Probiotics in pizza? Kerry explores adding functional ingredients to foodservice sector

07 May 2020 --- Fortifying takeout food with probiotics could help the foodservice sector address the rising consumer demand for functional ingredients that deliver on immune and digestive health as well as overall wellbeing. This is according to a new Kerry report, which encourages food fortification with probiotics, notably with its probiotic brand GanedenBC30, to expand to gastronomic, travel and leisure foodservice venues. As the coronavirus crisis has forced the sector to switch strategies to keep businesses afloat, many F&B companies have simultaneously been more open to trying out new business models.

“In addition to the obvious activities such as hand-washing and social distancing, many consumers have responded by turning to functional foods, beverages and supplements. As in other industry sectors, this creates huge demand that foodservice can meet. Offering options with functional ingredients like probiotics is an excellent strategy for differentiation in a market where consumers are increasingly focused on wellness,” John Quilter, Vice President and General Manager for GanedenBC30, tells NutritionInsight.

“Even before the current crisis, factors such as population aging and the growing proactivity toward health, in general, meant immune health was a huge focus. These are tough times for the food service industry, but it has done a great job of adapting. The sector will bounce back, but when it does, it will need to meet the demands of a new world, with consumers more focused than ever on the protection of their health,” he adds.

The new report, titled Opportunities for Formulating With Probiotic Ingredients in Food Service highlights that two-thirds (65 percent) of US consumers now seek added functional benefits from their everyday food and beverages. Support for this move is evidenced by the reported 78 percent of consumers calling for restaurants to offer more options containing functional ingredients.

This presents a “huge opportunity” to deliver probiotics to food and beverages consumed outside of the home, Kerry writes. Imaginable locations include restaurants, highway service stations, theaters and sports stadiums.

Forty-eight percent of consumers in the report ranked yogurt and yogurt-based drinks as the most popular option for boosting digestive health. Further growth has been witnessed by DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences spotting strong probiotic growth amid COVID-19 in its Q1 financial results. Similarly, Probi and Lehvoss Nutrition have seen a recent boost to their immunity-related products as consumers leave no stone unturned in safeguarding their health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

GanedenBC30’s “virtually endless” F&B applications
Fortifying take-away orders can be as easy as adding a sachet of dispersible powder or liquid to food and beverages, says Quilter. Moreover, an instant powder sachet could be used at the time of preparation, or it could be added during blending for pre-packaged takeout products.

In tea and coffee applications, stability is the primary challenge, Quilter notes. “The probiotic has to survive the manufacturing process, the shelf life of the product and the exposure to boiling water necessary for the preparation of the beverage. The stability of spore-forming strains such as GanedenBC30 means they are much more resilient to these processes than vegetative probiotics,” he explains.

Likewise, GanedenBC30 probiotics have a structure that is much more resistant to extremes of pH, heat, cold and pressure than vegetative cells, “making them a better fit for the fortification of everyday foods and beverages,” says Quilter. Examples of applications where GanedenBC30 can allow food service operators to incorporate probiotics include smoothie mixes, frozen items, and refrigerated beverages.

Dr. Donald Cox, Director of R&D at Kerry, also told NutritionInsight that GanedenBC30 has also found its way into ingredient innovation with muffins, pizza and peanut butter. 

In terms of consumers interested in ingredients promoting digestive health, 48 percent of consumers in the report ranked yogurt and yogurt-based drinks as the most popular option. However, Kerry’s numbers also express an interest in categories such as fruit and vegetable juices (38 percent); cereal, granola and breakfast bars (35 percent); and hot beverages (28 percent).

This is backed by Kerry’s proprietary research on consumer insights, shedding light on how over half of global consumers stated that GanedenBC30 promotes “good digestive health.” At the same time, just under half reported that it offers immune support.

Ultimately, Quilter regards meeting the steady demand for functional ingredients in the food service sector more as an opportunity than a problem. “There’s huge demand for options with functional ingredients but consumers generally don’t see them in food service as much as they do in other contexts. Formulating with probiotics is much easier than it used to be.”

By Anni Schleicher