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Formulating for Portion Control and Better-for-You in the Bakery Aisle

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Stewart Ingredient Systems, Inc. has been formulating solutions for smaller portions and higher flavor intensity to specifically combat the marketplace reaction over the past 5 plus years to smaller portions and better-for-you options in the grocery aisle. Our products can be found on the shelves today in GMO-Free, HFCS-Free and All-Natural snacking options.

As more bakers and food manufacturers continue to develop new ideas to attract the more conscious and attentive consumer, SIS stands ready to answer all new developments from the concept level through market realization. Our development team prides itself and generates opportunity through our rapid response to requests in order to keep developers working rather than waiting on product. When we provide developers with product with our rapid turnaround times, we provide the best opportunity to keep marketing teams involved and interested in approving the next idea.

Whether our focus is delivering high quality flavor and eating experience in a 5-inch pie rather than a 12-inch pie with our fillings to help deliver extraordinary flavor release inside portion controlled items or developing better-for-you options with inclusions for nutrition panels, SIS has the expert developers and manufacturing team to bring these ideas to the marketplace.

Don’t hesitate as we head directly into the fall season. Contact Ross Stewart today at 312-254-3539 or RStewart@Stewartis.com!

Millennials – begging for attention in bakery

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Bakery SnacksThe annual IDDBA report (What’s in Store – 2015) provides excellent data and analysis on evolving consumer trends spreading across all platforms of baked goods and the bakery aisle.

What continues to catch our eye when going through the “Bakery Department” of this year's report is the mounting data on the growing challenge of reaching millennials in the bakery section. Specifically, the challenge is set out for in-store bakeries to better accommodate the rapidly evolving demands of consumers who were born between 1980 and 2000. It is thought that millennials' changing tastes in condiments, gravies and sauces is driving consolidation in that grocery segment as well, resulting in the recent Kraft and Heinz merger. The data provided by the IDDBA report indicates that millennials are 50% more likely than boomers to place an importance on digestion related health claims such as gluten-free or lactose free. Of further importance is that 39% of millennials purchase their baked goods at preferred stores, not their primary grocer. That figure compares directly to baby boomers, where only 27% utilize specialty bakeries for those purchases.

In 2014 and going forward for the foreseeable future, millennials will continue to actively seek out specialty products that directly cater to their heightened desire for health and wellness driven foods and continue to pose a specific problem for bakery snack producers, as well as in-store bakeries.

It is an enormous take away that all the current consumer data continues to show: The biggest challenge for bakery snack producers to remain relevant on your grocers shelves is to make a connection with the toughest consumer group they’ve ever encountered – Millennials.

“When it comes to engaging Millennial shoppers, IDDBA research suggested that conventional in-store bakeries might face an issue of relevance. Millennials ranked bakery dead last in order of importance among fresh perimeter categories.”

What's in Store 2015

The Future of Ethanol Production?

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Groundbreaking technologies have been introduced to the domestic food industry throughout the history of modern society. In the past century alone our society - and more specifically the domestic food industry - has been introduced to countless innovations and new technologies that have fundamentally changed the way the food industry operates. Where would the food industry be right now if families at home were still gathering ice and snow for an icebox to make foods last longer at home? I, for one, stand and applaud on a nightly basis the work done by Frédéric Swarts in 1890 followed up by Thomas Midgley in 1928 in developing gas & liquid Freon leading to refrigerators in all of our kitchens and extending the shelf life of our foods. I say “Thanks, Thomas and Frédéric!” each and every time I open that brilliant device.

So when I read an article that details a group of scientists realizing the potential of eliminating biomass from the process of producing ethanol and instead utilizing renewable energy sources, my immediate thought is in how this could change the food industry going forward. The potential change this developing technology could have on industry is at it’s worst devastating to those who grow crops utilized in the current production of Ethanol in the USA and at the same time tantalizing to food manufacturers competing for the crops sent out for the manufacturing of ethanol instead of corn syrup, starches etc.etc. You and I do not have be named Adam Smith to come to the conclusion that there could very well be a sea change in purchasing departments across the nation if the experiments recently published are fully realized in the coming years.

Scientists say they have developed a new way to make liquid ethanol efficiently without using corn or other crops needed in the conventional method for producing the biofuel. The scientists said their process turns carbon monoxide gas into liquid ethanol with the help of an electrode made of a form of copper. They said the new technique may be more environmentally friendly and efficient than the current method.

