The Editor Presents: The Soups & Sauces Issue
16 Jun 2022 | The World of Food Ingredients
Join The World of Food Ingredients’ editor Missy Green for a quick presentation of the key themes in this edition which focuses on soups and sauces. Key features include NPD growth inspired by Asian-style dishes and the dynamics behind the race to create plant-based chicken alternatives. In addition, global spices encourage the creation of new sauces, and a clean label renaissance is underway.
Welcome to the world of food ingredients, soups and sauces edition of The Editor Presents.
I'm Missy Green, your editor, and by the next time I see you, I will also be a mother.
So do look out for my colleague and deputy editor Inga de Jong, who will be stepping in to edit the coming editions, and she will also be here to present you with the supplements issue on LinkedIn Live.
So.
This is a live event.
If you have any questions, just put them in the chat box below.
I also wanted to show you the place where you can find the World of Food ingredients, which is at theworldoffood ingredients.com, and I'll redirect you to the Food ingredients first site where you will find all of our latest additions.
All right, so let's get down to business.
And by that food business.
Where we see that replacements and alternatives are becoming even more important.
So at the top right we see that egg prices are rising as industry battles with avian flu, and there's also some interesting collaborations that we've seen not only in plant-based but also in cell-based, and this is pretty notable in ADM's collaboration with Eat Just.
They're the makers of the cell-based good meats.
So very excited to see that.
Next, another market insights brings us some of the key trends in the soups and sauces sector, with the number one trend being functional benefits, and this is really referring to healthier options with more claims.
So here in the example from the UK it's a brand called Renourish, and you see the word strength right there on the front of the pack, and it's also high in fiber and protein.
And seasonings and stocks.
Are they growing or not?
That really depends on what region you're looking at.
So a new report from Nova Market Insights shows that Asia is posting the most growth in seasonings and stocks, and it's also growing at the fastest rate.
This is followed by the Middle East and Africa region with about 25% of all that growth coming from South Africa.
Now, in North America and Western Europe, there's been a decline in launch activity since 2017.
But those regions are most interested in Asian and Middle Eastern spices.
So one example is harissa, which is grown with a kegger of 53% outside of its region of origin.
Next we look at international tastes, and we see here that some flavors have proven to be beloved and accepted by universal cultures, and this is the case with vanilla and it's also the case with barbecue, and barbecue is pretty interesting because there's a number of ways that you can vary the flavor, and that could be a region specific, like Korean barbecue or it could be with an ingredient like.
Barbecue lime.
It's actually so popular that Enova found that 1 in 7 food and beverage products launched worldwide had some barbecue component in 2021, so 1 in 7.
Some more examples of barbecue, there's also some interesting developments with miso flavor in this miso pie you see at the top left, that's a trend in the US.
So also in US development, plant-based chicken is currently a really strong area of innovation.
It's growing at 135% year over year on menus, and some of the most popular base ingredients here are seitan, tofu, oyster mushrooms, but cremini mushrooms and pea protein are also being explored.
And what we see in this category.
As a lot with the plant-based space, the sector is diversifying in so many directions.
So, Nestle's Sweet Earth brand came out with a Korean barbecue chicken, right?
Talking about barbecue, chicken alternative, and in the gourmet space, you see chefs experimenting with plant-based chicken in fusion dishes.
So here on the bottom, this is a hand roll that was featured in the New York City restaurant J Speck.
Now, in soups and sauces, NPD.
There is continued interest in global flavors, spicy nuances and twists on classic plant-based and plant-based twists on classics.
So if you Check out our product page.
On the bottom right hand page, bottom row first product, there you see this vegetarian chicken soup, right?
So taking a classic like a warm chicken noodle soup and then making that vegetarian.
It's one of those twists.
And many more to explore, so check it out, check out the page.
Moving on, we get the insider view from culinary experts like executive chef Charlie Bags, who breaks down what really makes sauces craveable and how can you use global flavors to create a memorable eating experience.
