Functional Food Trends

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What’s hot in “natural” foods?

Take a look at what Claudia D. O’Donnell, Chief Editor of Prepared Foods, spotted recently at the Natural Products Expo West – the world’s largest natural and organics products trade show.

These types of trade shows are one of the best ways to identify trends.

Here are some of the trends Claudia found among the offerings of over 1,800 exhibitors.

Beverages
Gluten-free baked goods
Açai
Probiotics (many products quantified microbial levels)
Nutrition bars
Yogurts (many were Greek-type)
Kefir-based products
Ready-to-drink dietary supplements for brain health (often mentioning relaxation)
Products for immunity
Virgin coconut oil (anything coconut, such as beverages, coconut milk-based ice cream and fat-replacer pastes)
Natural sweeteners, such as agave nectars/syrups
Omegas and dietary fiber
Lavender flavoring, which showed up in salad dressing and ice cream

Some products combined trends:

Turtle Mountain’s certified gluten-free, Coconut Milk Kefir with 10 Active & Live Cultures, which also noted it was rich in MCFAs (medium-chain fatty acids).

Other interesting products:

Marathon of Miracles’ Baked Cashews in Added Calcium and Added Fiber varieties

Stone-Buhr’s Find the Farmer bakery mixes, which allow one to locate the farms from where grains for the flours were obtained (go to www.findthefarmer.com);

Jans’ 100% juices, in varieties such as lychee and soursop

SunOpta’s frozen Garden Green Garbanzos, with the label claims of “heart healthy,” “boosts immunity,” “provides energy” and “supports weight loss.”

Perky Jerky, a guarana-flavored, caffeinated beef jerky

perky-jerky-caffeinated-beef-jerky-2

Claudia concluded with this interesting side note of the meeting:

An undercurrent of the shifting regulatory landscape was also felt. An effigy of John McCain, who promoted and then withdrew his support of bill S. 3002 (which would impact dietary supplement regulations), was seen hanging over a toilet in one booth. Rumor also had it the FDA was “out in force” at the show, gathering information on products. As always, the show continues to both entertain and educate.

Tagged as: food trends, functional food trends, natural foods trends, natural products expo

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In a few weeks, the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo will showcase “The Best of Food Thinking 2009.” This is where the major food and ingredient companies from around the globe will showcase the latest, greatest products — hoping to be the next big thing. This month’s Food Technology journal has a preview of what will be unveiled at the meeting. Here are a few highlights: sensara4

Beauty From Within. Several companies will be touting ingredients for “beauty foods,” which appear to be coming on strong lately. There’s even a session on the science of beauty foods, including the role of vitamins, essential amino acids and other nutraceuticals on skin health.
Fiber. Looks like fiber will be a big deal on the exhibit floor — promoted for heart health, immunity and digestive health. It’s all about barley and oat beta-glucans, ancient grains, prebiotics, maltodextrin and gluco polysaccharides.
Joint Health. New “natural” remedies are on the way for arthritis and inflammatory diseases — ingredients that claim to stimulate cartilage tissue and ease joint pain.
Eye Health. Could marigolds be the new super flower? One company is touting a natural extract of marigold flowers that contain lutein and zeaxanthin — two carotenoids linked to eye health. These are the same nutrients found in eggs (and there’s even an enriched egg that was co-developed by ophthalmologists).
Weight Management. With obesity a global health problem, numerous products are showcasing the ways they can be part of the solution. Ingredients include CLA, which the company says can be used to make “marketable claims” about reducing body fat and increasing lean muscle. Other ingredients are focused on satiety or appetite control, including Hi-Maize resistant starch and Slendesta potato extract.

chia-bar Other major players appear to be probiotics and healthier fats, including companies touting various sources of DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids. There’s even a high DHA omega-3 fortified brownie “positioned for the children’s nutrition market.” Protein looks like it will be a hot nutrient on the exhibit floor, with whey-derived ingredients promoted for muscle strength and healthy skin. The Chia Company will be there boasting about the wonders of this super seed — which is beginning to show up in a range of products. But, you know how I feel about that…if you read my earlier post about chia seeds.

The article in Food Technology talks about a range of “forward thinking” new products that will be on display — probiotic ice cream, nutricosmetic licorice, heart-healthy chocolate chip muffins and satiety smoothies. A conference like this is where it all starts. So stay tuned — like it or not, these new fortified foods will be coming soon to a store near you.