VEGETABLE-BASED

IS THE FUTURE

The food market is sensitive to trends. Consumers of today want to know what they are eating and whether it's healthy. We're also seeing a transition from animal to vegetable products. Peter Heshof, owner of trend and marketing agency Bloom, explains which trends he identifies in the global food market. Avebe’s Marketing Manager Jaap Harkema explains how he translates these trends into his own work.

Peter Heshof deals with various marketing issues, including brand positioning, strategy and innovation. His starting point: looking ahead, or foresight. This involves the continuous monitoring and investigation of trends, including the food industry. Heshof tells which trends he sees worldwide in the food market.

The open kitchen

‘The food market is very sensitive to trends. It's interesting for every sector to see what's going on in the food market, whether you're talking about insurance or personal care. Innovation in the food market is fast because there's a lot of experimenting. The open kitchen is a concrete example of the food market as a predictor of a global general trend. This trend started a few years ago in restaurants, so that customers could see how their food was made and with which ingredients. This transparency trend then spread to all kinds of other sectors.’

Honesty the best policy

‘The dominant mentality in society changes every ten to fifteen years. In the 1990s, for example, fast food was dominant, as were Bacardi Breezer and snacks for on the road, such as Friesche Vlag's Breaker (yoghurt in to go-boxes). The sky was the limit, anything was possible. This was driven by profit maximisation. One of the ways in which this was achieved was to replace natural ingredients with cheaper artificial or processed ingredients. Inspired by the economic crisis ten years ago, this zeitgeist changed. We had to go ‘back to basics’, also in terms of nutrition. We wanted to know where our food came from. One of the resulting trends was naturalness. People wanted to go back to food with a lot of nutritional value and flavour and especially wanted to know where that food comes from. This in turn fits in with the big trend in authenticity. Translated into food, this was honesty, purity, durability and confidence in food. There was a passion for the best products, a return of craftsmanship. Because honesty is the best policy.’

The zeitgeist is changing: 
wellbeing is becoming important

‘Wellbeing is the new magic word. Taking good care of yourself, eating well and doing sports to get in balance. Eating vegetables, for example, plays an important role in this. Vegetable-based is well on its way to becoming a very big trend. Don't confuse it with vegan, it will get much bigger than that. Another trend I'm seeing is excitement. It can all be exciting again, with new flavours and special combinations. Food is the new fashion, you might say. In the meantime, millennials are already

 spending more money on food than on clothing. They prefer to put a nice picture of food on Instagram rather than a new dress. Fusion is also making a comeback. Korean tacos or noodle burgers, for instance.’

Consumer: as few e-numbers as possible

‘Consumers increasingly want to know exactly what's in the products they eat. People want to know if what they eat is healthy or not. They prefer to see as few e-numbers as possible on the labels, because they have a negative image. But not all those e-numbers are there for nothing and are not

all artificial. Avebe develops 'clean label starches', which have the properties of starches with e-numbers, but can be listed as 'starch' on the label. The starches and proteins Avebe produces are all vegetablebased and allergen-free. The potato is therefore a very ‘clean’ product. And that's appreciated by our customers. We're transparent in our production process and about which raw materials we use.’

From animal to vegetable protein

‘The call for more vegetable-based products fits in perfectly with the focus on nutrition and health that Avebe has very clearly established in its strategy for the period up to 2023. Consumers are increasingly eating vegetable products instead of animal products. They realise that eating less meat is good for people, animals and the environment. I'm not just talking about vegetarians and vegans, but about a large group of 'flexitarians': people who choose not to eat meat a few times a week because they're concerned with animal welfare, sustainability or their own health. Avebe's entire product range is of course vegetable-based, and we therefore offer plant-based alternatives for animal products. These include replacements for chicken protein, milk protein and gelatine. These products are used in 100% vegetable burgers, cheese and yoghurt, in gluten-free bread and in confectionary without animal gelatine. In combination with potato starch, the potato protein ensures the perfect texture. Many of these products can already be found on the supermarket shelves.’

Less fat, equally good texture

‘Avebe is a specialist in food texture. Reducing fat and sugar in food has been a trend in the food market for years. But if you remove fat from a product, you change its texture. This makes the ‘mouthfeel’ of such a product different: it feels and tastes less creamy. Avebe produces starches and proteins that help to compensate for this and make the product just as tasty, even though it contains less fat. Avebe is happy to offer its customers a total solution for these types of situations. Not just another ingredient, but a completely new recipe. That way we take work out of the hands of our customers' product developers and save them time.’

Avebe's Marketing Manager Jaap Harkema explains how he translates these trends into his own work.

The zeitgeist is changing, and other things are becoming important. Heshof sees four important developments in the food industry:

Four new developments

Personalised food

'In time there'll be more and more products that apply to the individual, for example food that is specifically healthy for you, based on your DNA. This is known as food personalization.'

Nutritional value

'The nutritional value of products is becoming increasingly important. Products should above all be nutritious.'

Functional food

'Nutrition that does something for you is on the up. Food that contributes to healthy digestion or lower cholesterol, for example.'

Combination with science

'The influence of science on nutrition is growing in importance. We'll be seeing a fusion of nature and science. Science can work on food to provide more nutritional value, for example. Science can answer nutritional questions that are important to you as a person. The influence of food blogs as we know them today is declining.'

Practical applications of Avebe products

Vegafit uses potato protein to give texture and binding to 100% vegetable meat substitutes. They are for sale at Albert Heijn and others supermarkets.

Oatly makes vegetable dairy products based on oats. The company uses a combination of potato starch and potato protein to achieve the right texture and mouthfeel.