So one interesting aspect here is how to approach authenticity.
Adapting to local tastes or creating fusion tastes is a valid way to approach flavor innovation and can be.
You know, a real success, but then it shouldn't be called authentic because that could You know, potentially lose trust with the consumer base, so.
Whether it's adapted or whether it's authentic, there's often a story to tell.
So find that story.
In the vanilla world, the globally recognized flavor is being explored for its cultivation at the University of Florida.
And here it's also being explored for specific genetic markers that could develop strains that are more resistant to common fungal diseases or to yield better natural extracts, and Florida's climate is suited for the crop.
Which actually originated in Mexico, but now we see so much is produced in Madagascar.
In packaging, we looked at some of the advancements in improving the sustainability of soup packaging, so.
I'm sure you've seen how soup has gone from these like traditional metal cans into more of the pouches, and these are really convenient because it's light to transport, you can just open them right up, but it makes it really difficult to recycle.
So there are some innovations coming out which actually offer recyclable options and a lot of these are based on monomaterials.
So just using one type of material.
In other news, the food industry is still coping with the sudden shutdown of sunflower oil from the Ukraine.
So we spoke with Lavanya at Univar Solutions North America, who gave us a rundown on how industry is adapting with different types of oils like canola oil is a big one.
She also mentions that, you know, the Ukraine missed this year's sowing season.
So the soonest things could return to normal would be 2024.
So this is something that the industry is going to be dealing with for a while.
Next we look at ways manufacturers can adjust their sauce recipes for cleaner labels, and there is a lot of innovation going on, so definitely check out the article.
One example is Carey's acquisition of Nacet which brought on vinegar-based solutions, and these can replace conventional preservatives like acetates and sorbates, and there's also a lot of free from alternatives that are being developed, and so this is kind of an allergen-free space.
So there is one company you can see here who created a soy-free soy sauce.
And that's made from seaweed.
And speaking of free from alternatives, we heard from our hydrocolate expert, Nisha, who explains that who explains all the ingredients that you could use if you want to create the emulsifying effect of egg without the egg in mayonnaise.
So here you can see a traditional mayonnaise recipe here at the bottom left.
And that.
Is being contrasted with.
A vegan recipe.
And bonus is that it also contains lower fat, so you can also see some examples of vegan mayonnaise that have come out, one in Finland and then one here in the US, the Just Mayo.
Further in food formulation, non-thermal processing can reduce microbes in foods and beverages, and what's so unique about it is that you can preserve a lot of bioactive components and taste, and we know that heat will denature proteins, give some of those off flavors, so some of the technology being explored here is, it's not just one.
It's high pressure processing, it's ultraviolet lights, and pulsed electric fields, and these can be used in dairy, plant-based dairy, juices, and soups.
Etc.
In our opinion edge, we spoke to suppliers about two very important topics, trends in soups and sauces and sustainable practices.
So looking at the formulation trends, it's once again clean label taking center stage.
We see that Arla speaks about a whey-based ingredient that can be used to emulsify without adding too many carbs to the end product, so it's kind of a double benefit of a label-friendly ingredient that also is, you know, has a healthy positioning.
And then in sustainability, we see that suppliers across the board are really doubling down on their efforts to reduce emission and reducing waste.
So check out the future.
To read more.
So next we have our annual red book, and June is our special red book edition.
And this is one of our most important listings of the year.
This is actually our only listing like this, and it has all of the industry suppliers, how you can get in touch with them.
Their phone number, their website, and some information about what they do.
So when you're looking.
When you're looking for your supplier, check this out.
And next we have.
The health and wellness, the health and wellness section of the magazine, which is.
A great place to be.
So, this.
Here we just look at a couple of different examples of some innovation going on.
One was using beetroot for energy, and this is a unique application because it's like for fatigue, it's for blood flow, and it's also endurance, and the source is beetroot juice crystals.
And then a couple more examples.
Next we take a look at beauty from within.
And this category has been bubbling up for a while, but last month when I went to Vita Foods, I was really like amazed by how many brands were.
