Key trends at Food Ingredients Europe 2024
Food Ingredients Europe 2024 (FIE), a highly anticipated event in the food industry. This biennial trade show brings together leaders, innovators, and experts across the food and beverage sectors, offering an important platform for showcasing the latest innovations and exploring current and future industry challenges. FIE is recognized for highlighting innovative technologies and sustainable solutions that shape global food trends in production, packaging, and consumer health.
With over 25,000 visitors and exhibitors from more than 130 countries, FIE has become one of the most important forums for stakeholders involved in advancing the food industry. This year’s event holds particular relevance as it explores key food trends such as sustainability, functional ingredients, and personalized nutrition, aligning with the evolving preferences of health-conscious consumers and the growing emphasis on eco-friendly production.
For companies like Btsa, a leader in natural antioxidants and vitamin E production, the exhibition provides a valuable opportunity to showcase solutions that respond industry challenges. Below, we examine the main food trends of Food Ingredients Europe 2024 and how Btsa is positioned to contribute to the sector’s evolution.to
Health and well-being through functional ingredients
Consumer demand for functional ingredients continues to grow, driven by a focus on prioritizing personal health and well-being that is reshaping all the main food trends in this industry. This includes ingredients that support gut health, such as probiotics and prebiotics, along with adaptogens known for reducing stress and fatigue. Moreover, there is a rising interest in immune-boosting ingredients, particularly those rich in antioxidants like turmeric, ginger, and nutrient-dense superfoods.
Btsa actively promotes the use of antioxidants in nutraceutical formulations with products like Nutrabiol E®, which contain the natural form of vitamin E (D-Alpha-Tocopherol), which, in contrast to its synthetic counterpart, is more efficiently absorbed and retained by the body, ensuring superior antioxidant protection. Beyond its role in supporting immune function, vitamin E neutralizes free radicals, protecting cells from oxidative stress and helping reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, making it a valuable functional ingredient in nutraceuticals designed to promote overall well-being and longevity.
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Personalized nutrition and precision diets
As consumers increasingly prioritize healthier and more functional nutrition, the food industry is adapting by offering tailored options that address individual health needs, preferences, and even genetic profiles. This move towards precision diets is driving the development of functional foods and supplements specifically designed to meet each consumer’s unique nutritional requirements, bringing a new level of customization to the healthy food trend.
Sustainable and alternative proteins
The growing interest in plant-based and alternative proteins is a significant part of the surge in demand for personalized nutrition, as it caters to both the specific nutritional requirements of consumers and their ethical values.
On the ethical side, this food trend is driven by growing awareness of the environmental costs tied to traditional animal farming and meat production. Lab-grown and insect-based proteins are gaining ground alongside established plant-based options like soy, pea, and chickpea, offering viable solutions to meet consumers’ nutritional needs with a much smaller environmental footprint.
Products in this category include popular power snacks like vegan protein bars and other plant-based options. However, these products are often made with nuts, seeds, and other fats-rich ingredients that are highly susceptible to rancidity. Btsa’s natural antioxidant solutions for snacks can be customized to suit these applications, effectively extending shelf life and preserving the freshness of vegan protein bars and other plant-based snacks.
Moreover, extending shelf life offers more than just freshness. Preserving the quality of these products over time allows for significantly reducing food waste, an increasingly important goal in an industry facing growing pressure to adopt environmental sustainability measures.
Innovation in textures and sensory experiences
Modern consumers are seeking healthier food options that don’t compromise in offering satisfying sensory experiences. In today’s competitive market, a product’s ability to combine nutritional value with enjoyable flavors and textures is what truly sets it apart. A product that excels in both areas is more likely to capture a wider audience, extending beyond its intended target.
For example, plant-based products that are particularly appealing in taste won’t attract just vegetarians, but also curious omnivores looking to make occasional sustainable choices without fully committing to a rigid lifestyle. This makes continuous innovation in flavors and textures more critical than ever, especially in the plant-based sector, as plant-based alternatives undergo constant refinement to more closely mimic the taste and texture of animal-based foods. En FIE 2024, new methods are being introduced to enhance the crispness, creaminess, or juiciness of these foods, precisely mimicking their animal-based counterparts.
Precision fermentation
Building on this focus on flavor and texture innovation, precision fermentation has become a key technology in creating plant-based products that replicate the sensory qualities of animal-based foods. This advanced technique uses specially programmed microorganisms to produce compounds such as proteins, fats, and flavors that mimic the nutritional and sensory profiles of traditional animal products.
At FIE 2024, companies are expected to showcase entirely vegan dairy alternatives, including cheeses and yogurts, that closely replicate the taste, texture, and mouthfeel of real dairy.
Clean label foods
Transparency is increasingly valued in the food industry, with consumers demanding clear, simple ingredient lists free from artificial additives. This has driven the rise of clean-label foods, which emphasize natural ingredients, shorter labels, and more comprehensible content.
At FIE 2024, many companies will showcase solutions aimed at removing artificial additives, focusing on natural alternatives that simplify ingredient lists while maintaining product quality.
At Food Ingredients Europe 2024, Btsa will showcase its leadership in developing natural antioxidant solutions and active ingredients. Our highly effective antioxidants help reduce food waste by extending the shelf life of products prone to oxidation, such as spices and high-fat foods, in line with the industry’s growing focus on sustainability.
Btsa’s natural antioxidants also serve as replacements for synthetic options, enabling the production of clean-label products free from artificial additives. Furthermore, our natural form of vitamin E not only meets clean label requirements but also offers superior health benefits compared to its synthetic versions, thanks to its higher bioavailability and effectiveness in supporting human health.
Our customizable solutions are versatile and can be applied to a wide range of products, from traditional formulations to innovative new developments, helping manufacturers stay aligned with evolving market food trends and consumer preferences.
