Customized Ingredient Systems Aid Bar Development

Despite the growing concern over health and obesity, many people struggle to maintain a healthy balanced diet, due to modern lifestyle pressures. The most recent data from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows 66.3 percent of American adults are now overweight or obese.

Food formulators are increasingly under pressure to develop products that can help consumers manage their weight, while also delivering great taste. One of the hot categories for fortification and product development is the bakery area. Market research studies conducted by Tate & Lyle have found 70 percent of consumers found fiber-and protein-rich products that would aid satiety and make them feel fuller longer to be an appealing product equation.

To deliver satiety-inducing baked goods, Tate & Lyle developed a range of customized ingredient systems that can incorporate specific functional ingredients and meet the taste preference of the relevant geography. Tate & Lyle’s ENRICH® service enables food manufacturers to create products that are packed with additional nutrients while maintaining the taste of regular brands.

One new prototype was the Cereal Bar ENRICH™ “rapid prototype,” part of the Weight Management and Obesity platform. With more dietary fiber and protein than other bars on the market, the prototype bar can aid satiety, helping people feel full longer and reduce snacking between meals. R&D formulators incorporated a range of fibers and proteins, as well as selected essential vitamins. In fact, the levels of these nutrients allow marketers to include label claims on the bars as an “excellent source” of fiber, and a “good source” of protein.

Beyond the satiety market, the simple inclusion of fiber in the prototype is an important addition, as the average U.S. adult does not consume close to the dietary reference intake (DRI) for fiber. Current intake for men and women ranges from 12 to 16 g/d, whereas the DRI is 25 g/d for women and 38 g/d for men. However, two-thirds of respondents in the United States acknowledged fiber helps to promote digestive health and the immune system, with the majority recognizing fiber’s ability to manage hunger and potentially help in managing body weight. Tate & Lyle’s research also found 57 percent of parents believe fiber is useful in maintaining children’s health.

As part of its strategy of supporting customized ingredient solutions, Tate & Lyle developed and launched a portfolio of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber ingredients under the PROMITOR™ brand. PROMITOR Resistant Starch, the first ingredient marketed under the PROMITOR range of dietary fibers, helps manufacturers add more fiber to baked products and snacks with no impact on taste or texture.

Such customized ingredient solutions can help marketers develop efficacious products for target consumers.

David Lewis is the business development manager, Health & Wellness, Tate & Lyle, Decatur, Ill.