Tate & Lyle offers nutrient-enriched, tasty prototypes
facilitates the addition of nutrients to food products, but without
compromising on taste - an all-important factor in persuading
consumers to switch to healthier alternatives.
The new service follows the introduction of Tate & Lyle's Rebalance service in 2005, which is focused on reformulating to lower sugar, fat and calorie levels.
To some extent it indicates how health trends have shifted in the past couple of years: it is no longer enough to offer consumers products with less of the bad stuff. They want products that are nutrition positive.
Moreover, they want them on their terms. Market researchers have consistently said that if a product doesn't taste good, a consumer will not be tempted to substitute it for the unhealthy version they have previously enjoyed.
This perspective was last year supported by the Yankelovich Monitor Perspective from Food for Life, in which 72 per cent of respondents said they could not eat a food that didn't taste good, no matter how nutritious it was.
Seventy-nine per cent placed the onus on the food industry to rise to the challenge and develop healthier foods that taste better.
From today, Tate & Lyle is showcasing a range of prototypes developed under the Enrich programme in the bakery, beverage and dairy sectors.
Each prototype is aimed at one of three health platforms: digestive health and immunity, using vitamins, minerals and synbiotics (probiotics plus prebiotics), obesity and weight management (fibres and proteins to promote satiety), and children's health (fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals to promote healthy development).
Mike Augustine global VP of Tate & Lyle's food ingredient applications and technical service, said that customers will benefit from being able to bring products to market more quickly.
A spokesperson for Tate & Lyle told NutraIngredients.com that the prototypes serve as demonstrations of the kinds of products the company can develop, adapted to conform to the customer's particular specifications.
While Tate & Lyle will tap its own store of ingredients for added nutrition where possible - fibres, starches and sweeteners, for instance - it will source some others, like vitamins, from elsewhere. The customer will also have the scope to bring along their own ingredients for inclusion.
