04 Apr 2021 Demand for comfort food creates new opportunities
Covid and high stress have propelled consumers to reach for flavourful comfort foods, while simultaneously seeking ‘better-for-you’ choices. These often conflicting trends can find innovative remedy via Salt of the Earth’s Mediterranean Umami sodium-reduction solution.
“Consumers are working from home and do not enjoy active social lifestyles as before, so eating at home and turning to comfort food and snacking have become the new normal,” says Tali Feingold, Business Unit Director of Salt of the Earth. “Yet these same consumers are more conscious about what they put in their bodies and study labels to ensure ingredients are all-natural, without additives.
“Our Mediterranean Umami Bold can give food companies a big edge in meeting these dual demands through its all-natural solution to boost flavour and cut salt from consumers’ favourite comfort foods such as pizza and tomato soup.
“The formulation is upgrading this nostalgic category that has made a big comeback over the last year, offering it a compelling umami boost while at the same time effectively reducing the need for salt.”
Consistently ranked among the top comfort foods is pizza. Datassential reported that pizza sales in the US more than doubled last year, and Statista predicts that the $16B global frozen pizza market is expected to jump by about 50% in the next five years. MarketWatch found similar growth trends for that other top 10 comfort food, soup, predicting the more than $16B market will rise at a steady CAGR of 5% or so for the next five years.
Mediterranean Umami Bold allows pizza and makers — as well as other savoury product makers — to craft cleaner-label products, reduce the sodium, and keep the great flavour. It’s plant-based, vegan, kosher, and halaal and easily helps replace synthetic ingredients, , and other artificial additives as well as salt replacements.
“Removing salt from a recipe and adding Mediterranean Umami Bold enhances all of the flavours in the application, without influencing texture or mouthfeel,” stresses Rakefet Rosenblatt, food technologist for Salt of the Earth. “Mediterranean Umami Bold helps keep the flavour systems balanced, even with reduced sodium.”
Mediterranean Umami Bold is a versatile ingredient with multiple uses and can be used to boost savoury flavours, enhance overall flavour profiles, and reduce sodium. It also can be used to reduce the amounts of certain ingredients, such as flavourings and spice blends.
The easiest way to use it is to add to the aqueous phase in the recipe. It is functional across a variety of processing conditions, being heat- and pH-stable. It is especially suited for meats and fish, sauces, soups, RTE meals, plant-based meat analogs, and specialty bakery.
Source: www.saltoftheearthltd.com
Mediterranean Umami Bold is available in South Africa via local agent, WCA Life Science Services.
Contact Steven Levy, MD, at 082 652 4700; email him here…