Back in 2014 Elizabeth Sloan at Sloan Trends Inc postulated that ‘Texture’ was the next megatrend in food and beverage product development.
An article in Food Product Design magazine
stated that “Foods and beverages without texture are boring, especially to consumers who are becoming more adventuresome and expanding their horizons in the culinary world.
"Consumers are taking time to not only enjoy their meals, but to savour each and every bite that a particular product has to offer, focusing on the flavours and textures alike.
Snacking is now an integral part of North American and British culture and is becoming an increasingly apparent trend in many other international markets.
In
Germany, where cereals face stiff competition from traditional
breakfast foods, the emphasis is shifting towards the promotion of
cereals as a quick pick-me-up, as meals become lighter and less stodgy.
In the Mediterranean countries of Spain, Italy and France, where a late
evening meal is the cultural norm, cereals are being promoted as a
substantial after-school snack for children.
In this competitive
market, companies are battling for market share and constantly looking
at new product introductions and improvements to traditional favourites.
New product introductions may target specific segments of consumers –
young and old – or ride on current trends, whether its health
consciousness, the latest action figure or some other ingredient or
formulation improvement that will gain interest by its promotion.
In terms of health and nutrition, one of the greatest successes for the UK and US industries
over the last decade has undoubtedly been the changes to the vegetable
oils which are used to fry savoury snacks, and which are an integral
part of the finished product.
The
industry has worked closely with oilseed developers and suppliers,
moving away from the traditional use of palm oil and palm olein
fractions as the primary part of vegetable oil blends, and moved towards
alternative oils which are lower in saturated fat such as sunflower and
rapeseed oils.
With the problem of childhood obesity capturing headlines as never before, many parents
are looking critically at their children’s diets, giving greater
attention to factors such as fat and sugar content when choosing
breakfast options, packing lunches and planning dinners.
But
while many parents try to help their kids choose healthier between-meal
snacks, they tend to do so with a focus on minimising the negative (fat
and sugars), but overlook the opportunity to increase the positive
(protein, fibre and other nutrients).
The chief concern is that
most snack foods designed to appeal to children tend to deliver plenty of
carbohydrates, fats and sugar, but fall short on delivery of vitamins,
minerals and fibre. At best, this is a missed opportunity in the area of
child nutrition.
Baking a cake from scratch at home for a family member’s birthday celebration is one thing; baking a cake for sale in a grocery store is another.
As
long as you use the correct ingredients and follow the recipe, the cake
you bake at home is pretty much guaranteed to be moist and delicious.
However, cake products that are produced for sale in grocery stores, convenience
stores, and vending machines have to survive the rigours of industrial
processing and packaging, shipping, and shelf life. Some are packaged
and sold as ready-to-eat products, while others are baked and frozen.
As manufacturers work hard to comply with the ever increasing demands of the modern day consumer – be it low-fat, low-sugar, high fibre – texture analysis plays an increasingly important role.
Continual
enhancement of the quality of existing products, as well as NPD, is key
to the success of a brand. Using sophisticated texture analysis
instruments, manufacturers can ensure high quality production and,
ultimately, consumer satisfaction.
Weight management and healthy
eating are still top of the agenda for today’s consumer. Recent reports
show that consumer awareness of the importance of nutrition and
nutritious consumption is ever increasing – statistics which are
supported by an upsurge in sales of low-fat, low-calorie, high-fibre and
omega-3 rich products.
The weaning period is a transition from milk to family foods and is a critical phase for the development of food acceptance and eating habits of children.
The
texture of the food introduced plays an important role in shaping
preferences. Texture acceptance follows the developmental sequence of
oral functions and infants are more likely to accept texture they can
manipulate in their mouth.
Presently,
ready-to-eat foods are an important part of weaning foods in most of
the developing and developed countries. These commercial preparations
meet nutritional needs at different age groups. Nevertheless, there is
limited information available on the texture of these commercial
preparations.
Over the past year or so, our Texture Analysis in Action
blog posts have brought together information from our Applications
Directories and other sources, along with videos of the tests in
progress, to give a detailed overview of our test attachment range.
Now you can access these posts individually, by clicking on the links below.
You can of course also filter any other blog post series which may be of interest to you, by using the Filter by Label facility.
Why not bookmark this page, so that you can refer to these posts at your convenience in future?
