With Consumers Requesting More From Your Products, It’s Time to Explore Ingredients That Can Deliver

By now, you’ve probably heard of benefit stacking – the consumer mindset for seeking out multiple nutritional benefits from the foods they eat – and it’s reshaping how we shop the store aisles. From more protein and added fiber to ingredient labels that prioritize whole grains, one thing is clear: the products outpacing the competition are those that often deliver more than one wellness claim. The most pressing question is how to successfully and confidently create new products or reimagine existing favorites that help your brand align with consumer wants.  

It starts with nutrient-dense ingredients 

When it comes to the role that ingredients play in food choices, consumer priorities are becoming clear. Compared to last year, share of products in the food and beverage category that contain whole grains, pulses or seeds like chickpeas, lentils, sorghum and flax have increased by as much as 388 percent. And awareness of these ingredients continues to climb. Consumers now have a nearly universal awareness of flax – 91 percent – over previous years. But what exactly is a nutrient-dense ingredient?  

The National Institute of Health (NIH) defines nutrient density as “foods and beverages that provide vitamins, minerals and other substances that may have positive health effects with relatively few calories.” For your formulations, this means integrating ingredients that can address multiple consumer need states, like being GLP-1 friendly by delivering desired nutrients, contributing to digestive health, serving as good sources of protein or fiber, or being organic or gluten free. But in addition to delivering on valued health and wellness benefits, your products need to provide the taste and texture consumers expect. In short, your portfolio needs an ingredient upgrade. 

“We are regularly working with customers to help them integrate emerging, nutrient-dense ingredients into their formulations to ensure their products are in line with what consumers are seeking today,” said Anke Golde, Senior Director, Ardent Mills Research and Development. “Often, strategic swaps or additions of versatile ingredients can mean more benefits for the consumer without changing the sensory performance of your products.” 

Read more about ingredients from Ardent Mills here.