How to successfully tap the clean label trend [Interview]

“Clean label goes far beyond the reformulation of products to remove artificial additives. It includes other attributes considered valuable for consumers such as authenticity, traceability, and sustainability.

Products made with simple ingredients, such as those we prepare in the kitchen of our homes, processed in a more traditional way, avoiding the excessive use of industrial equipment and numerous production steps, and which guarantee animal well-being as well as the origin of the ingredients, are the big stars of the new consumption model. In this new era of informed consumers, with a greater demand for transparency, simplicity and a focus on the natural, to guarantee healthy and tasteful clean label products are the biggest challenge.”

“The key factors that drive consumer demand for clean label is health. Healthier alternatives, with low sodium content, reduction in fat, sugar and artificial ingredients, however always maintaining the characteristics of flavour and textures desired by consumers.

This increasing in health awareness is influencing the consumers preferences, who are also choosing foods and drinks that contain healthy ingredients such as fibre, protein, vitamins and grains, in other words, checking nutritional value label, but indulgence and experience with different flavours are still sought.

“Consumers pay attention on the label, look for transparency of information, compare nutritional value and list of ingredients and decide for that products that they trusty and recognise the list of ingredients and seem better for them health no matter if the price is higher.”

“The first thing we think about when mentioning a clean label is that is necessary to remove the additives. But every additive has a reason for being used in a formulation. Each was developed to have a technological function. So, one of the first factors to make a clean label formulation is to know in depth what are these technical needs in the formulation and look for alternatives that can make this delivery and at the same time meet the demand for the clean label.

Another factor is the issue of bringing more health to the formulation. Currently this is an item that the formulator should have as a basic principle, to develop a formulation that meets the recommendations of nutrients. For example, adequate levels of sodium, sugar and fat.

Another very important factor, which we cannot fail to mention, is the taste. The entire formulation must maintain the appeal of tasty. We eat in addition to being nutritious because it is tasty.”

“Using biotechnological processes, Biorigin produces natural ingredients for foods like yeast extracts, yeast derivatives and natural flavours. They are ingredients that due to their natural composition can be used to bring more flavour and nutrients in a formulation. As, for example, yeasts and yeast extracts, they are ingredients naturally rich in proteins, amino acids and with different flavour profiles from vegetable, meaty and toasted.

With these products it is possible to meet the demands mentioned so far. As for example: compensate with flavour in formulations that had their content of sodium, sugar, fat reduced bringing more flavour and body in the formulations.”

“Bionis and Goldcell lines of yeast extract and derivatives help to bring more flavour and body to formulations with reduced salt and even sugar. With these ingredients we were able to demonstrate formulations with a reduction of up to 60 % sodium and others with up to 35 % sugar.

We can work with combined flavour and colour solutions, with the Bionis YE DRK, dark yeast extract for example. There are also other natural solutions derived from fermentation that deliver a flavour closer to salt and body: Bioenhance line. And the Biogard line that brings all the benefits of a fermented product, with a characteristic profile complementing the flavour of different types of application such as breads, cheeses and ready meals.”