IFT First 2024 live: Kerr by Ingredion unveils protein-packed “bar of the future” boasting multi-textured appeal

16 Jul 2024 --- Kerr by Ingredion, a global supplier of fruit and vegetable-based ingredients, is debuting a range of snacks at the IFT First 2024, which is ongoing this week in Chicago, US. An essential showcase is the “grab and go” Layered Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bar featuring Kerr by Ingredion’s red raspberry PC 28 brix and cranberry juice concentrate 50 brix.

“The whole purpose of this bar is a multi-textured eating experience. You are getting three different textures and layers in the bar,” Erin Nese, principal technologist technical service at Kerr by Ingredion, tells Food Ingredients First from the showfloor. 

“The top layer is a pectin-based gummy with  red raspberry in there so you get a fresh, red raspberry flavor. The middle layer is a chocolate protein bar, where the main protein source is coming from. The bottom layer is a gluten-free shortbread cookie.”

Nese describes the snack as the “bar of the future” due to the eating experience it delivers. “You have the crunch of the shortbread, chewiness of the bar, and that set of the pectin gummy.”

Highlighting the complexity of the prototype, Justine Mattiussi, technical service food technologist, Kerr by Ingredion, also tells us: “The bar highlights Kerr ingredients, which are cranberry juice concentrate and raspberry juice concentrate, so it gives a good acidity and fresh fruit forwardness in the application. It has that jelly texture that you get with the pectin and the body and viscosity.”

Multiple consumer trends
The bar concept delivers on multiple current consumer trends, including snacking, protein consumption, reduced sugar, clean label and permissible indulgence. The protein comes from the company’s latest ingredient, the Vitessence Pea 100 HD.

“It provides softness to a bar over its shelf life. It works very similarly to the hydrolyzed protein without being hydrolyzed. It is labeled as pea protein,” explains Nese. This innovation also bodes well for the ingredients supplier, as recent Innova Market Insights research suggests that half of consumers are willing to pay more for products with clean labels.

Pea protein is the only pea protein isolate source in the current Ingredion portfolio, which enables manufacturers to make front-of-pack claims such as “high protein” across applications.

“We manufacture the pea protein from our Nebraska, US, facility domestically and source our yellow peas from Canada. We found that it works well in the bar space, where we positioned it.”

Additionally, the bar caters to a diverse consumer base with its gluten-free and vegetarian claims that “doesn’t limit anybody.”

Technical challenges and broader market
However, getting the formula right came with textural challenges.

Other snacks at the Kerr by Ingredion booth include the company’s Blueberry Earl Grey Gummies.“One of the biggest technical challenges is managing texture over shelf life. With any protein bar development, you typically see bar hardening over shelf life, and one of the main challenges is managing that texture over time. That’s why the pea protein here works so well because it’s helping to manage texture,” notes Nese.

Kerr by Ingredion’s recent innovations in high-performance food and beverage products combine the best of fruit, vegetable and botanical flavors with functionality. Nese notes that “there’s so much to be done,” especially in the bar space.

“Combining different protein sources is one of the other ways we can innovate. Another is combining different protein sources to manage texture, nutrition and even sustainability.”

“Right now, in the market, there isn’t a lot of texture differentiation in bars. Most bars are so similar to each other. And what we have here, the different layers and textures providing a unique eating experience, you don’t see that on the market right now. This is the future of the protein bar.”

Other snacks at the Kerr by Ingredion booth include the company’s Blueberry Earl Grey Gummies, which aims to meet consumer demand for a clean label, gelatin-free, reduced-sugar confectionery with unique tea and fruit notes.

Additionally, the Lemongrass Chamomile Soda fronts the supplier’s functional beverage portfolio with its botanically-based, mood-boosting benefits.

By Anvisha Manral, with live reporting and images from Joshua Poole from Chicago, US