Beneo offers healthy indulgence at Fi Europe

BENEO’s new product concepts offer improved nutritional profiles that deliver taste and appeal that will be agreeable to consumers looking for indulgent food. The company aims to meet consumers in the middle by balancing their cravings with their desire to control caloric intake and blood sugar.

Consumer research conducted by the company has corroborated findings released by Nielsen, which said that 49% of global respondents consider themselves overweight and 50% are trying to lose weight[i].  It shows that consumers are increasingly limiting their fat and sugar intake (61% and 60% respectively[ii]).

(Photo courtesy of Beneo)

Reformulating with the right ingredients

Reformulation with the right ingredients is a way to approach the needs of European consumers striving to maintain a healthy weight.

At Fi Ingredients taking place from Dec 1-3 in Paris, BENEO is using its presence to demonstrate how its ingredients can help create indulgent products with improved nutritional profiles, while keeping the desired levels of taste, creaminess, body, and mouthfeel. Following in-depth research, the BENEO-Technology Center has mastered the technical challenges, usually associated with reducing sugar and/or fat from treats, to create a range of product concepts that demonstrate the versatile potential of BENEO’s functional ingredients.

Healthy, indulgent confiserie and patisserie

The product concepts comprise a variety of confiserie and patisserie delicacies that highligiht BENEO’s FiE theme of healthy indulgence. These include products such as a low glycaemic chocolate mousse with BENEO’s next generation sugar Palatinose™ (isomaltulose) and cookies with fat-reduced chocolate filling that uses BENEO’s rice starch Remy DR. There will also be a chocolate expert on stand to freshly prepare a selection of pralines, including varieties that are low glycaemic, sugar-reduced or that can carry a ‘no added sugar’ claim, thanks to the inclusion of BENEO’s naturally derived ingredients.

According to leading scientists[iii], there is a growing amount of evidence that low glycaemic nutrition potentially helps to manage weight. Acknowledging the broad scientific work conducted in this field, BENEO received positive EFSA opinions for the blood glucose lowering properties of its chicory root fibres Orafti^® Oligofructose and Inulin, as well as for Palatinose™ (isomaltulose) and ISOMALT with corresponding European Health Claim approvals. Additionally, recent scientific research has confirmed that BENEO’s chicory root fibres help consumers of all ages to eat less, naturally and in the long term.  Palatinose™ has been proven during clinical trials to support better fat oxidation in energy metabolism, potentially providing benefits for body composition and weight management.  With the huge demand coming from European consumers to support effective weight management, BENEO’s scientifically-substantiated ingredients present food manufacturers with exciting market opportunities.

Dominique Speleers, Member of the Executive Board at BENEO, comments: “Weight management is a major concern for consumers across the world and the temptation of high calorie treats makes it harder than ever to maintain a healthy weight. However, now is the time to act by developing product reformulations that offer healthier, yet indulgent options.  BENEO has the right natural ingredients, recipes and expertise to offer product concepts with healthier nutritional profiles, along with great taste and texture, as well as proven effectiveness. There has never been a better time to start thinking about reformulating existing products or creating new ones for consumers aiming to successfully manage their weight.”

At Fi Europe, visit BENEO at booth #6M5.