Exploding the added value of ingredients: from B2B to B2Me

From 19 to 21 November theFood Ingredients Europe 2024, the reference fair for the food ingredients sector. For those working in this space, this is the place to learn about cutting-edge innovations and technologies, connect with colleagues and stay abreast of the latest trends. The latter revolve around three fundamental pillars:sustainability,personalizationefunctionality applied to the world of ingredients.Let's analyze them in order:

1.Sustainability

By 2050 there will be among9 and 11 billion people to feedin the face of limited resources. To date, much of the arable land and water reserves are dedicated to livestock farming, yieldingdifficult to satisfy an ever-increasing food demand.If changes in habits have always been generational, now we need an accelerationmodify consumption patterns, without however distorting consumer preferences.

Plant-based alternative proteins, for example, have suffered a setback in the face of consumer preference towardsmore natural and recognizable form of the consumed product. Therefore, ifon the one hand technological innovationlooks likeonly solutionto feed the population of tomorrow,on the other mustbe able to intercept andrespect consumer preferences, guiding them towards sustainable models. When it comes to technology applied to ingredients, this concerns the development of alternative plant-based proteins, but also synthetic biology, genomics and cell culture.

There are companies that have started to use artificial intelligence to create new ingredients, significantly shortening development times and processing all possible combinations of elements (which are potentially infinite) to choose the one with the highest yield. Others, however, have developed proteins through microbial fermentation using renewable energy sources (Solar Foods) or using microbes capable of converting carbon sources (Arbiom).

2.Features

Almost half of consumers plan their diet based on their health conditions; furthermore, as shown by a McKinsey study, GenZ and Millennials are the generations most committed to prioritizing their health. This entails aincreasing attention towards preventive healthand theidea that food can be a form of “medicine”. The functionality of a food is sought for the positive impacts it has on physical but also emotional well-being.

Attention to the health of the intestinal microbiome is in first place as a driver that conveys choices when considering health; however,in the last 3 years there has been a 10% growth in the launch of products that relieve stress, thus proving theincreasing attentionby consumersfor emotional well-being.This approach to a holistic state of well-being is expected to grow, as well as consumer awareness of the inseparability of the combination of health and healthy food choices.

3.Personalization

Personalization is an aspect already present in our everyday life: from the personalization of content offered by music and streaming platforms to advertising. And why shouldn't it also concern nutrition?The impression is that the next step after B2C will be B2Me,with increasingly aware consumers who will demand healthy foods consistent with their lifestyle.With genomics making giant strides, the practice of sequencing the genome to predict health and then adopting a personalized diet to prevent specific pathologies will become increasingly common.

According to a McKinsey study, 20% of consumers in the UK and USA are looking for products/services that use biometric data. Customization does not only concern the finished product, but also the ingredients: consumers want to know its origin, they seek transparency, traceability and an understandable and essential list of ingredients ("clean label").