Cargill has launched CremoFLEX, its latest range of premium filling fats across Europe, designed to keep mindful snackers satisfied. The conscientious consumer of today expects innovative sensory experiences, while challenges such as clean label, nutritional profile and sustainability are increasingly influencing their purchasing decisions.

CremoFLEX filling fats can be tailored for specific formulation needs, including the use of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm solutions, and can be used in several applications such as filled biscuits and sandwich cookies, wafers, filled chocolate tablets and pralines, says Cargill.  

“The CremoFLEX product range helps to optimize production processes without negatively impacting the quality, taste and appearance of their products, at the same time maintaining the brand loyalty of their consumers,” explains Stefan Lehner, Senior Key Account Manager for Cargill’s edible oils business in Europe. 

“This CremoFLEX product range is the result of different strategic projects around bakery and confectionary that we have been implemented in the last years,” Lehner tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“CremoFLEX are filling fats and with the knowledge about our food ingredients portfolio and customers’ applications Cargill can offer comprehensive solutions in fillings including functional fats, texturizers, sweeteners and cacao products,” he says.     

The product will first launch across Europe and certainly has the potential to be leveraged in other regions later on. “Customer needs are constantly changing,” he continues. “Ten years ago consumers were more focused on health consciousness, without sacrificing in taste. Today’s consumers are demanding personalized solutions which have been responsibly produced, with ingredients that they understand and which give a unique experience. Moreover, the frequency for requests for new solutions is steadily increasing.”

“When you think about mouthfeel and melting profile, this offering enables food manufacturers to achieve tasty yet healthier and cleaner products for mindful snackers, while also meeting European food regulatory standards,” Lehner continues.

Last year, Innova Market Insights pegged its 2018 top trend as “Mindful Choices.” Consumers are more conscious than ever about making responsible food choices that are not only healthy, but that also take sustainability as well as ethical considerations into account. As the number and variety of claims made by food and beverages increases, consumers will increasingly have to weigh up different factors in making purchase decisions.

Consumer considerations around food choices are broadening as a more holistic approach to wellbeing takes hold, which encompasses not only health but also sustainability and ethics, society, nature and the planet. 

Depending on customer wishes, the CremoFLEX range now offers the ability to develop indulgent products with a lowered saturated fatty acid (SAFA) by comparison to conventional solutions and provides clean label non-hydrogenated products. 

The new CremoFLEX range will initially consist of three product types: 

CremoFLEX S: Thanks to the specific crystal form of the fats in this product, it is touted as giving a clean and cool melting feel and its SAFA levels vary from 50 to 65 percent. 

CremoFLEX F: This product is bloom retarding in chocolate applications due to its distribution of triglycerides. By using the correct combination with other vegetable oils and specific processing technologies, it is touted as giving “excellent sensory and physical properties.”  

CremoFLEX L: The combination of non-lauric base stocks with modern processing creates stable textures during shelf life. The SAFA levels in this product varies from 35 percent to 55 percent compared to traditional filling fats, providing the possibility to develop new products with reduced SAFA levels. 

 At Cargill’s European food innovation center in Vilvoorde, Belgium, a team of food scientists have developed this range of filling fats that can be tailored to meet individual customer processing and application needs. Cargill says it is also investing significantly into the production facility in Hamburg, Germany, to support this new technology. 

Yesterday, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that Cargill’s Cocoa and Chocolate business is set to acquire Smet, a Belgium-based supplier of chocolate to the foodservice and confectionery markets.