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02 Jun 2022 --- The food industry trends of ambient meal formats, “snackified” nutrition, plant-based meat alternatives, and ergonomic packaging are continually accelerating new product innovation in line with consumer demands. Brands have introduced new ranges of sprayable oils, flavored unskinned nuts and new varieties of fruit chips.

Nebulized flavored oils Compagnia Alimentare Italiana specializes in novel packaging format of spray oil, which “ultimately reduces the product on the dish and seasons it with flavor,” Leonardo Mantova, innovation manager tells FoodIngredientsFirst on the showfloor of PLMA’s World of Private Label trade show, held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

“Inside the cans, we have a bag and valve system. The bag contains the oil and around the bag there is nitrogen that pushes the bag to spray out the nebulized oil. 

“In this way, you can season a pizza in one second and use only 2 g of product, instead of using 15 g of product. This reduces food waste.”

Compagnia Alimentare Italiana initially introduced an extra virgin olive oil product and has since expanded its range of offerings with oils infused with flavors like lemon, basil, rosemary, turmeric, ginger, onion, chili garlic, orange, black pepper, white truffle and black truffle. 

“After that, we added various kinds of pure vegetable oil like avocado, toasted sesame, walnut, flaxseed, rapeseed and coconut,” adds Mantova. “Following this, we launched another line – one dedicated for poke bowls – which includes a soy sauce spray. You waste a lot of soy sauce when you eat in restaurants.”

Consumers are increasingly moving away from traditional patterns of consuming three meals a day while a sophisticated way of snacking has become prevalent. The company has released a spray for air frying foods, which is considered a growing trend across Europe.

Unskinned cashews with novel hybrid flavors With more people now accustomed to working from home and eating at home since the COVID-19 pandemic, Innova Market Insights has highlighted that there has been an evolution of meal occasions.

Consumers are increasingly moving away from traditional patterns of consuming three meals a day, while a more sophisticated way of snacking has become prevalent. 

Flavored nuts are currently seeing a resurgence on the market with new varieties of indulgent flavors. German snack nuts brand Kluth is highlighting its gently roasted unskinned cashews, refined with a natural vanilla taste. 

The cashews are sweetened with blossom honey and come alongside Kluth’s range of cashew flavors of Mango Vanilla, Almonds Cranberry Sesame, Roasted Almonds with Honey and Smoked Almonds. 

“Bali Cashews is a new product concept as nuts still retain their skin and flavors, which is normally removed,” says Herbert KIuth, sales director at Kluth.

“When you buy this product in the supermarket you do something for the region of Bali, as the local farmers here who harvest the nuts here have more for their income.”

Ambient and plant-based trends in ready mealsAlmost 90% of European consumers over the age of 15 are failing to eat adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables. In the prepared foods sector, there has been a significant push for organic, gluten-free and vegan meals to highlight their “chef-inspired roots” as brands strive to emulate restaurant quality.

“In terms of new trends, we’re definitely seeing a swing in interest from chilled to ambient meals – probably due to the energy costs for refrigeration and increased costs for the transport of refrigerated products – and from meat to non-meat products,” comments Keith Dilworth, CEO of prepared meals manufacturer Heli Foods.

“Our ambient food is microwavable and can be prepared in a few minutes. The only difference between the ambient and the pasturized is that the ambient is cooked on a higher temperature for a longer time to kill all the bacteria so it can stay safe for up to 12 months without refrigeration.

“Our products are cooked at a lower temperature and can stay refrigerated for up to 30 days.”

The Czech Republic-headquartered company’s plant-based range includes a “chili sin carne” and penne bolognese – both made with pea protein – as well as a vegetarian breakfast sausage for the airline industry.

The successful entry of the plant-based movement into new territories hinges on producers’ ability to align with flavors familiar to consumers across cultures. Expanded vegan offerings by international brands that have recently hit the market include grilled Middle Eastern meats, Asian satays and the Mediterranean palate.

“We really find that Asian – particularly Indian, Chinese, Thai – and Italian cuisines seem to be the core plant-based cuisines that work in most markets around the world,” says Dilworth.

New iterations of fruit snacks crop up every year. Fruit chips and discs for snackified nutrition Fruits and vegetables have long-held mainstay status in product development. Yet even still, new iterations of these ingredients in snacking formats are steadily cropping up each year.

The snackification of fruit is particularly appealing from a nutritional standpoint, considering that almost 90% of European consumers over the age of 15 are failing to eat adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables, according to data by Eurostat, the European Commission’s (EC) statistical office.  

SDA Foods is a Turkish snack brand specializing in fruit chips made from watermelon, melon, orange, mandarin, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and green apples. 

“Our watermelon chips are our best selling product. They are air dried to preserve their vitamins and nutrients,” Sibel Ceylan, executive manager at SDA Foods.

“We also have fitballs made with dates as a main ingredient, which are filled with hazelnut and other nuts. We offer our products in biological formats,” she continues.

“The biggest market for us is in Germany. We are also in the US, Spain, Portugal and Poland.”

The company has also introduced a fruit bar concept in disc form, branded as Fit Discs, which uses dates as the base of the product. cocoa, hazelnut, banana and espresso, as well as a prebiotic variety.

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