They were taking like sort of their legacy ingredients and then doing new tests and studies to find what sort of applications are there in beauty from within.
So one example is Beliberrica, which tested its established Mobile ingredient for mobility on skincare, and they saw some really impressive results.
Next we heard from the Center for Food as Medicine based in New York, and they conducted extensive research about dietary supplement supplement use in the US and what they found was that About 50% of Americans use dietary supplements and more than 50% of parents give supplements to their kids, but most users don't really understand what the active ingredients are, what are the possible side effects, or what is the recommended dose.
It's a big market, but more knowledge is needed.
And then we also explored some strategies, some strategies for plant-based development and It's not really new trying to create this great taste and texture, but what we're also seeing is that the matching the micronutrient values and keeping sodium low or at a reasonable amount is also becoming more and more important.
And lastly but not leastly, we spoke with Oliver Kelly at Cary North America and he filled us in on some of the trends, including the ever more demanding consumer who wants foods that are healthy and sustainable and also taste great and one of the biggest areas that he sees moving forward is in plant-based, which continues to diversify.
And also be adapted to flexitarian consumers who are looking to, you know, just reduce their meat consumption, not necessarily become full-on vegans or vegetarians.
So.
Subscribe today if you haven't already, you can do it with a QR code at the bottom of the page.
You can also feel free to send me an email with any topics that you would like to see featured in the world of food ingredients, or you can just, you know, say hello, be happy to meet you.
We will now open up the floor for any questions.
All right, I see a question from Mindigas.
What other products did you see repositioned at Vita Foods for beauty from within?
All right, yeah, I'm happy to answer that one.
That one was just so cool because it felt like every stand that I was at, people were like, oh yeah, actually we've, you know, done some more tests and we found this, so.
I think one of the coolest ones was Genore had done more testing on a prostate health ingredient, which turned out to be really great for hair.
So this is something that they had identified the mechanism that it worked and they realized this is also associated with hair growth.
So why don't we do some tests and they found that.
They found really positive results for men, but it was even more positive in women.
So who would have thought.
There was also another company who was using their probiotics, which they have, they've studied it and confirmed in, Infants that it can relieve eczema, and now they're testing it to see if it can also improve just your general skin in adults.
And then there was also Laika Red who.
Who who has done more studies on their, you know, tomato ingredients.
And before they didn't really know like what was the mechanism, mechanism of action with.
You know why tomatoes seem to be good for the skin, but they found that it actually doesn't just prevent collagen from breaking down, but it can also create collagen or help synthesize it, and it was more effective with yellow tomatoes than the red tomatoes.
That was a new discovery.
All right, I also have a question from Excuse me from Jessica.
What specific Asian flavors are becoming popular in North America and Europe?
So.
Apart from the Harissa just mentioned.
Definitely Korean barbecue is like really popping up everywhere, it seems there is also in.
In one of these articles, a respondent who was speaking about Filipino cuisine.
And she was saying that this could be because of more food service locations that are opening up in the US which serve Filipino food.
And she was expecting, oh, she was from OFI and she was expecting sauces like adobo sauce to like really gain a popularity and also uhcarecare.
That should be interesting and.
There was one more.
Hm.
Can't remember, but many to look out for.
All right.
And then let's see, what was the last question?
OK, hi Missy.
Any reason why plant-based chicken would be the meat of choice to replicate?
August, definitely chicken is one of the most widely consumed proteins in the, in the world, and Tracy's article, she does mention within the US it is the most consumed animal protein.
And it also, you know, it doesn't have as many.
Doesn't have any potential conflicts with religions like you might see like pork or beef.
Interestingly, chicken is also the one that sort of like took off in the cell-based meat space, so I think it's a natural fit that people are looking for alternatives to this widely consumed protein.
All right, looks like we're out of time, but I will see you, not the next time, but the time.
After that or in the future.
So, thank you again for being a part of the World of Food ingredients LinkedIn Live.
