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.

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.

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.

While sports nutrition is often targeted on athletic performance, health, and human performance, it is important for all throughout the lifespan.

The events of the past few years have sealed cultured dairy in the minds of most consumers as the primary method for attaining a healthy gut microbiome.

Protein is a key and vital nutrient, necessary not only for maintaining muscles and other tissues but for production of key components of the body’s operating systems—virtually every metabolic function relies on the protein structures known as enzymes. 

According to a 2021 survey by the CDC, more than two-thirds (67.3%) of adults aged 20 and above eat fruit “on a given day,” with fruit consumption about 10% higher among women—70.5%—than among men (63.8%).

David Feder, Executive Editor-Technical for Prepared Foods, interviews Tucker Garrison, co-founder of Imlak’esh Organics, Inc. and its Chi Foods company, makers of plant-based ground pork and pork chorizo analogs.