FiE predictions

22 November 2011 – This week many of you will be preparing to attend FiE, either as exhibitors or visitors. Come and meet Confectionery Production and the rest of the Bell Publishing team on stand 3E104. Or, alternatively drop me an email at [email protected] and I will make sure I come and visit you.

I imagine ‘natural’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘functional’ will be the focus for the majority of exhibitors. However, I think sustainable, natural ingredients are pretty much a given now, eventually suppliers are going to have to think of something much more innovative to stand out from the crowd and impress manufacturers.

Fluctuating prices and recent supply issues continue to have a significant financial impact on confectioners and bakers, who have started to reduce the amounts of certain natural ingredients they are using in their products as a method of controlling recipe costs and ensuring price increases are not passed on to consumers. Suppliers should perhaps look towards developing alternatives to ingredients such as cocoa and sugar, which are not subject to such variability – such stability would prove invaluable for manufacturers.

A natural ingredient which has gained a lot of interest throughout 2011 is of course Stevia. The sweetener which will be discussed during the conference at FiE.

Although, we have all accepted in the industry that natural is best, it is important not to forget that natural ingredients have their own complications. For example, natural colours are not as stable as synthetic when subjected to extremes of temperature or. Also, natural ingredients are affected by climate, which can influence their flavour.