Savoring Innovation: Our Favorite Snacks of The Future & The Science Behind Them
Savoring Innovation: Our Favorite Snacks of The Future & The Science Behind Them
Spring marks the beginning of a long series of premier trade shows in the food and beverage industry. On the heels of Expo West 2024 in March, this season is one of the busiest for the natural, organic, and healthy products industry, as these trade shows focus on everything from snacks and sweets to coffee.
In previous years, Expo West and other food conferences have witnessed industry-shifting category innovations like kombucha, keto-friendly foods, and plant-based products. However, according to recent coverage from Bain, this year, there was a shift away from such category innovations toward a few emerging themes, setting the tone for the future of the food industry and consumer products. These themes include enhanced functional benefits, emphasis on enhanced flavor, increased availability of plant-based options, customization to cater to specific consumer segments, and exploration of sustainability – though, not at scale.
Food Systems is a key practice area for us at JDI. Keeping constant watch for innovations in the food and beverage industry is critical to our understanding of food systems and the science, technology, and stories that encircle them. In showcasing standout products in each of the five emerging themes from Expo West, we’re thrilled to provide insight into the future of food and highlight the innovations that continue to drive it forward.
In this post, we've got all our favorite products from the Expo, as well as an exploration of a few of the foundational terms of food sustainability and some suggestions for further reading. Enjoy!
Emerging Grocery Store “Must-Haves:” Recent Standouts at Expo West
Enhanced Functional Benefits
- About: BelliWelli is a women-owned company offering nutritious snack bars that are certified low FODMAP and friendly to those with gut sensitivities. In experiencing GI troubles herself, BelliWelli’s founder, Katie Wilson, was driven to create a product free from common gut irritants and packed with beneficial ingredients like protein, probiotics, and micronutrients.
- The Science Behind It: Probiotics are live microorganisms, mainly bacteria and some yeasts, that provide health benefits. They are often found in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and kimchi. Probiotics and micronutrients work synergistically to promote gut health by supporting a diverse and balanced gut microbiota, enhancing digestive function, strengthening the gut barrier, and modulating immune responses.
- About: Emotional Utility Beverages boost native nutrients in the brain while providing additional nutrients that optimize the body's chemical messaging – improving mood, reducing stress, and increasing mental performance. Meeting an untapped subcategory in the functional beverage space, E.U.B. is the only beverage brand in the marketplace that combines amino acids, adaptogens, nootropics, and B vitamins to regulate the body’s neurotransmitters.
- The Science Behind It: Sometimes referred to as “smart drugs,” nootropics are substances that claim to boost cognitive function and brain performance. When paired with adaptogens, botanical compounds claiming to offer benefits for stress management, cognitive function, and physical performance, and B vitamins, an essential vitamin in supporting brain function, cell metabolism, and energy levels, E.U.B. 's provide consumers with a functional drink to enhance overall well-being.
Enhanced Flavor
- About: GOOD GOOD is a brand of sugar-free products sweetened with low-calorie natural sweeteners. While their stevia drops were the main attraction at Expo West this year, they also produce jams and jellies, peanut butter varieties, and chocolate spreads.
- The Science Behind It: Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, otherwise known as candyleaf, sweetleaf, or sugarleaf. While stevia is not new on the food and beverage scene, it has gained recent popularity as a sugar alternative due to its intense sweetness and low-calorie content.
Sauces, Frozen Foods, Ready-to-Cook Meals, Shelf-Stable Products
- About: Pulp combines simple plant-based ingredients to create condiments and dressings. Their refrigerated, never dry-good-stored, products add flavor to the everyday foods we all know and love. Pulp specializes in peppers, offering consumers a wide range of sauces ranging from Hungarian Wax Pepper to Habanero.
- The Science Behind It: Peppers, including chili peppers, enhance flavor primarily through their unique combination of compounds, including heat-inducing capsaicinoids, aromatic volatile oils, vibrant colors, and nutritional content, making them versatile ingredients that can elevate a wide range of dishes. When we consume spicy food containing capsaicin, our taste buds detect the heat, sending signals to the brain's pain receptors. In response, the brain releases endorphins, creating a pleasurable sensation and reinforcing our enjoyment of the flavor experience. This combination of sensory stimulation and the brain's response contributes to why spicy foods appeal to so many people.
Increased Availability of Plant-Based Options
- About: To combat food waste, UNLIMEAT utilizes upcycled, wholesome proteins to make delicious plant-based meats catering to diverse global cuisines.
- The Science Behind It: Obtaining proteins from upcycled plants is a process that involves selecting plant-based leftovers, processing them to break them down, and using techniques like filtration and purification to isolate and refine the protein. These “leftovers” are plant-based byproducts or agricultural residues, such as pea hulls, almond skins, or fruit pomace. After drying, the protein is processed into powders or concentrates for use in food and beverages, offering a sustainable protein source while reducing waste. With these proteins, companies like UNLIMEAT develop plant-based products ranging from tuna to Korean BBQ.
- About: MyForest Foods’ premier product, MyBacon, received a Nexty Award at Expo West this year – an award recognizing the most progressive, innovative, inspiring, and trustworthy products in the natural products industry. MyBacon is mushroom-based and incorporates farm-grown meatless mycelium to replicate the taste, texture, and experience of consuming traditional bacon.
- The Science Behind It: Meatless mycelium is a plant-based alternative to traditional meat, specifically bacon. Meatless mycelium is created using fungal mycelium, the root-like structure of mushrooms. This type of mycelium is created by inoculating fungal spores onto a nutrient-rich substrate, such as agricultural waste or sawdust. These spores germinate and form a network of thread-like structures called hyphae, which grow and spread to ultimately form a dense network known as mycelium. The mycelium can then be harvested and processed into meat alternatives.
