The following excerpts have been taken from the article What’s Sweet in 2018 from the February 2018 edition of The World of Food Ingredients. For the entirety of the article, click here.
Key suppliers offer their thoughts on trends to watch in sweet goods. Which trends are driving new product development and where are the opportunities?
John Calland, DDW – The Colour House, Sales Director, EMEA/NA on natural reformulation and the rise of organic:
“The 2018 sweet goods trend in Europe is towards smaller pack sizes due to increased health and wellness awareness for sugar and calorie intake. Bakers in North America lag behind Europe in the switch away from artificial flavors and colors. For example, in November 2017, General Mills Food service launched simple-label baking mixes that replace synthetic ingredients. North American marketers will continue to highlight gluten-free, allergen- free and non-GM options. We’ll see niche sweeteners – including stevia, monk fruit, rice and tapioca – incrementally replace corn-based syrups.
Organic products will show impres- sive growth and help to validate a simple ingredient label from a consumer prospective. Wellness and functional foods are prominent with parental preference to seeing fruit and vegetable intake on the label.There is more growth in the formulation of coloring food ingredients to avoid E-numbers, including apple and burnt sugar options for brown hues.
We see nutrition/energy bars with more fruits & nuts and fewer sweeteners. Developers will formulate natural colors and/or coloring foods, as transparent packaging for bars is becoming com- mon for visual appeal. In North America, vegetable-based chips and other snacks are trending. Sweet potatoes and beets are attractive on the label and also provide (secondary) color properties.”
The post What’s Sweet in 2018? appeared first on DDW The Colour House.