At this year’s Food ingredients Europe (FiE) exhibition in Paris, BENEO will showcase possibilities for healthy indulgence. On its stand, BENEO will present new product concepts with improved nutritional profiles that convey the great taste and appeal that consumers expect when they look for indulgent products.
With weight management being a major health concern, there is a growing need for innovative manufacturers to balance consumers’ cravings with their desire to control caloric intake and blood sugar. A recent Nielsen report cited that '49% of the global respondents consider themselves overweight and 50% are trying to actively lose weight.' BENEO consumer research has confirmed these findings, showing that consumers are increasingly limiting their fat and sugar intake (61% and 60% respectively).
Every calorie counts in effective weight management and reformulation with the right ingredients is an easy way to approach the needs of those European consumers striving to maintain a healthy weight. BENEO is using its presence at FiE 2015 to demonstrate how its ingredients can help create indulgent products with improved nutritional profiles, whilst keeping the desired levels of taste, creaminess, body, and mouthfeel. Following in-depth research, the BENEO-Technology Center has mastered the technical challenges, usually associated with reducing sugar and/or fat from treats, to create a range of product concepts that demonstrate the versatile potential of BENEO’s functional ingredients.
Healthy, indulgent confiserie and patisserie
Being in Paris this year for FiE, the product concepts comprise a variety of confiserie and patisserie delicacies that showcase BENEO’s FiE theme of healthy indulgence. These include products such as a low glycaemic chocolate mousse with BENEO’s next generation sugar Palatinose (isomaltulose) and cookies with fat-reduced chocolate filling that uses BENEO’s rice starch Remy DR. There will also be a chocolate expert on stand to freshly prepare a selection of pralines, including varieties that are low glycaemic, sugar-reduced or that can carry a ‘no added sugar’ claim, thanks to the inclusion of BENEO’s naturally derived ingredients.
According to leading scientists , there is a growing amount of evidence that low glycaemic nutrition potentially helps to manage weight. Acknowledging the broad scientific work conducted in this field, BENEO received positive EFSA opinions for the blood glucose lowering properties of its chicory root fibres Orafti Oligofructose and Inulin, as well as for Palatinose (isomaltulose) and ISOMALT with corresponding European Health Claim approvals.
Additionally, recent scientific research has confirmed that BENEO’s chicory root fibres help consumers of all ages to eat less, naturally and in the long-term. Palatinose has been proven during clinical trials to support better fat oxidation in energy metabolism, potentially providing benefits for body composition and weight management. With the huge demand coming from European consumers to support effective weight management, BENEO’s scientifically-substantiated ingredients present food manufacturers with exciting market opportunities.
Dominique Speleers, Member of the Executive Board at BENEO, comments: 'Weight management is a major concern for consumers across the world and the temptation of high calorie treats makes it harder than ever to maintain a healthy weight. However, now is the time to act by developing product reformulations that offer healthier, yet indulgent options. BENEO has the right natural ingredients, recipes and expertise to offer product concepts with healthier nutritional profiles, along with great taste and texture, as well as proven effectiveness. There has never been a better time to start thinking about reformulating existing products or creating new ones for consumers aiming to successfully manage their weight.'
