Top 7 from 7: The key global food industry news of the past 7 days (Nov 12-19)
USA
1. Tyson’s six trends shaping the future of food
The six trends identified by the Tyson Trendtellers Council are:
Proactive and personalized wellness
As consumers take a more holistic approach to their wellness, they are looking to foods with certain health goals in mind, especially in the areas of improved mental focus, beauty, and digestion.
“In the past it was very focused on taking supplements, where now it’s people really thinking about their food choices and using food to give them energy, focus, sharper thinking – the lines are blurring,” Jennifer Bentz, senior vice president, R&D, innovation, and insights, at Tyson Foods, told our US edition.
Transparency takes hold
Consumers are asking more questions about their food such as where it came from, how it was processed, and how far it had to travel to get to the supermarket, and getting instant answers to these questions is right around the corner, according to Tyson.
Data from Nielsen and Label Insight found that 39% of shoppers today would be willing to switch brands and products that feature more transparent labels.
More protein in more forms
The demand for protein isn’t going anywhere, but what is changing is that consumers are seeking out more alternative protein sources including plant-based and animal-based protein that uses previously cast-aside piece pieces of the animal.
“The USDA found that protein demand in 2018 was at an all-time high and we’re anticipating that’s only going to climb,” Bentz said. “As you think about what that means, sustainably sourcing the world’s protein is going to take many different forms and animal protein is always going to be important in people’s diets.”
Food meets tech
As the intersection of food, technology and people expands with the Internet of Things, food brands are seeking new ways of leveraging tech to better connect with buying audiences, which has led to the rise of smart kitchen devices, recipe apps, and other gadgets.
Food as a form of self-expression
Today, consumers are aligning with companies that represent similar values to their own. For Gen Z, in particular, food is more than sustenance – it is a symbol of their personal values and a form of self-expression, according to Tyson.
Global flavors and the rise of the ‘kid foodie’
Leading the charge for unexpected and global flavors in food are millennials who are 52% more likely than consumers over the age of 35 to visit restaurants with “innovative offerings”, according to Tyson.
For more information on these trends, please click HERE.
2. PepsiCo launches US accelerator
Food and beverage giant PepsiCo has revealed the first 10 innovative startups for its Nutrition Greenhouse accelerator program in the US.
The program’s inaugural class, includes an “innovative assortment” of food and beverage brands ranging from popped water lily seeds, plant-based seafood alternatives, high-protein milk alternatives and a nutrition bar focused on cognitive energy, function and health.
The diverse selection underscores PepsiCo’s dedication to cultivating “progressive, open innovation” as well as its approach to discovering and better understanding at a ground level how consumer trends are developing across categories and how early-stage companies are responding to those demands to create successful businesses, Daniel Grubbs, the managing director of PepsiCo Ventures Group, explained to our US edition.
3. ADM teams up with Perfect Day on animal-free dairy proteins
High-profile Silicon Valley start-up Perfect Day has teamed up with global ingredients giant ADM to develop and commercialize animal-free dairy proteins.
Perfect Day produces casein and whey via microbial fermentation (minus the cows).
“ADM does a ton of large scale fermentation to produce ingredients such as citric acid and lysine, and they also make enzymes [via microbial fermentation], so they have the expertise and infrastructure and large scale assets already built that are perfectly compatible with our process,” Perfect Day cofounder and CEO Ryan Pandya told our US edition.
“We’ve spoken to all the usual suspects in the industry but we’ve been talking to ADM for some time and we’re really excited to partner with them. We’re already collaborating on scaling up the technology and this agreement could extend to cover any number of flora-based proteins, and the agreement right now is meant to help us get to full scale with them up to the maximum volume ADM can produce to meet our demand.
“This gives ADM an opportunity to enter the dairy protein market with a unique new microflora-based product that is vegan, lactose-free and more sustainable, but packs the nutrition and functionality of animal protein.”
Europe
4. Quorn Foods opens ‘world’s biggest’ meat alternative production facility
The new facility is based at Quorn Foods’ Belasis site in Billingham, in the North East of England, and will double production capacity of Quorn’s core products.
The efficiency improvements delivered by the facility expansion will also help the company to continue to reduce its carbon emissions per tonne of food produced, already down by 35% since 2012.
“We are the world leader in meat alternatives and have seen our business grow by 16% in the last year,” said Kevin Brennan, CEO of Quorn Foods. “We see decades of growth ahead of us as consumers respond to growing environmental concerns around meat production. We provide dramatic sustainability benefits compared to meat and with this new facility will enhance those benefits further. Sustainability is at the heart of our organization and we are committed to ensuring we are being responsible with the carbon footprint of our business.”
Asia
5. RSPO unveils new certification standards for sustainable palm oil
A new new certification standards for sustainable palm oil was agreed last week at the 15th annual general assembly of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
The newly adopted and ratified P&C 2018 aim to strengthen social development, economic prosperity and environmental protections across the palm oil value chain, RSPO said.
“Today, we endorsed a universal, transformative, and integrated agenda, intended to strengthen transparency and inclusivity in the RSPO system, increase implementation of the RSPO standard, boost market uptake of [sustainable palm oil] through shared responsibilities, and create an enabling environment for our shared vision of market transformation,” RSPO CEO Datuk Darrel Webber commented.
For more information on this, please click HERE.
6. Australia moves to stop ‘misleading’ plant-based product labeling
Politicians in Australia have requested that Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) review the standards surrounding all plant-based products labeled with the terms ‘meat’ and/or ‘milk’.
"I want consumers to have confidence that when they buy […] meat, it's beef from an animal and when they buy milk, it is actually produced by a dairy cow,” said Australian Regional Services Minister Bridget McKenzie
“[We] need to be careful [we] don't confuse the marketplace.”
FSANZ has acknowledged on its website that these plant-based alternatives are not able to replace animal sources completely, using milk as an example: “Generally, plant-based milk alternatives don’t have the same nutrient content as cow or goat milk. Milk generally contains higher levels of protein and a wider range of vitamins and minerals.
“Cereal, nut and seed-based beverages, such as those made from rice, almonds or sesame, are lower in protein than legume based beverages and dairy milk.”
For more information on this, please click HERE.
7. Expert to present “conclusive” evidence of omega-3 benefits for depression
Yutaka Matsuoka, Division Chief of Healthcare Research, Centre for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Centre Japan, will report the results of a ‘world first study’ that show how the consumption of fish and omega-3 helps alleviate depression at the inaugural NutraIngredients Omeag-3 Summit in Singapore in February.
“It has long been thought that fish-sourced omega-3 can help not only to prevent depression, but also to alleviate its symptoms. This has now been confirmed by a major research project under taken in Japan,” said Prof. Matsuoka.
“This is the first time a study has used standard psychiatrist-diagnosed major depressive disorder as its foundation and targeted a population that traditionally eats a high fish diet. As a result, its findings are both conclusive and of global significance.”
The summit is backed by trade association Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED).
