Tate & Lyle Eyes Sugar and Fat Reduction in Middle Eastern Markets

10 Nov 2016 --- Tate & Lyle is looking for opportunities through the reduction of sugar, fat and calories when targeting the Middle East as a growth platform.

This week Tate & Lyle have been offering a range of healthy culinary creations for visitors at this year’s Gulfood Manufacturing trade show in Dubai (7-9 November). A range of healthy dishes were exhibited at the show, with a twist on the countries favorite foods.

Speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst in a detailed interview, Dominique Floch, (pictured below) Regional Sales Director EMEA region for Tate & Lyle, said that there is a strong demand for healthy produce in the Middle East. “We are growing double digit in that part of the world despite some economical challenges in Egypt and The Gulf, he explains. “We are focusing on dairy, convenience and bakery. We know what types of textures our clients are looking for and that is proving to be working well at Tate & Lyle. We are now able to cover the market from a technical point of view.” 

“We are expecting a lot of growth from this part of the world,” says Floch, “The trends we see happening from our health conscious consumers confirm it has the potential to be strong, our clients are really looking for more understanding of what we can do reduce sugar , fat and calories in their products.” 

What are Tate & Lyle doing to address these trends? “For sugar reduction, in particular, we have a lot of solutions from a sweetening point of view, being it with fructose, sucralose or stevia depending on the level of sugar reduction needed,” explains Floch. 

People think of sugar as just a taste impact, but it is much more than that, according to Floch. “When reducing sugar we need to compensate the mouthfeel, at Tate & Lyle we have the right knowledge to combine the two together to give the right solution to the clients, it is not easy but our experience is very well appreciated.”

When it comes to fat reduction, Tate & Lyle have a range of starch and stabilizers to keep a good texture without any fat in their products. 

Health and wellness is becoming a concern in the Middle East. The level of obesity and diabetes in this region is continuing to rise and consumers are becoming more aware of the dangers associated with these health problems. 

Fiber as a super ingredient 
“When it comes to fiber enrichment, we have a range of fibers, which are attracting a lot of interest in our consumers in the Middle East,” notes Floch. 
 
This year, Tate & Lyle will showcase its award winning PROMITOR Soluble Gluco Fiber and PromOat Beta Glucan, demonstrating how its team of industry experts can best support Middle Eastern manufacturers in meeting the demand for fiber-enriched products.

Floch also explains that there is an encouraging number of consumers who consciously want to eat more fiber. “We have done some research in this area as we want to understand what the consumers expect and what they know of healthier foods. That’s why we have invested in to our own study to get more precise data about this. 48% of consumers have the intention to eat more fiber than they did in the previous year, and when it comes to fat it’s also around the same figure for Saudi Arabia,” he states. 
 
Floch adds: “We’ve designed our latest menu with the increasingly health conscious consumer in mind, and visitors to this year’s Tate & Lyle stand will be able to experience this first-hand.”

Another interesting element is that Tate & Lyle found that 30% of consumers are already actively looking to include more fibers into their diets, similar to Europe, consumers are looking for high fiber bakery and cereal items. Floch adds: “European consumers have a better understanding about healthy foods, but we feel it is important to protect the health of our consumers in the Middle East.” 

Our mission is to make locally produced products more available to consumers, which is why we have invested in that region. From a market side as well as from a food trends point of view, we know we have the right knowledge for this,” he says. 

“Research continues to show that consumers are struggling to reach their suggested daily fiber intake, and so this year we’ll be focusing on our fiber rich ingredients,” confirms Floch. All of our delicious prototypes have been created to show how our ingredients can help manufacturers create products that allow consumers to reach their recommended daily dose in a single serving, all whilst still tasting extraordinary.” 

Profits for the half-year at Tate & Lyle were up 37 percent to £140m ($173m), as US demand for sodas in the summer spiralled and earnings were helped by the weakness of sterling. Revenues were up 13 percent to £1.3bn ($1.6bn) in the period, while full-year profit expectations have been increased.

The fall in value of sterling compared to the US dollar helped earnings at Tate & Lyle. Like other businesses, Tate & Lyle, which generates less than two percent of its revenues in the UK, has assessed the impact of Brexit. 

The company said: “The outcome of this referendum is not expected to have a material near-term impact on our business and we are well-placed to continue to grow our global business without significant disruption.”

by Elizabeth Kenward