Vitafoods and Fi Asia 2022: Functional food enriching solutions, plant-powered meals and botanical flavors

21 Sep 2022 --- Great interest is sweeping across the Asia-Pacific region in healthier food and beverage solutions, complemented by food supplement products. At the upcoming co-hosted Vitafoods Asia and Fi Asia event hosted in Bangkok, Thailand, a spotlight will be trained on prominent trends catalyzing F&B innovation.

FoodIngredientsFirst spotlights exhibitors of the events to take a look at key trends in vitamin-enriched foods, fresh botanical flavors, plant-based meats and dairy alternatives. In Asia, reflective of other global markets, the focus on health and wellness has gained prominence in the aftermath of the pandemic, influencing purchasing preferences.

Asia market trend developments
Thailand is one of the biggest markets in the APAC region, with the Thai Ministry of Commerce reporting sales of US$3.5 billion across the nutraceuticals industry back in 2019. It says the three key trends are products aimed at healthy aging, natural supplementation, and personalized nutrition – all topics that will be highlighted during Vitafoods.

“Consumers in Asia obtained a clear focus during the pandemic – health and wellness. Fifty-five percent of families in Asia indicated this is the area where they would prioritize their spending,” remarks Nicole Jansen, team manager of insights and innovation at Innova Market Insights.

“We also found that families in Asia lean more toward a digital lifestyle and can be expected to seek more digital and personalized solutions to supporting and improving their health and wellness.”

The plant-based trend is notably growing rapidly in Asia-Pacific at 76.5% (CAGR 2017- 2021). 

“Innovators in the segment will leverage the inherent nutrition of these plant-based foods to position themselves in the market,” highlights Jansen. “Moreover, consumers in Asia say that health is the prime consumption driver for plant-based alternatives in their diet, making it a ripe opportunity for these small- and large-scale producers to flourish.”

Besides these core themes, Jansen finds that consumers appear to have an increased desire to enjoy the freshness and authenticity of local food. “At the same time, they are increasingly open to experiencing consumption and dining in new ways – from new ways to order and deliver food, to online interaction with brands.”

 Families in Asia lean more toward a digital lifestyle and can be expected to seek more digital and personalized solutions to supporting and improving their health and wellness.Food enrichment solutions
Gnosis by Lesaffre is spotlighting its scientific research in vitamin K2, which has been gaining global demand. In particular, MenaQ7 Vitamin K2 was created from a desire to substantially impact people’s health through all stages in life – supporting bone health benefits in children and adults and cardiovascular health benefits in adults.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard to build the category to the opportunity that it is today. We have no intention of slowing down. Our business has accelerated, ensuring that Vitamin K2 is no longer a small niche ingredient, but very much part of the mainstream and available for every consumer,” says Marc Philouze, general manager of Gnosis by Lesaffre.

Since MenaQ7 was first introduced, novel technologies have been pioneered to expand the product portfolio. 

Today, the MenaQ7 product range caters to the demand of high-purity and stable, and well-researched Vitamin K2 as MK-7, and is offered as a naturally fermented food ingredients from chickpeas (MenaQ7 Natural MK-7) and soy proteins (MenaQ7 Natto MK-7), or a nature-identical synthetic ingredient (MenaQ7 PharmaPure MK-7), in multiple dilutions and solubilities.

Among its other food supplement solutions, Gnosis by Lesaffre is showcasing its Lynside range of nutritional yeasts that offer a good nutritional profile on proteins, fibers, vitamins, and minerals such as zinc, magnesium and potassium. The yeasts can be used in various applications such as dietary supplements, seasonings and functional foods.

Decoding the future of wellness
International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) will be exhibiting how it co-creates concepts with its in-house product design approach and Taste Design technology. 

New concepts include Choc-Oat Milk, a high protein chocolate-flavored oatmilk alongside tender chunks of plant-based braised meat. Earlier this month, the ingredient supplier inaugurated its new Culinary Design Center, which provides specialized plant-based expertise to global cuisine creators. 

“The new facility connects customers from around the world with IFF’s team of experts, providing them direct access to our broad expertise and capabilities ranging from texture to taste allowing us to deliver new plant-based solutions faster,” remarks Marcus Pesch, vice president of the IFF Re-Imagine  programs. 

IFF’s booth will comprise an “end-to-end food innovation experience,” which will bring three “experiential zones” showcasing the latest concepts and trends in: “Omnipresent Health & Wellbeing”; “Newstalgic Expressions” to showcase cultural anchors; and” Sensorial Explorations.”

Each zone has something unexpected and uncommon to offer in the form of appetizing concepts and cutting-edge technologies. These include popsicle-shaped moist and tender cakesicles with orange-flavored chocolate coating.

Other offerings are a fresh flavorful crab offering and a zero-sugar functional water infused with botanicals and fruit flavors.

IFF experts will also share consumer insights at the event, with special focus on citrus, which is touted to remain king for flavor innovation. As more and more consumers are looking for healthy indulgence that also boosts their immune system, the company notes that citrus as a flavor ingredient will continue to impact the F&B market.

Formulating for holistic well-beingThailand is one of the biggest markets in the APAC region, reporting sales of US$3.5 billion across the nutraceuticals industry back in 2019.
DSM will be in Bangkok exhibiting its solutions for immunity, healthy aging, as well as eye, heart, gut and maternal health. The company specializes in science-backed nutrient premixes and market-ready solutions including premixes, carotenoids, vitamins, nutritional lipids, nutraceuticals and hydrocolloids. 

In recent events in the Southeast Asian food market, DSM partnered with Charoen Pokphand Foods in Thailand to launch Sustell, a holistic animal protein sustainability service that measures and provides data-based, independent guidance and solutions at the farm level for profitably improving the sustainability of animal protein production.

“Asia’s rising demands for meat-based diets, fuelled by the rapidly increasing population, calls for charting a conscious path toward more sustainable animal protein production,” says Justin Wang, regional vice president, DSM Animal Nutrition & Health, APAC & Greater China.

Among the company’s key products showcased at Vitafoods Asia 2022, Life’s Omega is marketed as the “first and only commercially available plant-based omega-3” that delivers the benefits of EPA and DHA in a single source.

Also on offer is DSM’s Eversweet Reb-M, a zero-calorie, non-artificial, clean-tasting sweetener made using the natural process of fermentation. With its premix capability, DSM can blend sweetening, nutritional and functional ingredients into one simple, precise solution to aid manufacturers with streamlining operations.

By Benjamin Ferrer

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