Health and wellness properties continue to drive flavor choices for many beverage formulators as health-conscious consumers are realizing that in addition to various health benefits, beverages also can be refreshing and flavorful.
Heart disease continues to be a major health concern in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
Whether it’s reported in the news media, discussed by the office water cooler or written about in blogs, consumers are at no loss for information about the obesity crisis that is affecting the United States.
Whether it’s to enhance flavor profiles, reduce calories or to mask the off-notes of added vitamins and minerals, beverage manufacturers continue to turn to sweeteners to help produce products that appeal to consumers’ taste preferences.
The 1980s commercial tagline: “Milk. It does a body good” helped to educate the American population about the health benefits of milk. However, the wellness-boosting nutrients found in milk, such as calcium and vitamin D, are not limited to what you find in the dairy aisle at the local grocery store.
Advancements in soluble fibers have given beverage developers a whole new set of tools for delivering products that help to fill the fiber gap. Although even the savviest of consumers might not know the difference between inulin and oligofructose, they are beginning to explore the growing number of fiber-rich options available outside of the bread and snack bar categories.
In a broad sense, You’ve probably heard fiber categorized as insoluble and soluble, but the classifications are even more complex. Fiber can be subcategorized in a number of ways including by viscosity, fermentability, physiological effect, source or chemical structure. Understanding fiber through these various lenses is the key to producing products that can speak to today’s consumers, experts note.
People of all ages know by now that fiber is “good for you,” and that they should be consuming more of it. A new study from Tate & Lyle, Decatur, Ill., revealed that nearly 90 percent of Americans believe that their digestive health is a top priority, and that consumers are interested in buying products with a “nutritional punch” of fiber.