Supporting a Healthy Lifestyle
Eating a healthy diet can be both rewarding and cost-effective, and more and more people are focusing on ways to make their lifestyles as healthy as possible. At the same time, more people are cooking at home than ever before because of the often-superior quality of homecooked food and the ability to control what goes into the food for both flavor and health reasons. That means that when consumers do eat in restaurants or buy packaged foods, they’re more discerning than ever, seeking out foods and beverages that are both healthy and delicious.
Fortunately, for flavorists and others in the food industry searching for the perfect combinations of ingredients to give their customers what they want, it’s easier than ever to experiment with different flavors to make healthy foods taste great. At Advanced Biotech, we believe that our products support a healthy lifestyle because we provide a wide range of natural and organic flavors that don’t have the same health issues as sugar, salt, butter, and other ingredients often used to alter the flavor profile of food or drink. You can create the tastes you want with the simple addition of a natural flavoring, as many flavorists are finding out. For example, in 2019, we see several specific trends among the health-conscious, and lots of creative uses of flavorings in a wide variety of food products such as:
Sea greens
Marine munchies have found their place in the spotlight this year after growing in popularity over the last few years. Adults, toddlers, and everyone in between are enjoying seaweed snacks, but now, sea greens are appearing in many more dishes such as seaweed butter and kelp noodles. Consumers continue their explorations with ocean flavors featuring superfood properties such as unique varietals of kelp and algae. Think plant-based tuna alternatives made with algae, puffed snacks with water lily seeds, crispy salmon skins chock-full of omega-3s, and snackable kelp jerkies, just to name a few. Kelp is expected to appear in ramen and miso broths, sauces, and condiments as well.
Hemp
Hemp is being taken to the next level in foods, even as CBD remains technically taboo in food, dietary supplements, and body care products. Culinary experts, retailers, flavorists, and consumers have all taken notice of the cannabis craze, especially visible at food industry conferences, trade shows, and even local farmers’ markets. Companies are beginning to introduce natural Phyto cannabinoids as well as similar and compatible flavors in their foods and drinks to appeal to health-conscious consumers who feel that hemp helps support their physical and mental health goals.
Healthy Fats
For a growing number of consumers, a healthy diet means keto, paleo, grain-free, and other dietary systems that embrace proteins and fats and eschew wheat and other grains. This shift in the consumer mindset has resulted in an influx of creative and convenient foods high in fats and proteins and lower in carbs. From coconut butter-filled chocolates to keto-friendly nutrition bars containing MCT oil, fat-full treats that align with the healthy diet goals of many consumers are appearing on supermarket and specialty store shelves. Butter coffee remains popular but now competes with a new wave of ready-to-drink vegan coffee beverages to satisfy the subset of people who adhere to both a vegan diet and a paleo diet (“pegan”). Traditional snack foods are also getting a healthier twist, such as popcorn flavored with grass-fed ghee. Ghee itself now comes in a range of savory and sweet flavors, and there are many new variations on beef jerky, chicken chips, and other meaty snacks, too.
Snacks and small bites
Healthy snacks aren’t limited to those following a grain-free plan. In fact, snack foods across the board are becoming fancier as snacking is now an occasion in itself, often standing in for mealtimes. This year’s snacks are anything but boring – think cheeses and baguettes, charcuterie boards, and other mini-meals that are filling enough to make up a small meal. The comfort snacks of your childhood are also getting a healthier makeover. There are now portable snack packs featuring aged mozzarella and prosciutto as well as artisanal versions of peanut butter crackers and other classic snacks. Health-conscious snack makers are rolling out packaged snacks that take consumers back to their childhoods but with higher-quality ingredients, often fine-tuned to accommodate specific diets.
Frozen treats
Many people would admit that ice cream was their guilty pleasure, and now they can have it without the guilt. Today’s pints are a new take on a traditional treat with innovative bases including hummus, avocado, coconut water, and tahini. Specialty frozen aisles are stacked with plant-based “ice creams,” low-calorie and high-protein options, creamy delights with artisanal swirls of savory cheese, and much more. You’ll also find some globally-inspired frozen desserts such as Mexican nieves de garrafa, Taiwanese snow ice, and uniquely-textured Turkish ice creams.
Flavor without unwanted ingredients
Especially as more people cook at home, but even among packaged food products, more and more people are seeking to create the flavors they crave without the usual suspects: salt, sugar, and butter. Although more and more people believe that butter is innocent, there are still many people who don’t – and almost everyone agrees that sugar is best avoided. That means that a successful new product is likely to contain natural flavor additives to recreate these aspects that satisfy so many appetites. Layering flavors is another important way to impart as much savor as possible to a product – seasoned at each step for a fuller, more intense taste.
The use of natural flavor products makes many of these complex, authentic, and intense flavors possible. At Advanced Biotech, we understand that the key to incredible-tasting food and beverage products is high-quality natural flavoring ingredients. Success in this industry requires top-notch tastes and smells, so we make it our priority to provide only the very best flavors and fragrance ingredients from natural flavors to essential oils and more – and we keep consumers’ desire for exceptional quality and a healthy lifestyle in mind every step of the way.