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Although plant-based has become a popular term in the dairy- and meat-free categories, it does not accurately describe all developments in this fast-moving field. There are technologies that generate “animal-free,” bioidentical ingredients such as dairy whey and dairy casein. Even so, “plant-based” continues to grow in use, with indexed average annual growth of +42% between 2017 and 2022.

At a time when the meat analog industry is in a state of flux, Yves Potvin started a new company—Konscious Foods Canada, Inc.—and has seen it grow in leaps and bounds.

Consumer interest in the role of functional foods that help support immunity is still foremost in the “Better For You” category, and forecast to continue at the very least for another 5-7 years.

Creating lower-sugar alternatives to high-sugar dairy products has becomes especially important considering that, according to the CDC’s 2022 National Diabetes Statistics Report, some 130 million Americans—around one-third of the total population—have diabetes or pre-diabetes, and more than 10% don’t even know it. But the dairy industry has not been asleep at the wheel when it comes to this crisis.

While the plant-based protein trend remains front and center in the food product development industry, it’s important to remember that animal-based whole-food proteins make up four of the Top Five most bioavailable protein sources.

While 88% of active users have a moderate to high commitment to continue their plant-based purchases, one-third of shoppers say they would like to see more plant-based offerings at stores, according to research.

The past decade has seen the rise of natural, botanical sweeteners of all types and abilities flooding the market. These plant-derived sweeteners range from zero-calorie HIS products such as stevia and monkfruit to monosaccharides like unrefined plant sugars which offer only a slight reduction in calories but bring other advantages to the table. The challenge for product formulators is to meet the demand for products with less sugar but make them as indistinguishable as possible from their full-sugar counterparts.

"Our mission at SOMOS is to bridge the gap between convenience, flavor, and our Mexican heritage, and our Salsa Macha is a great expression of that," said Miguel Leal, SOMOS Co-Founder and CEO. "These jars are packed with the vibrancy of Mexico and we're so excited to see that come to life on-shelf and drizzled on all types of food, day and night.”

Cannabis Products Insider recently spoke to Jake Bullock, CEO of Cann, about how the brand balances offering products with cannabis and hemp, the unique legal landscape in Minnesota and Cann’s performance in the North Star State.

Consumers today seek healthy ingredients, which is a key reason the organic products market is on the upswing. In spite of some controversies over whether organic foods are healthier than mainstream versions of the same foods, consumers continue to hold fast to that belief.