Issue 3 2019

ingredients
23
knowhow and tools to do it.
Roots in digestive health
In its annual trend forecast
for food, nutrition and health,
New Nutrition Business put
fermentation right up there for
2019, highlighting consumers’
strong interest in exciting product
offerings that match their health
beliefs. This demand is broadly
inspired by restauranteurs,
bloggers and journalists, who
share their experiences with
fermentation and fermented
products via social media
channels. Food manufacturers are
responding to suit through their
own product development.
Ingredient supplier DuPont
Nutrition & Biosciences has
been following the growing
fermentation market closely. Here,
strategic marketing manager
for beverages, Leonardo Rubio
Anselmi puts a firm finger on the
digestive wellness trend as the
starting point for the fermentation
movement.
“Since the food industry
started to talk about probiotics,
consumers have learned to
associate gut bacteria with
something that is good for them.
Fibre has also been advocated as
important to digestive wellness,
especially because most of us
don’t eat enough.
“While, in the EU, rulings by the
European Food Safety Authority
have made it difficult to base a
digestive health claim around a
probiotic culture, consumers have
generally come to recognise the
healthy halo around fermentation.
It is this recognition that drives
the sales of a product like
kombucha, which is a fermented
tea.
“If it were possible to make more
nutritional or health claims on
the packaging, then it is very
likely that kombucha would move
even faster into mainstream
consumption,” Anselmi suggests.
A resourceful tradition
For centuries, fermentation
was merely a simple means of
preserving fresh produce beyond
the end of the harvest. In South
Korea, the art of producing
fermented kimchi, for example,
began with a basic need to
preserve vegetables and secure
a safe supply of food during the
cold winter months. Kimchi has
since become so much part of the
local food culture that even now,
when food is ample all year round,
this spicy fermented vegetable
dish is still served with almost
every traditional South Korean
meal.
As more
manufacturers turn
their attention to
developing plantbased
fermented
products, a mix of
trends around dairy
alternatives and
sugar reduction can
create a confusing
picture about what
consumers actually
want
Fermentation continues to play
an important role in turning local
produce or even food waste, such
as fruit and vegetable peel, into
an affordable and safe source
of nutrition – contributing to
more sustainable use of scarce
resources. Nevertheless, it is
the health aspects that today
are driving the mainstream
development of kimchi and other
ethnic fermented foods.
“In addition to the strong
association with probiotics, we
know from market research that
consumers increasingly perceive
fermented foods and beverages
as natural, clean label and a rich
source of nutrients,” Anselmi
explains.
“As more products are launched,
consumers are learning as well
that fermentation can turn a
less palatable plant base into
a convenient, delicious and
nutritious product. Fermented
beverages, in particular, meet
the consumer desire for healthy
refreshment.”
What the consumer wants
However, as more manufacturers
turn their attention to developing
plant-based fermented products,
a mix of trends around dairy
alternatives and sugar reduction
can create a confusing picture
about what consumers actually
want.
DuPont senior fresh fermented
dairy specialist Kirsten Lauridsen
relates an experience from a
recent major trade fair.
“We always take a few concept
samples for visitors to taste at
such events. In this case, we
had brought along a fermented
oat snack. While we found that
representatives from dairy
companies rejected the snack
because it tasted too little like a
standard yoghurt, consumers who
visited our stand were extremely
positive about it.
“So the question is whether socalled
dairy alternatives need
to have a dairy taste? Or are
consumers more than happy
to taste the plant base? It’s
important to have this interaction
with consumers to find out.”
Beverage manufacturers could
ask themselves a similar question
when developing new soft drinks
with a low sugar content. Is
the best approach always to
reproduce the familiar taste of a
well-known brand using a sugar
alternative? Or is there a strong
business case for developing
plant-based fermented beverages
that have a natural fizz of their
own? The rising popularity of
kombucha, which is both lightly
effervescent and naturally low
in sugar, suggests that the
fermented route could be a good
way to go.
Learning from ethnic practices
At the DuPont application labs,
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue three 2019