After five days of showcasing food and beverage products from around the world, SIAL 2022 in Paris has come to a close. FoodNavigator was on the ground, meeting with newcomers and category leaders alike to discuss trends, new product development, and what consumers should expect next from their R&D pipelines.
From fresh spirulina spread to fish-sourced collagen water, and from bottled birch sap to reduced fat protein crisps, we’ve rounded up the food and beverage innovations that caught our eye on the show floor.
GettyImages/Givaga
After five days of showcasing food and beverage products from around the world, SIAL 2022 in Paris has come to a close. FoodNavigator was on the ground, meeting with newcomers and category leaders alike to discuss trends, new product development, and what consumers should expect next from their R&D pipelines.
From fresh spirulina spread to fish-sourced collagen water, and from bottled birch sap to reduced fat protein crisps, we’ve rounded up the food and beverage innovations that caught our eye on the show floor.
GettyImages/Givaga
Meet Humble +, the start-up claiming to be the only European company using fish-sourced collagen in a RTD beverage.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It makes up 80% of the ligaments, cartilage, and tissues of our skin. But at the age of 30, humans stop producing collagen, which can lead to lower performance in muscle recovery, can increase the risk of injury, and lead to the appearance of wrinkles.
“But studies show that if 5g of collagen is consumed every day, it can increase skin elasticity and improve workout recovery,” co-founder Romain Quillot told FoodNavigator.
This is what Humble+ is offering consumers, he explained. Each can of Humble+ contains 5g of fish-sourced collagen sourced from French company Weishardt. All collagen is locally sourced from France, and comes from a specific list of fish, including haddock and white fish.
The drinks are free from sugars and preservatives and contain just four ingredients. The Yuzu and Edelweiss variety, for example, contains carbonated water, fish collagen peptides (1.5%), natural flavours: yuzu and edelweiss, and lemon juice concentrate.
While Humble+ is selling into the French market, Quillot suggested this kind of product is ‘too early’ for French consumers. There is greater market potential in the US, Australia, and the UK, he continued, where wellbeing is a big trend.
The start-up plans to launch a collagen protein powder by the end of the year.
BiteMe started out targeting the sports nutrition market. But these days, the Croatian start-up is selling its product lines to the mass market. “We want to sell to all active people, like you and me, who enjoy a healthy lifestyle,” co-founder and CMO Luka Mujkić told FoodNavigator at SIAL.
Its newest products are Protein Cookies, which the start-up describes as an ‘irresistible’ snacking format. The plant-based protein comes from pea, chosen because of its sustainability credentials, said Mujkić.
Each packet contains 10g protein. The Protein Cookies come in three flavours: Almond Butter, Peanut Butter, and Cashew Butter.
Overall. BiteMe has 10 products on the market, including a line of low GI ‘raw bars’ and ‘lava cookies’. The start-up is selling into 10 countries.
As of last year, the sale and distribution of plastic straws is banned in Europe. While paper alternatives have popped up in supermarkets and bars, fourth-generation rye farmer Cassandra Bourmault wondered whether there might be a more ‘natural’ way to replace the straw.
Bourmault’s solution is Végé Paille: a straw substitute made from, well, straw. Once the start-up has harvested its rye in Le Lude, in France’s Pays de la Loire, it upcycles the stalk of the crop for the retail and foodservice sectors. Végé Paille launched in April of this year.
The stalks are cut (into either 14cm or 19cm lengths), washed, dried and packaged. They contain no pesticide residue, and despite the rye grain containing gluten, the stalks are completely gluten-free.
So what happens to the straws at their end-of-life? They’re 100% compostable, we were told. “If you could almost throw them on the ground! After 2-3 months, they’ll be completely decomposed.”
When people think of spirulina, they’re likely to think of the blue-green powder or pill supplements. “Most people know of it in its powdered form, and it’s not always associated with a good taste,” explained Pierre Mignon at SIAL.
The reason dried spirulina is the most common format is because fresh spirulina is challenging to preserve. When fresh, the algae tends to go off ‘in a matter of days’. But, fresh spirulina is ‘much lighter’ in taste than its dried counterpart, and its ‘creamy paste’ lends itself to food formulation.
French start-up Ammi has developed a means of conserving fresh spirulina. Its proof-of-concept line of spreads has a 9-month shelf-life, co-founder Mignon told FoodNavigator: “It’s a world innovation – the first ready-to-eat product using fresh spirulina.”
