Keeping pace with China trends

WITH increasing disposable incomes, Chinese consumers are no longer satisfied with just the basics of food and beverage. Now they look forward to having a wide variety of products to choose from, with more simplified labels and higher nutritional value. To meet this consumer demand, CP Kelco introduced a variety of innovative product concepts at Food Ingredients China (FIC 2017) in Shanghai.

“We hope to be able to bring more R&D inspiration to Chinese food and beverage manufacturers, to help them make products that are closer to the consumer market,” said Klaus Bjerrum, CP Kelco’s Senior Vice President of Growth and Innovation.

Klaus Bjerrum, CP Kelco’s Senior Vice President of Growth and Innovation

“Health and nutrition, clean label, indulgence, premiumization, and versatility are what today’s Chinese consumers are demanding. This is the context in which our innovative solutions were developed. For example, we raised the protein content of one kind of yogurt drink prototype to 2.4% (it’s usually 1 to 1.5%) and only used one stabilizing agent—pectin—to keep a refreshing mouth-feel. This allows the product to be able to meet the needs of consumers for high protein and clean label. In consideration of the fact that more consumers are keen for vegetable protein, we are presenting a fermented vegetable protein drink here. This is a bold innovative endeavor, as the way of stabilizing vegetable protein is totally different from that of animal protein, and we came up with a suitable solution. Through market surveys, we found that Chinese consumers like to drink yogurt along with fruit, so we developed an ambient drinking yogurt prototype that has pieces of fruit particles in it. Importantly, pectin helps to fully release the flavor of fruit in this drinking yoghurt. We are also presenting a creamy yogurt with mango and durian added in because consumers demand more indulgence from yogurt. This product uses a mix of pectin and agar, which not only achieves a silky, smooth mouth-feel but also increases product stability and provides syneresis control,” explained Mr Klaus in detail.

These unique solutions are inextricably linked with the spirit of continuous innovation upheld by CP Kelco. On this topic, Mr Klaus had quite a few views to share, emphatically stating, “Innovation runs throughout the entire value chain of CP Kelco. From raw materials to production, to the application, and then to every region, innovation is involved in each and every link. For example, we have made innovations in pectin production, ensuring the continuity of supply. We provide pectin to enable the development of many new varieties of yoghurts.”

CP Kelco’s spirit of innovation is also reflected in the optimization of production processes. The company’s focus on sustainability and the efficient utilization of water and energy in production helps to minimize the environmental impact of their production processes, while also contributing to lower production costs.

The growth of the food and beverage industry in China may have seen a slowdown in the past few years, but the impact on CP Kelco is minimal since the company has made relentless effort in the research and development of products to address the trends in the Chinese market. As a case in point, the company was quick to identify and meet the local trend toward nutrient enriched water, and developed “Si Shui Liu Nian” (“Flourishing Youth” Pomegranate Water), a beverage with collagen and xanthophyll. The nutrients are suspended in the beverage after being encapsulated by gellan gum to create a refreshing mouth-feel with a delightfully grainy texture in every sip.

Since Chinese consumers like to add Chinese elements into their tea drinks, CP Kelco also developed a black milk tea drink with ginger extract as add-on. Drinking this product can create a warm feeling on a cold winter’s day.

Finally, Mr Klaus summed it up by saying, “China is one of the most important strategic markets of CP Kelco, and when we made the decision a decade ago to invest in the Asia-Pacific region, we made sure to establish our first office in China. We are quite satisfied with the results of this investment, and we will continue to build up this investment in the future. Our sales and technical teams will endeavor to meet the needs of the constantly changing and continuously growing market of China.”