IFT FIRST 2023: AAK, Bartek Ingredients, Cargill, Fruit d’Or preview indulgent innovations

12-Jul-2023 - Last updated on 12-Jul-2023 at 16:16 GMT

Image Credit: Getty Images - jenifoto

At IFT FIRST this month, food and beverage ingredient companies from across the supply chain will gather to demonstrate their latest innovations in indulgent tastes, as CPG brands look for product solutions to meet the consumer demand for sweet treats and better-for-you indulgences.

As ingredient companies prepare for IFT, the US confectionery market remains strong with the market valued at $38.17bn in 2022 and expected to grow by a 4.8% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, as demand for chocolate remains high and consumers look for lower sugar options and different flavors, according to Grand View Research data.

Addressing this demand at IFT FIRST this year:

AAK showcases plant-based oils in indulgent applications: Plant-based oil company AAK will demonstrate its ingredients in a host of indulgent foods. The company will demo a cocoa hazelnut spread, featuring its EsSence 86-33 blend of palm, palm kernel, and canola oils, and a chocolate cake with caramel-flavored icing created with its 46-53XP high oleic sunflower oil for shelf stability and Cisao 8253 and Cisao 8315 non-hydrogenated palm oils to protect texture and moisture, AAK shared in a press release. Additionally, the company will feature a popcorn covered with its Cebes 29-01 NH non-hydrogenated coating fat, which can be used to help compound crystalize faster during cooling, AAK added.
Bartek Ingredients sweetens up sour treats and drinks: Malic and food-grade fumaric acid company Bartek Ingredients will share its latest Uplift Taste Modification technology, which boosts sourness and manages the acidity in gummies, beverages, and other applications, the company shared in a press release. The Uplift line provides juicy and tarty notes to an application and will be featured in a gummy and a peach-flavored iced tea beverage at IFT First next week.
Fruit d’Or shares better-for-you fruit ingredients: Organic cranberries and wild blueberries company Fruit d’Or will be featuring its range of fruit powder, cranberry ingredients, and its new crunchy blueflakes, which are all organic and can be used in clean label applications. The company will also feature its Cranberry Seeds and Dry Seed Extract that are created through an upcycling process from Fruit d’Ors cranberry production, and can be used in confectionery, bakery, and cereal applications.

Cargill to share sugar reduction through cocoa powder

Cargill will also be sharing how CPG companies can use its Gerkens Sweety cocoa powder to reduce sugar in chocolaty beverages, Nicholas Gauger, technical services innovation consultant at Cargill, told FoodNavigator-USA.

The Gerkens line of cocoa powders features Gerkens Revelry that has stronger chocolate and cocoa notes and Gerkens Bliss, which features a milder chocolate flavor and improved creaminess over the other ingredient. “We found with these that we can get somewhere between 15% and 30% added sugar reduction and still maintain consumer liking,” Gauger said.

“The special thing about these powders is that they have less bitterness, and that's really where you need a lot of sugar in some of these beverages. You need to counteract that bitterness. So, what these do by having lower bitterness, it means you can use less sugar,” Gauger said. “They manage to do that and still deliver on the same strong chocolate flavor you want."