The product range includes Red Pesto, Green Pesto, Green Hummus, Olive, and Red Pepper ‘creamy spirulina’ spreads.
Spirula contains protein levels comparable to eggs. It is also a good source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3, as well as copper and iron. Ammi’s spreads contain 20% spirulina, which Mignon explained is the equivalent of around 8-10 spirulina capsules.
The start-up is currently selling into organic shops in France, but plans to start working with restaurants as well. It is interested in exporting, to countries such as the UK and Germany, where health and wellbeing markets are well established, we were told.
In the future, Ammi wants to expand its offering to produce products such as fresh spirulina-based compote and chocolate.
After three years of R&D, Paris-based start-up Bubble It has developed a means of creating sparkling water, without any plastic or CO2 cartridges.
How does it work? First, you fill up a bottle with tap water, pour in Bubble It’s two sachets, close the bottle, give it a shake, and voila! While the start-up didn’t reveal which ingredients are packaged in which sachet, together the two paper sachets contain potassium bicarbonate, malic acid, dietary fibres and natural flavours. When in contact with water, these ingredients produce effervescence.
“It’s the combination of the ingredients that creates CO2”,” explained Bubble It’s Jean-Michel Ginèbre. “You pour them in and close the lid very quickly, otherwise the CO2 escapes.”
The start-up has also started selling flavours to accompany its DIY sparkling water sachets. “Each bottle has enough flavouring for 25L of sparkling water,” Ginèbre elaborated.
Bubble It is already selling into supermarkets across France.
Drinking birch sap is a 3,000-year-old tradition, and it continues today, Michel Maren from Belgian drinks brand Daily Siurpi told FoodNavigator at SIAL.
Birch sap, otherwise known as birch water, has indeed been consumed for centuries across Northern Europe, North America, and China. To extract the sap, a hole is drilled into the side of the tree. If done at the right time of the year – over a three-week period in the spring, usually starting around 20-22 March, Maren explained – the pressure is so great the sap flows out ‘like a tap’.
Production requires a cold winter, with snow cover. Belgium, Maren told us, can be a good place to harvest. Once sap has been harvested from a tree, that tree is ‘rested’: “You don’t ‘tap’ the same tree – you go back to it in three years’ time to balance out the forest.”
Birch sap is a ‘living liquid’ and Daily Sirupi is bottling it for commercialisation. The company is selling it in its natural format, as well as in mint, lemon, or pomegranate varieties.
“If you drink birch sap for 8-10 days in a row, you get the best benefits,” said Maren, describing the drink has having ‘detoxifying’ properties, as well as helping to encourage better sleep and muscle rejuvenation.
Birch sap, which contains potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, zinc, phosphorous, sodium, iron, manganese, amino acids, salicylates, saponins, and electrolytes, is also thought to stimulate the metabolism.
Danish start-up The Organic Crave is on a mission to transform snacking with ‘clean, functional’ alternatives. In Denmark, the word kræve means ‘to demand’, which founder and CEO Jeppe Vadgaard finds fitting: “Consumers should demand organic,” he told FoodNavigator at SIAL this week.
The Organic Crave’s first product on the market is its gluten-free Protein Crisps, which come in four flavours: Paprika & Onion, Salt & Pepper, Sour Cream & Onion, and Cheese. All contain 70% less fat compared to mainstream crisps, and are made with 80% red lentils – offering 7g of protein per 30g pack (23g/100g) and around 120kcal.
How does the start-up achieve such a high concentration of lentils? It comes down to the processing technique, explained Vadgaard. Leveraging expansion technology, The Organic Crave applies heat and pressure to achieve the desired crisp shape.
The Organic Crave has no plans to stop at savoury. The start-up wants to offer healthier alternatives to multiple categories, including sweet snacking. A prototype line of chocolate bars has already been developed in three flavours: Filled Caramel, Filled Vanilla, and Filled Strawberry.
The bars are free from artificial sweeteners, and low in sugar – at around 4.5% sugar explained the founder. The new line is expected to reach the market next year.
Black-owned start-up Kokojoo is celebrating the diversity of the cacao fruit. When one thinks of cacao, chocolate instantly comes to mind, explained founder and CEO Dayog Newende Kabore at SIAL. But Kokojoo is working with the cocoa shell to produce a dairy-free ‘refreshing’ chocolate drink.
“Until now, only around 20% of the cocoa fruit are processed. In order to fight against this industrial waste, we have been committed since 2018 to valorise every single component of this natural resource that is full of potential,” notes the start-up.
