Free From Food 2023: Industry driven by innovation, nature and multifunctionality

22 Nov 2023 --- Innovation from natural sources and technological advances such as AI featured heavily at this year’s Free From Functional Food fair in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Companies presented their clean label, tasty, multifunctional solutions to create healthier products with fewer ingredients. 

Food Ingredients First examines some of these innovations, talking to Ümbrella, Meurens Natural, Layn Natural Ingredients and Kvarken Birch Syrup about the product innovations they presented on the show floor. 

Spanish-based Ümbrella recognizes the drive for companies to develop innovative products. To support this process, it uses AI to create formulas that meet a company’s specific needs. 

“Companies need to offer innovation,” says Xavier Sàez, the general manager and co-founder. “For example, adding vitamins, minerals, functional or active ingredients to an existing product.” 

In addition, he emphasizes that manufacturers increasingly need to add a “plus” to their classic ingredients and products, for example, to make a product vegan or gluten-free. 

Innovation through AI 
Through their reformulation process based on AI, Ümbrella developed a coffee boost, explains Sàez. “These are a type of supplement that you add to your coffee, and they contain specific vitamins for cognition.” 

After determining ingredients for an innovative product through AI, Ümbrella produces a formula in its lab.Elena Pera Basquens, quality manager for food supplements at Ümbrella, notes that one of the challenges in innovation is that some companies may be too conservative. 

“If they have a product that works, it’s hard to change that. But we are going in a direction where people are more concerned about what they consume and what is included in products,” she tells Food Ingredients First.

Sàez shares the example of a client who wants to reformulate a biscuit as a gluten-free option. Umbrella will create a marketing strategy to develop a solution for the market. The company may also suggest making the product sugar-free to better meet consumer demands.

Next, the Ümbrella team supports choosing differentiating ingredients, such as adding essential vitamins to help the product stand out on the market, through a competitive analysis of available products. 

Ümbrella also has formulation and flavoring labs to develop consistent, stable and scalable formulations with a good taste. 

After the formulation, the company develops a pilot product to establish the shelf life and determine whether the client wants to make any changes. 

When the product has been finalized, Ümbrella develops a quality dossier, including information on health claims that can be made. The company creates a liquid, emulsion or powder form of the product for their clients. 

“In some cases, the company will save the mixed secret formula for innovation and adopt it in production. In other cases, the company uses a contract manufacturer, but the premix will remain secret,” details Sàez. 

Multifunctional cereals 
Meurens Natural, experts in natural solutions from cereals, presented its ranges of cereal syrups, powders and proteins at the show. 

Meurens Natural showcased its ranges of cereal syrups, powders and proteins at the show.The company’s sales and marketing manager, Tim van de Gehuchte, explains the company’s products are multifunctional: “You can use one plant-based ingredient to give multiple functionalities to an end product such as natural color, natural taste, crunchiness, and viscosity.” 

“We keep on experimenting with different types of our powders and different types of applications, tweaking a bit on the maltodextrin or the sugar content.”

Van De Gehuchte adds that Meurens Natural tries to support formulations that are either plant-based or flexitarian with its plant-based proteins and powders. 

“With the proteins, we keep experimenting by combining them with either pea protein, or maybe we can do that also with fava bean protein.”

“The good thing about oat protein is that it has a bland taste, unlike many other plant-based proteins such as pea, which can have an intense taste. Bringing them together flattens the taste, making it a great ingredient for chicken nuggets or burgers, where companies can add the flavor they want.”

Natural conservation 
Gabriele Murgia, nutraceuticals sales manager at Layn Natural Ingredients, emphasizes that naturalness remains a strong trend. The company has developed a new botanical extract solution for food preservation to meet this demand. 

“We have two different actors, one against the oxidative process and the other against microbial growth. It’s a clean label solution for food, as a botanical extract, 100% natural, and can be used in different applications, such as bakery, beverages, meats, cheese and desserts.” 

He adds that the ingredient can be used in low concentrations to “extend the shelf life naturally.” 

Gabriele Murgia, nutraceuticals sales manager at Layn Natural Ingredients.“We focus on preserving foods because extending a product’s shelf life is key, also to help prevent food waste.” 

The company says its aim is “driving botanical innovation.” and Murgia explains that Layn Natural Ingredients’ three R&D offices in the US, Europe and China cooperate to develop new solutions for food and nutraceuticals. 

Vinegar alternative from birch 
At the fair, companies also presented new food products. Carina Rönn, sales manager at Kvarken Birch Syrup, explains the production process and applications of the company’s core ingredient, organic certified birch syrup. 

“We collect sap from the birch tree, then remove the water with osmosis and cooking. To get one liter of syrup, we use 100-140 liters of birch sap,” she explains. 

As Kvarken Birch Syrup only collects a small part of a tree’s sap, Rönn explains that it doesn’t harm the tree itself. 

This dark syrup has a caramelized flavor that can be used in marinades, sauces, desserts, ice cream, and chocolate. The taste has nuances of sweet and salty, dried plum and juniper berry. Birch syrup also contains nutrients such as minerals, xylitol, betulin, betulinic acid and antioxidants. 

As the sugar content is relatively high, it doesn’t need conservatives, adds Rönn. “While it has a high sugar content, it’s not very sweet. The syrup is acidic and salty. It more resembles vinegar or soy sauce and can be used similarly.” 

Rönn adds that the syrup is mainly available as a consumer product, though the company is looking to sell the product as an ingredient. She adds examples of Scandinavian companies using it in ice cream and vegan sweets. 

By Jolanda van Hal, reporting live from Free From Food in Amsterdam