FDBusiness.com

Taura Natural Ingredients has launched an innovative range of ingredients that combines – for the first time – ancient grains and Ultra Rapid Concentrated^® (URC^®) fruit and vegetables.

The new range, which is called URC^® Inclusions™, will allow manufacturers to fill a gap in the market by creating products that contain customized blends of ancient grains such as quinoa, amaranth and chia with 100% pure concentrated fruit and vegetables for applications in the snack, bakery, breakfast cereal and confectionery categories.

Ancient grains are rapidly gaining a very positive reputation among consumers for their great taste and superior nutritional content. The number of new product launches incorporating them is rising fast. Data from Mintel’s Global New Product Database (GNPD) shows that there were 241 new product launches inEuropecontaining ancient grains in 2010, a significant increase over the 200 launched in 2009 and the 169 introduced in 2008.

However, intriguingly, the GNPD has also picked up that there have been no European launches of products that combine both ancient grains and 100% fruit or vegetable ingredients. This indicates that Taura’s URC^® Inclusions™ range constitutes a genuinely pioneering and unique ingredients concept.

Taura Fruit Ingredients & Snacking Report 2012

The Taura Fruit Ingredients & Snacking Report 2012 says that fruit and vegetables already have an overwhelmingly positive image in consumers’ minds – presenting a major advantage in a market where the EU’s Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation is set to make it more difficult to promote products with specific health benefits.

In the new report Taura, which produces market-leading Ultra Rapid Concentrated^® (URC^®) fruit and vegetable ingredients, says:

“Europe’s exacting, near-pharmaceutical requirements for scientific substantiation have taken the use of many health claims off the table for marketers for now. But for fruit – unlike many healthy ingredients that manufacturers could choose to use in snacks, bakery, breakfast cereals or confectionery – this will be no obstacle.”

The report includes data from a survey conducted by Ipsos, in which researchers asked consumers inFrance,Germany,Spainand theUKwhat lifestyle changes they felt they should make to improve their health or stay healthy. In each country, ‘eat fruit’ and ‘eat vegetables’ appeared in the top 5 responses.

Mattias Van Uffelen, Head of Sales for Europe & UK at Taura, said: “The findings from the Ipsos study show that most people already recognize fruit and vegetables are good for them. And in a world following full implementation of the EU’s health claims regulation, where companies are severely restricted in terms of the messages they can use to

Mattias van Uffelen

communicate the benefits of their products, this level of embedded consumer awareness will be an extremely valuable asset.”

Other highlights of the report include:

• An exclusive column from leading European nutritionist Béatrice de Reynal de Saint Michel, who writes: “It is imperative that manufacturers are able to offer to consumers naturally healthy snacks which are rich in fruits and/or vegetables, are flavourful and in-step with current trends so as to be appealing to all ages. The future of food lies with innovations that carefully combine pleasure, flavour and nutrition.”

• Detailed data illustrating why fruit and vegetable ingredients are a key growth trend and opportunity. In 2011, for example, the European market for 100% fruit ingredients has grown 20% to a value of €40-€45 million (source: New Nutrition Business).

• An insight into why the launch of Taura’s new URC^® Inclusions™ range signals that products combining 100% concentrated fruit and ancient grains such as quinoa, amaranth and chia could be the next big thing in snacks, confectionery and breakfast cereals.

All journalists attending Food Ingredients Europe was invited to stop by at Stand #1E47 to meet Taura’s European team and find out more about the company’s wide range of groundbreaking concepts and innovations, all based on its URC^® technology.

URC^® is a unique process of concentrating the taste, texture and natural goodness of fruit and vegetables into pieces, flakes and pastes for use in applications such as snack bars, fruit snacks, baked goods, breakfast cereals and confectionery.

Taura to highlight opportunities for combining fruit and vegetable.

Snack food concepts incorporating the goodness and great taste of both fruit and vegetables took centre-stage for Taura Natural Ingredients at this year’s Food Ingredients Europe (FiE), inParis.

Taura is already known in the industry for its expertise in fruit innovation thanks to its unique URC^® processing technology. However, exhibiting at FiE on Stand #1E47, Taura  highlighted how it is now extending its portfolio – for the first time – to include URC^® vegetable ingredients.

The new vegetable blends have been introduced within Taura’s market-leading URC® JusFruit™ range, offering manufacturers the potential to create natural, delicious and good-for-you products in tune with today’s market demands.