Kokojoo’s Original offering – made from cocoa husk – has been described as ‘cocoa lemonade’. The carbonated drink contains theobromine and is an infusion of cocoa bean shells (up to 92%), sweetened with agave syrup, and contains just 2.58g sugar per 100ml. It is low in calories, while being rich in antioxidants and vitamin B12, we were told.
An ‘energize’ version contains caffeine, while other products in the Kokojoo range include Kokojoo Concentrate (to mix with hot or iced water), Kokojoo Cocoa Juice for cocktails and long drinks, and a cocoa jam product.
The start-up sources its main raw materials directly from partner producers in West Africa, where at least 50% of its production process takes place.
In Italy, Spirito Cocktails had developed a line of RTD cocktails that fit through the letter box.
The cocktails were developed by professional mixologist Cristian Manassi using alcohol sourced from ‘small traditional distilleries’. The mixes are flavoured with spices, herbs and natural extracts and blended in a traditional liquor factory.
“We say you should ‘shake, pour, and taste’,” FoodNavigator was told at the Spirito Cocktails stand. And it’s truly as simple as that: you give the packet a good shake, pour it into a glass with ice, and it’s ready to go.
Currently selling in e-commerce direct-to-consumer across Europe, as well as via B2B channels in countries such as Germany, Greece, Japan, and Singapore, the RTD range is available in all the classic combinations, such as negroni, Moscow mule, vodka sour, espresso martini, margarita, and whiskey sour.
“It’s suitable for the home, as well as in bars that are short of space,” we were told. Next up, Spirito wants to target the airline and cruise ship markets.
European leader in eggs and egg products, Eurovo Group, has developed a dairy-free sports nutrition drink made with egg white under the brand ProUp.
The sugar-free beverage – which Eurovo Group claims is the ‘first milk-free protein drink' – is the result of two years of research and development. Each bottle contains 20g protein, meaning that consuming two 250ml servings provides your daily recommended intake of protein.
While targeting health-conscious, active consumers, the product could also be suited to the ageing population who may struggle to consume enough protein in their diet.
The range comes in four flavours: Blueberry, Lime and Ginger, Chocolate and Cookies, and Coffee.
It is understood that coffee is one of the greatest sources of antioxidants to the human diet. However, according to LivOn! founder Asanka de Silva, not all the antioxidants in green coffee make their way to the cup.
“Green coffee contains antioxidants, and so does roasted coffee. But some of the antioxidants in green coffee are killed in the roasting process,” he told FoodNavigator at SIAL.
Thanks to LivOn!’s processing innovation, the company has developed a line of antioxidant-rich coffee products with twice the amount of antioxidants as regular coffee. How does the business achieve this? LivOn! extracts some of the antioxidants from green coffee, and combines it with ground roasted coffee, the founder explained.
The company sells its antioxidant-rich coffee in Nespresso-compatible compostable capsules in four intensities: Leggero, Forte, Intenso, and Medio. De Silva entered its Intenso and Forte products into the UK Great Taste Awards 2021, and both came out winners.
Danish start-up Northern Greens has developed a line of 11 ‘liquid herbs’ to replace fresh and dried herbs in cooking.
One bottle of liquid herbs is the equivalent of two fresh herb plants, we were told at Northern Greens’ stand. Yet unlike fresh herbs, which can last just a matter of days, Northern Greens’ innovations have a shelf-life of up to 2 years at room temperature.
The range includes liquid basil, ginger, thyme, chilli, rosemary, and tarragon, amongst others.
As far as the company knows, it has no competitors working in the liquid herb space. Northern Greens is selling its liquid herbs to 22 countries around the world, and is currently looking to enter airport retail sales channels.
French start-up Fung’uit is developing fungi-based ingredients for the food industry. Based in Dijon, the start-up is leveraging solid-state fermentation technology to make its protein powders and textured ingredients.
Fung’uit’s ingredients are not made from mycelium, alone. The start-up is using the ‘whole substrate’, CTO Jeanne Baudevin explained at SIAL. Its first ingredient to market is made with a ‘known’ fungi strain and a ‘known’ substrate, and as such, won’t be classified a Novel Food under EU legislation.
Further down the line, however, using different strains and substrates may require Novel Foods regulatory approval, suggested Baudevin.
Fung’uit is particularly interested in developing ingredients for the snacking and plant-based meat categories.