KEY INTERVIEW: Clean Label Trend Comes Naturally to Ingredion

13 Jul 2015 --- Ingredion is a company with true foresight. In 1996 it launched its first ‘clean label’ starch, way ahead of its time and before the term was even coined. Today, clean label products are the fastest rising sector of the food industry, with consumers looking for healthy claims such as ‘natural’, ‘free-from’, ‘organic’ and many more between. Global ingredients supplier Ingredion has a range for all demands. Mona Rademacher, European Marketing Manager Wholesome and Bakery, Ingredion, is responsible for new product development in the clean label area and spoke to FoodIngredientsFirst about what the market is demanding and how Ingredion can fulfil that demand.

Ingredion sets itself apart by carrying out on-going consumer research into all areas of its business so that it always has a handle on what consumers are looking for.

Rademacher says “For some time now we have carried out consumer research and see that consumers are really concerned about health. Recent food scandals have caused a growing mistrust of the food industry. Consumers want to know what they’re eating and where it comes from.”

“As a result,” continues Rademacher, “we have seen a growing trend for food products with a natural, organic and no additives claim. These categories are growing at a higher rate than the food market overall.”

For Rademacher, developing products that the consumer trusts is paramount and she emphasised the packaging labelling as being of great importance. “Consumers are looking at the information on the front and back of the pack. They are looking for recognisable ingredients they would stock in their kitchen cupboard, so ingredients with E-numbers have had to go.

“Our consumer research is continual and it aims to understand the clean label trend globally. It is very important to us that we continue to monitor the changes so that we can then be proactive in the new product development we can offer our customers. We carry out studies concurrently in 17 different countries around the world, covering all continents. There are real, recognisable differences between nations, both between and within continents.

“For example, both in the US and the UK, the most attractive claim on food products is ‘natural’. However when it comes to food categories, in the US there is a bigger demand for meat to be clean, whereas European consumers expect baby food to be the “cleanest” segment. Within Europe, there are also differences between East and West (with consumers in Russia preferring a natural claim, while the UK is tackling high fat/salt/sugar labels). As the UK seeks to reduce high fat, salt and sugar, French consumers want a natural product, and the German market shuns artificial ingredients,” explains Rademacher.

So the job in hand is quite complex and Ingredion makes it a priority to understand exactly what the consumer is seeking, while also striving to give its customer, the food manufacturer, the best product solution available.

“The clean label trend is definitely going into more challenging areas, as new clean label alternatives need to be identified that can replace highly functional additives,” says Rademacher. “To clean up processed foods such as ready meals, snacks and dairy products is a key mission for us. Clean label enhances the product appeal to drive demand for food manufacturers, but cleaning up the label and giving consumers recognisable ingredients is a challenge.”

However, Ingredion likes a challenge. New product development is an area in which Ingredion makes huge investments, so it is equipped to work on new innovations as well as reformulations. It has a global network of Idea Labs innovation centres where a team of specialist chefs – culinologists - work with customers to bring solutions to big scale manufacturing, while maintaining a delicious eating experience and a realistic cost.

As well as Culinology expertise, Ingredion owns and regularly enlists sensory panels that can assess the texture and mouthfeel of the products using its unique food texture language, Texicon. This translates the consumer experience of texture into precise, measurable, scientific terms that allow producers to quickly target and achieve the targeted food texture.

“Achieving the perfect texture and deliciousness are fundamental to our mission. Gone are the days when the consumer would accept a healthy product that does not taste good. Consumers want clean label food but don’t want to compromise on the taste and texture. This is a very important point,” states Rademacher.

Ingredion has over 25 functional clean label starches marketed under the Novation brand that cover all wants and needs of food producers looking to tap into the clean label trend. The wide range can support everything from an organic, natural or free-from claim without compromising on taste, texture or functional performance. Some of the more niche products include the Novation Indulge range. This allows food manufacturers to reduce fat while maintaining all the texture and mouthfeel of a more indulgent product. There is also the Novation Endura, launched in 2012, which offers the most stability in the range, withstanding high temperatures and demanding processing conditions.

The company has also developed Homcraft flours and Vitessence protein solutions which are made from pulses such as peas, beans and lentils. These allow the food manufacturer to enrich foods with protein, while being naturally wheat and gluten-free.

As well as meeting the growing trend for gluten-free products, the Vitessence pulse protein concentrates in particular enable manufacturers to add nutritional claims such as ‘source of protein’ or “high in protein” to their products. These ingredients can be labelled simply as ‘faba bean protein’, ‘lentil protein’ or ‘pea protein’ which supports manufacturers and retailers in their on-going drive for clean label, at the same time as pushing the ‘high in protein’ message - another growing area for food ingredients.

For Rademacher, clean label is the future. “At Ingredion, we believe that clean label will become the standard and food manufacturers will need to respond accordingly. Manufacturers will need to remove undesirable ingredients from their recipes in order to meet consumer expectations, but ensuring that we have the right clean label alternatives to mimic their functionality will be an on-going challenge for the food industry.

“Clean label is on the top of everyone’s agenda, certainly in Europe, and it is an area that we at Ingredion absolutely believe in,” concludes Rademacher.