Tate & Lyle Launches ENRICH Service

16/01/07 Tate & Lyle has announced the launch of Tate & Lyle ENRICH, a new service which enables food and beverage manufacturers to create products that are packed with additional nutrients but taste as good as regular brands. Tate & Lyle’s ENRICH service is focused on three main areas - Digestive Health and Immunity, Obesity and Weight Management and Children’s Health.

Following in-depth consumer research, Tate & Lyle has developed a number of prototypes for the beverage, dairy, and bakery categories. These are due for launch in the coming weeks. Tate & Lyle has developed a new rapid prototyping process that maximizes the speed of delivery to market and helps customers respond quickly to consumers’ demands. Following an initial demonstration of a product prototype, Tate & Lyle’s R&D teams work closely with the customer to develop an ingredient system that meets their specific brand objectives.

Harvey Chimoff, Director of Marketing, Americas said, “Tate & Lyle has launched the ENRICHTM service in response to growing interest in ‘health and wellness’ and functional foods. Wide-scale media coverage of rising obesity levels has raised awareness of nutrition and the role of food choices in health. Other factors such as changing work and domestic demands, rising average income, and an ageing population have all stimulated the development of functional foods.

“Retail sales of packaged food in the health and wellness category have reached around 60 billion euros per annum in both the US and Western Europe. Through 2010, health & wellness packaged food is forecast to grow 21% versus a 9% growth for regular packaged food in Western Europe. In the US, the predicted growth is similar. Enriched food and beverage brands that deliver enhanced nutrition but still taste great will be ideally positioned to capitalize on this trend.”

Research has shown that taste is critical – 72% of people surveyed in the Yankelovich Monitor Perspective (Food for Life, 2006) said that if food didn’t taste good they wouldn’t eat it, no matter how healthy or nutritious it was. The same survey found that 79% felt food companies should develop healthier foods that taste better. In response to these demands, Tate & Lyle has undertaken in-depth consumer research and is significantly expanding its ingredient offering to help customers create great-tasting functional foods that are in line with consumer preferences.

1. ENRICH – Digestive Health and Immunity
ENRICH for digestive health and immunity comprises a range of ingredients, including prebiotic fibres, probiotics, vitamins, and minerals that can be used in consumer products which help to promote healthy digestion and may boost the immune system. Tate & Lyle is developing a broad range of dietary fibre ingredients for inclusion in ENRICH systems. The ENRICH solutions also include a range of vitamins and minerals and are formulated to provide synbiotic benefits, i.e. prebiotic fibre in combination with probiotic cultures.

Tate & Lyle’s recent research shows that 62% of US consumers find the concept of products that promote a healthy digestive system appealing. The same is true for 54% of consumers in the UK, 59% in France and 68% in Germany.

Furthermore, consumers were also receptive to a range of products that help boost the immune system through an optimum combination of vitamins, minerals and fibre: 67% of U.S. consumers found that appealing. That compared with 69% in the UK, 65% in France and 73% in Germany.

2. ENRICH – Obesity and Weight Management
Obesity is a growing health concern across the developed world. The most recent OECD data shows that 66.3% of US adults and 63% of UK adults are now overweight or obese, as well as 49.2% of adults in Germany, 48.4% in Spain, 42.6% in Italy and 34.6% in France. Ingredients used in ENRICH™ for Obesity and Weight Management include a range of fibres and proteins to help promote satiety – a feeling of being full – so that unnecessary snacking is decreased, and selected essential vitamins.

According to Tate & Lyle’s recent research, 70% of U.S. respondents found products that would help consumers feel fuller longer, because of more protein and fibre, appealing. That compares with 71 % in the UK, 50% in France and 66% in Germany.

3. ENRICH – Children’s Health
55% of US consumers surveyed by Tate & Lyle agreed strongly that they were always thinking of ways to improve their children’s diets. Products containing ENRICH ingredient systems can also help contribute to the healthy development of children. These products can include ingredients that fortify with fibre and protein, and nutrients such as choline (US), calcium, and selected vitamins.

Recent research by Tate & Lyle shows that 72% of U.S. consumers find products that contain an effective mix of vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein to aid children’s development an attractive proposition. That compares with 72% in the UK, 58% in France and 62% in Germany.

Mike Augustine, Global Vice President, Food Ingredient Applications and Technical Service said, “In many respects the ENRICH service ideally complements REBALANCE, which showcased our extensive experience in reformulating to lower sugar, fat and calorie levels. To develop ENRICH, our in-house nutritionists advised on which ingredients best addressed each of the three health platforms. Our applications team then successfully resolved the formulation challenges, creating delicious new products and making it easier for our customers to meet their objectives in a short time frame.”