Age-Related Health
- About: Mixhers offers supplement powders to support the hormonal and physical needs of women-identifying consumers. Along with their popular product, hertime™, Mixhers offers collagen+, herpleasure™, hergreens, herbaby, and herdigest™ to support consumers through pregnancy, motherhood, menopause, digestive health issues, and more.
- The Science Behind It: Hertime™ is composed of the following herbs: White Peony Root, Siberian Ginseng, Chinese Licorice, Dong Quai, and Giant Kelp Leaf. White Peony Root and Chinese Licorice have been found to help regulate hormone levels by supporting liver function, which is essential for hormone metabolism. Siberian Ginseng has been linked to indirectly influencing hormone balance by reducing stress-related imbalances. Dong Quai is traditionally used to support hormone levels and inflammation, while Giant Kelp Leaf, rich in antioxidants, is often used to reduce inflammation.
- About: The critical role of nutrition in a child’s development was not lost on Cerebelly’s co-founders, Dr. Teresa Purzner and Nick Langan. Cerebelly combines neuroscience, nutrition, and organic ingredients to develop bars and purees for babies.
- The Science Behind It: During infancy and early childhood, rapid physical and cognitive development occurs. Nutrition impacts physical growth, eating habits, brain development, and more. With that being said, adequate nutrition is essential to support these processes. Cerebelly products emphasize the incorporation of zinc and iron, as babies are born with enough of these nutrients stored to meet their needs early on, yet, these stores typically run out between 4 and 6 months of age.
Sustainability
- About: Apeel Sciences’ product, Apeel, is an edible plant-based coating that extends the freshness of produce. Their coating slows water loss and oxidation, the primary causes of spoilage.
- The Science Behind It: Apeel is made from lipids derived from plants, such as peels, seeds, and pulp. These lipids are naturally occurring substances found in fruits and vegetables and are used to form a protective coating. This coating consists of tiny microstructures that create a protective layer on the surface of the produce – controlling the exchange of gasses and moisture between the fruit or vegetable and its environment. By slowing down the rate of water loss and oxidation, Apeel helps to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, reducing the likelihood of spoilage, wilting, and decay. In the United States alone, people waste 92 billion pounds of food annually, equating to 145 billion meals. With over $473 billion worth of food lost annually, products like Apeel ultimately curb food waste.
- About: This year, ReGrained debuted their new SuperGrain+ Puffs at Expo West. ReGrained SuperGrain+ is Upcycled Foods’ flagship product. Using patented technology, Upcycled Foods upcycles and de-sugars sprouted ancient grains to create a powder rich in nutrients, dietary fiber, and prebiotics.
- The Science Behind It: Ancient grains like quinoa, amaranth, and teff are naturally rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Through innovative processing techniques, such as milling, extrusion, or fermentation, these grains can be transformed into a variety of products. In addition to prioritizing sustainability, Upcycled Foods’ technology is unique as it upholds quality and traceability throughout the supply chain. By tracking each stage of upcycling from cultivation to consumption, companies can mitigate risks of contamination. This ultimately serves to maintain consistency in nutritional content and uphold standards for research.
The New Frontier of Food
With the rollout of the latest and greatest in food and beverage comes countless opportunities for enhanced education, innovation, and exploration. The food and beverage industry is ever-evolving to fit the desires of consumers and the constraints of our changing environment. We’re thrilled to see these themes take shape in the form of new products this spring, as we come together to celebrate, share stories, and unveil the science behind the future of food.
Foundational Terms
Future of Food: What exactly do we mean when we’re talking about the future of food? aims to create a more sustainable, equitable, and innovative food system for the future. We’re talking about addressing food insecurity around the world, technological innovations that make food production more sustainable, and products that keep our bodies as healthy as they can be.
Adaptogens: These are plant-derived ingredients for food that are purported to help the body better deal with stressors. Common adaptogens are sourced from Ashwagandha, Ginseng, Licorice root, and other plants. They may be included in processed food, or may be ingested independently in tinctures, pills, or powders.
Gut Microbiota: This refers to the trillions of microorganisms that live primarily in the large intestine. Bacteria, archaea, and fungi make up the bulk of the microbiota. The composition of gut microbiota can be influenced by diet, medication, and activities, and change throughout the body’s life cycle. Some studies have found gut microbiota can be a contributory factor in remaining healthy and resistant to nonc-ommunicable diseases as aging occurs.
Upcycled Food: These are foods created with ingredients that would otherwise have been discarded or wasted. Sometimes these ingredients would otherwise would not be fit for human consumption, and sometimes they’re simply not useful for a particular industry. Upcycled foods are not procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment by keeping food out of landfills, and offering a more sustainable option for food shortages around the world. Imperfect Foods offers a variety of upcycled foods as healthy snacks and ingredients for cooking.
FODMAP: This is an acronym that stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These are short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) some people find difficult to absorb in their small intestines. This poor absorption can lead to uncomfortable issues like bloating, gas, diarrhea, and cramping. Low FODMAP diets can alleviate some of these symptoms and allow the gut lining a chance to repair itself. A low FODMAP diet is commonly recommended for people with IBS or CIBO.
Further Reading
Plant-forward is the future: How food businesses can make the most of the opportunity
- We’re at a critical point in shaping the future of our food systems. Status quo agricultural production and food consumption patterns contribute to excessive carbon emissions, land degradation and unhealthy populations worldwide.
Global Alliance for the Future of Food
- We are facing a breakdown of critical systems on multiple fronts — the pandemic, climate change, and rising hunger. Each of these challenges is tied to fragile food systems that degrade the environment and undermine public health. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Food systems transformation can provide pathways to a better future.
