: mixed plant cell wall fibers (a broad category that includes fibers like sugar cane fiber and apple fiber, among many others); arabinoxylan; alginate; inulin and inulin-type fructans; high amylose starch (resistant starch 2); galactooligosaccharide; polydextrose; and resistant maltodextrin/dextrin. Resistant Starch 4 (RS4) was the latest ingredient to be added to the list, gaining approval only months ago.

Other fiber ingredients, such as acacia gum, are still under review. Suppliers Nexira, TIC Gums, Alland & Robert and Importers Service Corporation (ISC) have moved forward with a citizen’s petition to the FDA to classify gum acacia as a dietary fiber. 

“The fiber status of acacia gum may strongly impact our business in the US. Following the FDA announcement, Alland & Robert and other industry players created a workgroup and financed additional clinical studies to answer the FDA questions related to acacia gum health benefits,” Isabelle Jaouen, Alland & Robert’s R&D Director, tells NutritionInsight.

The official status of certain dietary fibers was seen as a significant moment for suppliers, with the industry commenting that it “halted a period of uncertainty,” and that innovation in the fiber space could begin again. 

“Double-digit growth”
The fact that the FDA-approved list is quite long and encompasses fibers which hold different properties also has strong potential for the market.

“Over the past year, we have been working with both new and existing customers to develop new ways to help more consumers benefit from chicory root fiber, and we expect this momentum to continue over the coming years,” Anke Sentko, Vice President Regulatory Affairs and Nutrition Communication at Beneo, tells NutritionInsight.

While Courtney Kingery of Tate & Lyle notes that since the company’s line of fiber ingredients got the regulatory green light, the company saw “the number of new projects with customers grow by double digits.” Further, NPD launches by customers are accelerating and increasing in terms of time to market, even moving from idea to commercialization in under 12 months, they add.

This has translated into a surprising growth area in the US – dairy products with fiber. “In other regions like Latin America and Europe, the inclusion of fiber enrichment in dairy products like yogurts, milk-drinks, smoothies and dairy alternatives are well established. But fiber enrichment in dairy in the US has been slow to catch on,” they explain.

“We are starting to see more dairy products in the US using fibers. Initially, it was in products like reduced-sugar ice-cream that silently used fiber to replace sugar, provide bulk and manage texture and crystal formation during freezing. But now we are seeing ice-creams with pre and probiotic claims and dairy drinks with ‘source of fiber’ claims.”

Odile Conan, Marketing Manager for Europe at Fonterra adds that, “Multiple reasons for consuming fiber are driving growth, weight management being the first one at the moment. But this being said, digestive health is the foundation to overall wellbeing, and is a key concern for health conscious consumers. There is NPD potential in healthy products such as bars, biscuits, RTD, snacks, etc., and for on-the-go.”

Indeed, products proudly displaying a “source of fiber” tag have proliferated. Food and beverage company Danone added two new flavors to its popular Dannon Activia Probiotic Dailies line, launched last year in the US; this time fortified with prebiotic fibers. Meanwhile, Agropur’s consumer brand, BiPro, launched a new protein isolate product line, coined BiPro BOLD, providing 23 grams of protein per serving and with added prebiotic fiber. Kellogg’s made waves last year, when it launched a “3-in-1” cereal that delivers prebiotics, probiotics and fiber in an all-in-one cereal.

Indeed, Alex Milligan, Technical Sales Manager at Sensus America, confirms that Sensus fully expects new product development with fiber ingredients to continue its strong growth. 

“Additionally, when considered together, the consumer-driven push to improve the health of their guts by including more fiber and continuing to reduce sugar content throughout the marketplace highlights the persistence of products and applications ripe for renovation and reimagining, with fiber as a central focus,” he explains.

Could a saturated market prevent barriers to entrants?
As established companies in the space confirm that the FDA regulatory change has indeed spurred business, innovation and R&D, the blooming market still has entrance barriers to consider.

According to Kingery of Tate & Lyle, there are two major considerations. The first being “cost in use.” 

“Fibers differ in stability level, which may impact cost in use. When formulating using fibers with poor stability, manufacturers have to overcompensate for fiber lost due to high heat and shear during processing, acid in low-pH systems and long shelf life. Choosing a fiber with superior stability may result in manufacturing efficiencies,” they note. 

Cost in use and process stability becomes even more important since the recommended daily value (DV) of fiber has increased from 25 grams to 28 grams a day. 

This change increases the inclusion levels required to reach the 20 percent DV “Excellent Source” of fiber from 5 to 5.6 grams per serving. With a higher inclusion level, process stability becomes increasingly important to ensure that the higher fiber content is consistent throughout the entire shelf life of the product, with minimal impact on recipe costs, they go on to explain.

A second consideration would be digestive tolerance. As manufacturers are challenged to deliver the enhanced nutritional benefits of fiber that consumers demand, some fibers, particularly at high inclusion levels, can cause digestive discomfort. In this way, appropriate ingredients must be used.

Such considerations mean that the fiber ingredients space is relatively saturated, notes Milligan. “The established players are quite sophisticated in their processing, innovation and business development stratagems. While there are new entrants entering the space having some success, most are either established firms looking to expand their product lines or are built around a more novel fiber ingredient, source material, or both,” he explains. 

Sentko of Beneo echoes this, noting that as consumer interest in more natural, clean label products grows, more stringent demands are placed on food and beverage manufacturers to deliver in terms of taste and texture. Delivering on such demands will require time and money.

Clearly, the FDA green-light has allowed more established players to flourish, however, entering the market is not a straight-forward task. 

By Laxmi Haigh