Food and Beverage Top Stories

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Designing a plant-based chocolate bar or other chocolate product might sound like an easy task, but it is not just about replacing the dairy ingredients with plant-based alternatives.

It’s one thing to talk about sustainability’s appeal to consumers. Yet how are consumers thinking and behaving when it comes to on-shelf food and beverage decisions?

"We believe in the ethical treatment of animals," says Chris Mattera, Le Cordon Bleu trained chef and culinary innovator with North Country Smokehouse. "Beyond our commitment to non-GMO ingredients, we adhere to strict Certified Humane Raised & Handled and Global Animal Partnership program standards – in fact, we surpass them."

Keeping up with flavor trends in a globalized era of constant and viral information can be challenging. After all, these days a single online influencer can spur the interest of millions of consumers with a single tweet. Nowhere is this more evident than among the so-called Gen Z demographic, a generation of adults in their late 20s and younger, with some of the highest purchasing power and the strongest trend impact.

Sugar reduction—applying the term as a generic for full-calorie sweeteners—remains one of the top concerns among consumers, yet the lack of willingness to sacrifice flavor and function remains a challenge to product developers.

Digital is the force that has been reshaping our lives and will have a greater impact in the years to come. We are in the middle of an accelerating digital revolution that impacts every aspect of consumers’ lives. Moreover, the digital world is evolving into a bigger, faster, more immersive and interconnected entity.

This May, the National Restaurant Association recognized VMG’s frittata line as a FABI award winner. This July, Prepared Foods’ Spirit of Innovation Award judges also named VMG’s Spinach Egg White Frittata as best new entry in the alternative channel.

Food scientists—at least a small handful of them—now have the both the skills and the ingredient toolbox to manipulate and combine fibers, gums, and proteins into plant-based analogs of hen eggs that look, feel, cook up, and taste like the real thing.

“One-hundred grams of SimpliGood microalgae provides the equivalent of 200g of real chicken in protein load," noted Baruch Dach, SimpliiGood's founder and CTO. "Each cut packs in 30% highly bioavailable protein. Combined with its rich natural makeup of micronutrients, it offers a potent alternative to animal protein with exceptional nutritional value.”

A successful product formula needs just the right ingredients in the right proportions. The same axiom applies to a great company and/or a disruptive innovation. It requires just the right combination of people, process, product and consumer appeal—which in this case, involves protein, an essential dietary macronutrient.