At Tate & Lyle, we believe that tasting is believing and what better way to support and engage with our customers than by tasting prototypes - even virtually!
Earlier this year, the Applications and Technical Services team in our North American Food and Beverage Solutions Division introduced our Prototype Pantry, a quarterly menu of delicious concepts prepared specifically to help engage with our customers’ needs, demonstrating the value that each ingredient and solution has to offer. Learn what our food and beverage scientists have been cooking up to drive thought provoking and solution-oriented conversations with our customers and prospects.
Prototype #1: Strawberry Mint Sparkling Juice Drink
While less is more, consumers continue to seek added benefits in beverages
The beverage category is no stranger to sugar and calorie reduction but building in nutritional benefits is the latest challenge facing manufacturers as they look to meet evolving consumer needs. This juice drink was crafted with the modern consumer in mind, taking advantage of the “beverage blurring” concept, meeting needs for lower sugar content, while also aiming to deliver more than just a refreshing taste by enriching it with fibre.
Why added fibre? We know that consumers do not get enough fibre in their diets, although 45% of US consumers say they plan to increase their fibre consumption over the next twelve months.1 This presents a unique opportunity for beverage makers to support consumer nutrition by innovating to close the fibre gap. Juice drinks with fibre appeal nicely to consumers, with 49% of our survey respondents stating they are very likely/likely to buy juice drinks with fibre.1
For this beverage concept, our team carefully considered which sweetener to pair with our added fibre juice drink. The desire for natural sweeteners continues to rise, but repeat purchases are heavily reliant on a positive taste experience. Selecting a premium stevia sweetener can offer a clean, sweet taste profile close to sucrose.
Discover TASTEVA® Stevia Sweetener and our Sweetener expertise
Discover PROMITOR® Soluble Fibre and our Fibre expertise
Learn more about our specific ingredients used in this formulation
Prototype #2: Plant + Dairy Hybrid Beverage
Give consumers the best of both worlds
Plant-based beverages continue to see growth, largely driven by consumer choices to limit dairy intake and interest in incorporating more plant-based foods into their diets. To help sustain this growth, we are often asked by customers, “what’s next for dairy alternative innovation?”
Our next prototype in the pantry could answer that question. From research, we know nearly half of US consumers purchase both plant based and dairy milks , indicating that consumers see benefits to both varieties.2 While plant-based beverages are seeing stronger growth than dairy, consumers see a nutritional gap, claiming that they would like to see plant-based beverages with higher protein content.3 Additionally, some consumers do not purchase plant-based options as they prefer the taste of dairy milk, presenting a barrier for growth.3 A plant-based and dairy hybrid may appeal to many adults seeking to increase consumption of plant-based proteins without sacrificing the taste, creamy texture, and nutrients delivered by dairy milk.
Our take on this unique hybrid opportunity blends dairy milk and the increasingly popular oat milk, with the added benefit of no sugar added. Our creative dairy experts leveraged custom blends to deliver clean flavour and pleasant mouthfeel that dairy drinkers expect, while preserving the nutritional benefits of calcium fortification and protein content that dairy alternative drinkers desire.
Discover our expertise in Dairy
Discover our expertise in Stabilisers and Functional Systems
Click the below image to learn more about our dairy expertise and the ingredients used in this tasty hybrid beverage:
Click the above image to view full pdf infographic
Prototype #3: Mediterranean Tots with Za’atar Sauce
Using flavours and texture to spice up snack time
The next featured concept in our quarterly prototype pantry adds a culinary flair. North American consumers are often on the lookout for internationally inspired and interesting flavours partnered with unique textures. Blending Mediterranean and Za’atar spices, we have created a tasty flexitarian snack duo that adults and children will crave.
How did we do it? To start, we chose a base of ground lamb, chickpeas, and cauliflower. To help bind all the particulates and shape our Mediterranean tots, we chose one of our Instant starches, X-pand'r ® corn starch, which also aided in film forming and texture.
To compliment the Mediterranean tot, the team created a Za’atar dipping sauce. Since smooth and creamy sauces are most appealing to US consumers4, it was important to choose a starch that could deliver on taste while still providing functionality. CLARIA® Instant 360 delivers on both by providing instant viscosity and the added appeal of a cleaner label.
Discover CLARIA® Functional Clean-Label Starch and our Texturants expertise
Click the video below to hear from Christine, our Associate Culinary Chef, on how she created this prototype:
References:
1) Tate & Lyle Proprietary Research, 2020, Global Consumer Ingredient Perception Research—US
2) IPSOS study, 2019
3) Mintel Report-- Dairy Alternatives, US, June 2020
4) Tate & Lyle Proprietary Research, 2020, Global Consumer Ingredient Perception Research—US