Freeze-dried ingredients shake up vegan sector
25 Mar 2020 --- Freeze dried ingredients manufacturer European Freeze Dry has revealed its top five most popular vegan ingredients as demand spikes from consumers. The announcement comes as the company sees a continued rise in popularity for freeze-dried ingredients to be used in new products or food production processes. Moreover, vegan and plant-based ingredients have been in the spotlight and enjoying significant growth for many months. The top five freeze dried ingredients are Turtle beans, diced sweet potato, black-eyed beans, diced beetroot and caramelized onion.
“The added benefits of freeze dried products include great taste, nutrition retention, longer shelf life with natural ingredients. Moreover, using freeze dried ingredients can help as a shelf stable way to meet your five-a-day requirements,” Sarah Lacey, Development Manager for European Freeze Dry, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.
Due to the gentle process of freeze drying, the vast majority of nutritional value is retained within the product, she notes. These ingredients are standard ingredients, just freeze-dried. They are not adulterated in any way.
According to Lacey, the company’s freeze drying technology supports this approach and the results are prolonged shelf-life of fresh products, reduced food waste, with the structure of the food retained along with the flavor and nutritional value. 
“This means they are ready to be used as ingredients in a range of applications, be it sweet or savory. All European Freeze Dry ingredients are natural, with only the water removed,” she adds.
“Working closely with our customers, our R&D team is continually looking at new products for this market and to support our new product development we conduct market research, stage trials and hold taste sessions, to develop vegan food with the quality the consumer expects, says Lacey.
“Hand in glove with this, we are working with customers to support their environmental and sustainability policies. They want less time dealing with waste, a reduced carbon footprint and a process that adds value to their green credentials long term,” she explains.
According to The Vegan Society, the number of vegans in the UK has quadrupled since 2014 to 600,000 and forecast to make up a quarter of the population by 2025. These consumers are demanding healthy, originally sourced food ingredients, which are also full of taste and nutrition.
In January, Dominika Piasecka, a spokeswoman for The Vegan Society, told FoodIngredientsFirst: “Vegan products have really made their way from health food stores to mainstream supermarkets in the last few years. It’s wonderful to see people increasingly embracing this way of living, but also the one in three Brits who consciously reduce their meat, dairy and egg consumption, at the same time driving demand for vegan food.”
Plant-based innovation in food and beverages continues to flourish as a result of consumer interest in health, sustainability and ethics, which ties into the broader consumer lifestyle trend towards cleaner living. As the use of the term “plant-based” moves more into the mainstream, the industry and start-up companies, in particular, are taking up the challenge to deliver more clean label meat and dairy alternatives with improved nutritional profiles.
Meanwhile, Innova Markets Insights pegged “The Plant-Based Revolution” as number two in its Top 10 Trends highlighted for 2020 and the dairy alternatives category represents a key battlefront in this consumer-driven plant-based shift.
By Elizabeth Green