Critics say that growing crops for biofuels is energy-intensive and takes up vast tracts of nonagricultural land, using too much water and fertilizer. They also say diverting corn and sugar to make biofuels pushes up food prices.

The United States leads the world in ethanol production, with 13.3 billion gallons in 2013, followed by Brazil's 6.3 billion gallons, according to the Washington-based Renewable Fuels Association, which represents the U.S. ethanol industry.

A group of scientists led by Stanford University chemist Matthew Kanan described the new method in research published in the journal Nature. Kanan said a prototype device could be ready in two to three years, enabling an assessment on whether the process can become commercially viable.

“I emphasize that these are just laboratory experiments today. We haven't built a device,” Kanan said. “But it demonstrates the feasibility of using electricity that you could get from a renewable energy source to power fuel synthesis - in this case ethanol. There are some real advantages to doing that relative to using biomass to produce ethanol.”

SOURCE NBC News

The Natural Food Fight

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stewart-ingredients-healthy-indulgences

In full context, the recent comments from Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market Walter Robb read like a line drawn in the sand for big retailers to take note of. As domestic retail giants continue to fortify their product offerings with more natural and health driven products, competition for the attention of consumers will be at an all time high for the unquestioned leader of the category. Thus far, at least publicly, WFM doesn’t seem worried about their market share.

It must be considered, from a product developers standpoint, that with giants of retail going “all in” on natural and - at least in their minds - directly competing with WFM, more questions must be asked of developers trying to create products that are not only good for you, but also stand out to a more savvy consumer on increasingly crowded shelves. While the fight for natural foods doesn’t worry WFM, it certainly is one that suppliers and developers are keeping a keen eye on. To get a taste of the all natural offerings SIS can provide for your next great tasting snack, contact us directly through our Sample Request form!

As giant retailers such as Kroger and Safeway keep adding natural foods to their assortments, a retail pioneer in the trend, Whole Foods Markets, says it isn’t worried about losing business. Co-CEO Walter Robb told Wall Street analysts that the natural products industry “is becoming the food industry. It’s an incredibly vital, growing industry, and I think you are seeing a tremendous period of transition, with more players in the marketplace and more products becoming available in more places, and you’re going to see some business models that are checked and stressed and tested during this period.”

He does not believe conventional retailers who are adding more space for natural products are taking share away from Whole Foods. “I think they are taking share from each other,” Robb noted.

Source: April 2014 PLMA e-scanner

Indulgence Positioning vs Health and Wellness

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A terrific article came out last week entitled “The Doughnut Paradox: Indulgence Positioning in a World Obsessed With Health and Wellness” from Senior Foodservice Analyst Elizabeth Friend and it does a tremendous job of examining the concepts and consequences of the food industry’s approach to Health & Wellness and Indulgence.

In making sense of the seemingly contradictory demand in these markets, Ms. Friend suggests we need to consider the sophistication of today’s consumer. Even those that regularly seek out healthy snack options are open to occasional indulgences, requiring a new value equation allowing for both product categories to exist and flourish. To address these demands, SIS is committed to offering snack food manufacturers both purely indulgent products as well as healthier options without the sacrifice to experience. Meeting these challenges continues to excite us and new specialty ingredients are continuously being sampled and tested in our on-site lab on a diverse array of platforms and applications - INCLUDING doughnut and pastry fillings and toppings!

“...cupcakes looked pretty, tasted good, and were perfectly portioned for individual indulgence—a pastry that felt like an event, rather than a simple dessert. Likewise, these cupcakes were positioned as super premium items, incorporating specialty ingredients like Valhrona chocolate and Tahitian vanilla to justify prices as high as US$3-$5 per item... "…indulgence trends have been particularly notable in how quickly they rise and fall, but doughnuts and pastries have long been an important--if often overlooked--part of the US fast food landscape."
The Doughnut Paradox:Indulgence Positioning in a World Obsessed With Health and Wellness

USA’s largest supermarket chain embraces Natural

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In 2012, domestic sales of natural foods and drinks had increased 138% in only four years time. The recent report coming out of the IDDBA with regard to Kroger would certainly suggest that these trends continue to grow and thrive. Generation Y has been recently described as the most savvy, brand-sensitive consumer group in history, so there is no reason to think that these numbers will abate.

