Reformulation and fortification: Nomad, Surreal and more talk changing trends in healthier foods

‘Unhealthy’ foods are in the spotlight, with shoppers wanting better-for-you alternatives. With these same consumers unwilling to compromise on taste, food manufacturers have a challenge on their hands: how can ‘baddies’ best be removed, and beneficial ingredients added, with positive nutrition in mind?

At FoodNavigator’s upcoming digital summit Positive Nutrition 2024, we’ll seek to answer this and more…

12 March: Reformulation & Fortification: Changing trends in healthier foods11am CET Fireside chat

Taking the ‘junk’ out of junk food with Urban Legend doughnuts

One way to make food healthier is to reformulate a recipe’s ingredients. Another is to start completely from scratch, innovating from the get-go. How does reinventing the wheel, or as is the case for Urban Legend, the doughnut, lean on science and technology? And what learnings about better-for-you snacking has ex-Graze CEO Anthony Fletcher brought with him to this new business venture?

Speaker: Anthony Fletcher, CEO, Believe in Science (Urban Legend)

11:20am Presentation

Fuel your brand: Formulating for a deliciously nutritious future

Holistic product design can help you deliver delicious and nutritious share-winning products with consumer-preferred benefits. Today’s consumers are looking for healthier options and are seeking benefits beyond sugar, fat, and sodium reduction with key consumer groups willing to pay a price premium for select benefits. We’ll discuss the evolving definitions of better nutrition and the implications for food and beverage (re)formulation. No matter where brands are on their nutrition journey, there are business benefits to advancing along a better nutrition continuum while maximising the great taste their consumers expect.

Speakers:

Hazel Fromm-Tatosian, senior director, Global Applications, IngredionElizabeth Lenihan, senior manager, Snacks, Confectionery, and Bakery, Global Applications, Ingredion11:40am Panel discussion

HFSS Compliance and Beyond

Speakers:

Lauren Woodley, group nutrition leader, Nomad FoodsJac Chetland, co-founder, Surreal CerealDr Laura Wilkinson, associate professor in psychology, Swansea UniversityHazel Fromm-Tatosian, senior director, Global Applications, IngredionPositive Nutrition: Healthy Innovation for the Mass Market 12-14 MarchOver three days and six sessions, the interactive broadcast series will ask how industry can leverage innovation to produce healthier food and drink.

Food and beverage manufacturers are under more pressure than ever to deliver nutritious food for the mass market. At the same time, the concept of ‘healthy’ is changing. Where once shoppers were laser focused on low fat, salt and sugar, today’s consumer want that and more.

Which better-for-you trends are resonating most with consumers? And how can manufacturers best align this new future of wellness to mainstream categories, from snacking to drinks and convenience food?

Positive Nutrition will be broadcast over three days 12-14 March 2024. Each day the morning session will start at 11am CET and the afternoon session from 3pm CET.

For more information on the programme, speakers, or to register, visit the Positive Nutrition homepage.

12 March 202411am CET – Reformulation & Fortification: Changing Trends in Healthier Foods

3pm CET – Plant-Based Under the Microscope

The plant-based market has boomed in the last decade, with projections it will double in value by 2030. But the recent dramatic slowdown suggests the category is not hitting the mark with shoppers. With health a major driver behind decisions to reduce meat and dairy intake, is the plant-based category’s associations with overprocessing and ‘unclean’ ingredients muddying its reputation? How can manufacturers improve the nutritional credentials of plant-based milk and dairy?

13 March 202411am CET – Food as Medicine

Today’s consumers are not turning to food and drink for energy alone. A more nuanced understanding of the relationship between diet and health is coming to shape consumer attitudes to food. So which ingredients offer greatest potential in health and wellness? We ask how the latest nutritional science is informing functional food and beverage trends.

3pm CET – Personalised Nutrition: Tapping into Data for Healthier Diets

Developments in personalised nutrition – whereby individualised dietary advice is offered based on genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors – continue apace. The market is forecast to grow to over $16bn by 2027. From measuring blood sugar responses to microbiome diversity, how is this novel sector expected to evolve? Can personalisation ever prove a boon for the masses?

14 March 202411am CET – Food for Kids

Europe continues to struggle with high levels of childhood obesity. But as understanding around the importance of early years nutrition grows, so too does the opportunity for manufacturers to meet demands for health and functionality. How can industry best support carers and babies in the first 1,000 days, and help set kids up for a healthy future?

3pm CET – Free-From

The free-from category is changing shape as more and more people follow restricted diets. These days consumers are not only turning away from common allergens gluten and shellfish, but also other widely used ingredients from soy to nuts and dairy. As an increasing number of people eliminate popular ingredients from their diets, what opportunities are opening up in the free-from space?