All articles by Amit Thadani
Amit Thadani
Successful Debut at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
Fi Europe 2022: 3 days of sourcing, exchange and innovation, with more than 900 exhibitors and close to 19,000 attendees on site
Celebrating excellence: Fi Europe Innovation Awards and Startup Innovation Challenge 2022 winners unveiled
Paris/France, December 2022: Informa Markets is delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s prestigious Fi Europe Innovation Awards and the Startup Innovation Challenge winners. Honoured at a special ceremony during Fi Europe 2022 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles on 6 December, the winners were chosen by an expert judging panel for their outstanding contributions to the food and beverage ingredients industry.
Vitamin Me
Personalised vitamins are on the rise as the conscious consumer expects customisable and personalised supplements – with the market size valued at $9.06bn in 2021. While historically considered a premium nutritional product, the new emergence of public interest in personalisation and the impact of Covid-19 on health awareness has increased demand for more options to cater for nutritional needs. Phoebe Galbraith speaks to Melissa Snover, founder of Nourished to find out more.
A gut feeling
From fighting inflammation to boosting mental health, gut health has long been a staple part of our medical folklore. If nothing else, that’s reflected in the numbers, with probiotics wildly popular from Italy to China. But beyond the hype, how do the claims around these supplements actually hold up? And whatever their efficacy, could punters do better by taking a more holistic approach to their health? Andrea Valentino talks to Dr Alexandra Shustina, founder of Whole Gut Health, to learn more.
Dough not disturb
Consumers are increasingly seeking to avoid gluten, as well as dairy allergens – not least because of the known general health benefits (and protection) such avoidance provides. Yet, despite the so-called ‘Free-From’ (dairy/gluten) products space witnessing significant growth in recent years, manufacturing challenges persist given dairy and gluten ingredients customarily provide a particular taste and/or texture. Martin Morris speaks to Bradley Grimshaw, managing director, Dr Schär (UK) and Miriam Ueberall, vice-president R&D Kraft Heinz International, to find out more.
Bring home the culture bacon
One initiative currently going under the radar that could eventually gain significant traction is cell-based meat. Given cell-based meat is produced from animal cells, without needing to kill the animal, it’s likely to become popular with flexitarians. Martin Morris speaks to Daan Luining, CTO & co-founder of Meatable, Mark Post, co-founder and CSO of Mosa Meat and Professor Tom MacMillan of the Royal Agricultural University, to find out the current state of play from a research standpoint and what obstacles remain in place commercially.
A sour taste
Without a legal definition, the term natural is springing up everywhere when it comes to food and drink packaging. But what does it mean, what are consumers’ views on it and is it having a damaging impact on health, the environment and above all our trust in the industry? Andrew Tunnicliffe talks with consumer advocate Floriana Cimmarusti and flavouring expert Carl Smith to find out more.
Not so sweet
Consumers are always looking for a way to reduce sugar or just replace it altogether, and manufacturers are looking to meet this demand while keeping the same sweet taste. This has been found in the form of sweeteners, touted to provide the same level of sweetness without the health drawbacks, but is this really the case? Phoebe Galbraith speaks to Abigail Storms, global head of sweeteners at Tate & Lyle, to find out her insight on the potential health benefits.
Reduce, reuse…
Attitudes towards environmental sustainability have come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, with climate change encouraging both food manufacturers and their customers to consume more responsibly – as well as cut down on waste. Companies have unsurprisingly followed suit, adapting their packaging to be more environmentally friendly, a shift with potentially revolutionary consequences for both the industry and the planet at large. Andrea Valentino chats to David Clark, VP of sustainability at packaging giant Amcor, to find out more.
Fi Europe 2022: Informa Markets brings sustainability to the fore
Amsterdam/Netherlands, November 2022: With the new Sustainability Hub and a wide array of targeted measures and initiatives to making the world´s leading trade show for food ingredients the most environmentally friendly ever, Fi Europe is setting new standards this year. Both on site in Paris and online, branch experts and companies striving for a greener and increasingly responsible food industry will find various opportunities to learn more about this critical topic.