The Fi Europe Connect virtual trade show kicks off today with exhibitors showcasing new innovative momentum in plant-based seafood, vegan marshmallows, clean label flavors, high performance gums and vegetable-based condensed milk, among other novel formulas.

On this first day of the event, FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to various flavor producers and ingredients formulators including ADM, Brenntag Food & Nutrition, Nexira, L’taliana Aromi, Samyang Corporation, Uelzena and Wacker.

Vegan marshmallows and plant-based fish
Through the combination of a carefully seleced gelling agent and a natural vanilla flavor, Brenntag was able to replicate the fluffiness, delicate taste and soft texture of marshmallows in a gelatin-free and vegan format featured at the show.

“Replacing gelatin is one of the key challenges facing the confectionery industry and the demand for plant-based and vegan confectionery is growing. In our concept we use pea protein with high whipping properties, neutral color and bland taste,” Svenja Konradt, senior communications specialist at Brenntag, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

Meanwhile, as the plant-based trend is expanding to other categories than traditional meat analogs, Brenntag focuses on fish and seafood with its Vegan Tuna concept. 

“Due to increasing sustainability concerns around seafood, we believe the opportunity for fish analogs is here. We selected the best textured soy protein to match the fibrous texture of tuna fish and combined it with the perfect flavoring system to deliver a unique sensory experience,” Konradt adds.

ADM’s ProFam Pea Protein
The plant-based food boom is one of the top 2021 global industry trends identified by ADM, and it is reaching new heights in Europe wher more than 50 percent of consumers identify as flexitarians. 

Plant-based retail marketplace sales in Europe have reached €1.4 billion (US$1.7 billion), with a 22 percent growth increase between 2017 and 2019. At FiE Connect, ADM will share how unique and innovative ingredients can help brands meet these high consumer expectations with nutrient-dense plant-forward products. 

ADM is also a finalist for the FiE Connect Innovation Award with its ProFam Pea protein. The ingredient is toute for its high gel strength and solubility, featuring an 80 percent minimum protein content product.

Indigestible dextrin and non-GMO allulose
At the show, Samyang is featuring specialty ingredients of indigestible dextrin and allulose. The company’s allulose is marketed with a “world’s first non-GMO” positioning, containing 0 kcal according to Korean and Japanese measurements, and 0.4 kcal in the US, similar to fructose and sucrose. In EU, Samyang is under progress of registering alluose as a novel food.

Samyang’s indigestible dextrin is a soluble corn fiber, resistant to hydrolysis by the digestive system. It is one of the most used as prebiotics and promotes the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, while improving bowel regularity, supporting healthy blood glucose level and lowering serum triglyceride levels.

Indigestible dextrin as a non-digestible carbohydrate can be claimed in final products that it has functionality for controlling blood glucose level when replacing sugar.

Clean label flavors
Italian flavor specialist L’Italiana Aromi is drawing attention to the “clean label” theme at the show, featuring natural flavors, extracts and fruit extracts that are free from additives and GMOs while offering a reduced salt content. 

“The absolute novelty for 2020 is the single-origin vanilla extract from Madagascar for clean label applications for the bakery, dairy, vegetal alternatives, hydrous filling, ice cream, desserts and yogurt sectors,” Laura Tirelli, sales manager at Ltaliana Aromi, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“It is a very high quality product that gives the finished products a balanced and perfect taste for haute patisserie.”

Other flavor products within L’Italiana Aromi’s featured range include a tamarind extract in a pure fruit powder format for high quality applications; natural snack seasonings available in three product lines of “Ethnical,” “Italian” and “Fruit”; botanical extracts and other extracts and infusions.

Bridging naturality with functionality
For plant-based beverage formulators, Nexira is highlighting its latest innovation Thixogum G, a natural high performance stabilizer for plant-based drinks. Thixogum G is made from the natural emulsifier acacia gum and gellan gum, a natural stabilizer.

Plant-based drink formulations can be challenging due to the need to emulsify and stabilize fat, suspend insoluble particles – such as pulp, minerals and proteins – and build texture and mouthfeel. 

Thanks to its suspensoid properties, Thixogum G is able to stabilize insoluble ingredients with minimal impact to viscosity. It can be used in beverages made up of insoluble compounds to suspend particles such as in fruit juices to maintain a homogenous suspension.

Encapsulating the gellan gum with acacia gum makes this colorless and tasteless ingredient easier to dose, disperse and solubilize than gellan gum alone.

Health and wellness in the spotlight
ongoing anxiety stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic will encourage consumers to prioritize their immune health into 2021, according to Innova Market Insights’ “In Tune with Immune” trend. In this area, Brenntag will also be showcasing an immunity-fortifying drink concept.

The sparkling immunity beverage contains a complete blend of vitamins and minerals recognized for their healthy impact on immunity and anti-fatigue properties: vitamins A, B3, B12, and C, as well as zinc and selenium.

“We also added two botanical extracts – ginseng and Echinacea purpurea – traditionally known for their energy-boosting and immunity supporting benefits. Of course, taste is key, so we used pomegranate juice concentrate as the basis for our concept,” says Konradt.

“Studies have confirmed that the foam half-life – the time it takes the foam to shrink to half its volume – can be significantly increased from three to about 15 minutes by the addition of Cavamax W6.”

The ring-shaped oligosaccharide has a hydrophilic or water-loving exterior and a lipophilic or “fat-loving” cavity. 

“This cavity can interact with lipophilic components of the barista milk, and form particulate complexes, which stabilize the foam structure and limit the coalescence of the liquid phase,” details Ulrike Fischer-Nägele, head of technical service in Wacker’s Nutrition business team.

“Cavamax W6 thus provides a uniform foam structure and long-term stability of the topping.” 

Vegetable-based condensed milk
German milk ingredients manufacturer Uelzena will be presenting its range of dairy ingredients including skimmed milk powder, anhydrous milk fat, sweetened condensed milk and contract spray drying services.

“Among our new developments, we are focusing on some new products varieties of sweetened condensed milk from our subsidiary WS Warmsener Spezialitäten,” Anja Brand, brand manager at Uelzena tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

In this space, the manufacturer observes a strong increase in demand for certified varieties such as organic and/or Fairtrade as well as halal and kosher.

“And completely new products are being added, such as sweetened condensed milk with the addition of vegetable fat, purely vegetable alternatives without milk or even replacing the sugar with certain sugar substitutes,” adds Johannes Rother, Managing Director of WS Warmsener Spezialitäten.