 |
| (Photo: Dreamstime) |
IT MAY be hard to keep up with changing consumer tastes, but trends especially related to health
and sustainability are here to stay. FoodPacific
Manufacturing Journal (FPMJ) interviewed some of the leading companies of food and
beverage ingredients to get the feel of the industry in Southeast Asia as 2018
unfolds. Companies want innovative ingredients and reduce production cost at
the same time. But what does the ingredients sector have for them?
In
his exclusive piece for FPMJ, Chr. Hansen executive vice president
for APAC and LATAM, Sten Estrup conveniently summarises the major trends
influencing product development amongst ingredient providers. He also underscores
the value of sustainability in research and development.
India-based
Arjuna which participated in Fi Asia 2017 for the first time, is looking to
expand its market across SEA especially for antioxidants and natural
preservatives. Recently it launched an
innovative preservative that slows the degradation of vegetable oil, and thus
allows reusing of vegetable oils to an extent.
Natural
and artificial preservatives targeting application sectors such as bakery, beverage,
confectionery, processed meat, poultry, and seafood, are forecast to reach USD
3.2 billion by 2025 according to Grand View Research. The research firm also
said that anti-microbial preservatives are likely to dominate the market in
terms of revenue due to an increased demand for anti-microbial agents in the
processed meat and beverage industries.
In the areas of sweeteners, starches and texturants, Tate & Lyle is offering a diverse range of solutions – not just products – stresses Harry Boot, senior vice president and general manager for Tate & Lyle’s Speciality Food Ingredients business in Asia Pacific. T&L continually updates its portfolio of offerings in line with shifting consumer trends. Always poised to meet big trends like sugar replacement and calorie reduction, it partnered with Sweet Green Fields in developing stevia-based solutions.
From
France, Epi Ingredients entered the Asian market with milk-based ingredients
and even fresh dairy products. The company is currently positioning its nutritional
products in the beverage and snack segments. With SoFlexi, its latest yogurt-based
finished product, the company is telling manufacturers that there are many ways
to create new products using this particular ingredient, according to marketing
manager Matthieu Lucot.
In
our conversations with major food ingredient company Ingredion, Rishan Pillay, vice president
and general manager for ASEAN and India, and Lilian Tan, marketing manager,
Texture and Delivery Systems, Asia Pacific, also stress the company’s focus on
sugar reduction with products like Sweetis™, as well as on the company’s industry-leading
starch-based texturisers. Ms Tan actually sums it up for all these ingredient companies
when she said that keeping in mind how to help food manufacturers create healthier
products drives their R&D.
At
a time when consumers are being “mindful” about their food and beverage
choices, as Innova Market Insights puts it, manufacturers can’t look away and
continue with what used to work. Consumers now want natural, clean, healthy and flavourful products. Even
Coca-Cola is reviving Coke with a more flavourful stevia.
In her top trends for 2018, Innova Market Insights Director for Innovation, Lu Ann Williams also mentions buzzwords like "lightness" to indicate that consumers now want products that have less of the delicious but not-so-good stuff like alcohol, sugar. It also refers to portion sizing. But indulgent taste is not something that can be taken away from food or beverage. There lies the balance manufacturers focus on in product development.
Comments
Post a Comment