SIS is perfectly positioned to react to your customers’ evolving needs. As a functional ingredient supplier specializing in custom formulation, SIS stands ready to react to the most recent marketing research in the snack food category and is poised to accommodate all new projects. We continue to work with our customers to ensure that while we accommodate and adapt snack foods into healthier options, the expectations of great taste and a satisfying eating experience continue to be met.

Kroger President and CEO Rodney McMullen told analysts that natural and organic foods are the fastest growing department on a percentage basis, and sometimes dollar basis, at the nation’s largest supermarket chain.

Margins are not significantly higher in natural and organic foods than conventional grocery or private label, but it’s where the shopper is headed, noted McMullen. “Our existing customers continue to buy more and more organic and natural foods, plus the younger generation buys a higher share in those categories. So we see a huge opportunity.”

Source: January 2014 PLMA e-scanner

Calories Slashed Throughout Domestic Food Industry

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Stewart Ingredient Systems has the knowledge, experience and creativity to be an invaluable partner as you strive to develop and manufacture new products in this ever-changing regulatory environment that deliver on the reduced-calorie pledge. SIS has been at the forefront of reduced-calorie product development since the late 1990s as the preferred supplier of a 1/3 reduced calorie bar cookie filling at the world’s largest retailer. Sugar-Free and No Sugar Added formulations are also core competencies for us at SIS, so whatever your ingredient or claims challenges, we can help your company achieve its health and wellness goals without sacrificing great taste. Request a sample today!

“Some of the nation’s largest food companies have cut daily calorie counts by an average of 78 per person, a new study says, more than four times the amount the industry pledged to slash by next year.

The study sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that between 2007 and 2012, the estimated total cut in food product calories from a group of 16 major food companies was in the range of 6.4 trillion.

The 2010 pledge taken by the companies – including General Mills Inc., Campbell Soup Co., ConAgra Foods Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., Kellogg Co., Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Hershey Co. – was to cut 1 trillion calories by 2012 and 1.5 trillion calories by 2015.”

U.S. Food Industry slashes calories

Healthy Indulgence: Not Mutually Exclusive Anymore

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stewart-ingredients-healthy-indulgencesHealthy Indulgence is an exciting challenge for us. Stewart Ingredient Systems' custom-formulated fillings and toppings are perfect ingredients for delivering on consumers' evolving wants and needs. We firmly believe that our expertise in custom formulation is an enormous asset to our customers as the need for a satisfying eating experience goes hand in hand with the healthier-less processed ingredients needed to support the health and wellness focused snack foods category.

"Many companies are still looking to provide better nutrition in an indulgent product like a cookie or cake, says Simon Walley, Regional Business Director, Food Enzymes, DuPont Industrial Biosciences. These products, referred to as healthy indulgences, will not replace true indulgent products, he adds, but will provide a choice to consumers who want a bit more nutrition in their baked goods."

"Putting Better Baked Goods On The Table", Institute of Food Technologists

Yogurt Trends in 2014

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Raspberry and blueberry parfaitsAlongside the flagship varieties of Strawberry and Blueberry, SIS also offers a wide array of shelf and bake stable, fully functional yogurt-based fillings and toppings using Pomegranate, Mango, Guava and other super fruit varieties/combinations. With a seemingly endless list of flavor combinations in this category, consumers are beginning to try new varieties in increasing numbers. Innovation is necessary to keep up with evolving consumer demands, not only in flavor/variety, but also in product platform. Request a sample of one of our shelf and bake stable fruit and Yogurt Fillings TODAY! Call: Ross Stewart 312-254-3539 ex.18

“The possibilities may seem endless for dairy manufacturers looking to use various fruits, but ‘the top 10 flavors still account for 25 percent of yogurt flavors, with strawberry and blueberry still leading the way,’ says Ed McIntosh, marketing manager for supplier Flavorchem, Downers Grove, Ill. In fact, data from Mintel Group shows the top-selling spoonable yogurt flavors for the U.S. are strawberry (5.79 percent) and blueberry (4.04 percent), followed by vanilla, peach, plain, raspberry, honey, banana and strawberry, black cherry, berry, pineapple, cherry, key lime, lemon and banana -- in that order.” ...“U.S. retail sales of yogurt have more than five years if consecutive growth and will reach almost $7.4 billion in sales by year’s end (2013)... unique flavor combinations and ethnic flavors will be a driving force for the category’s continued growth--compounded by consumer demand for healthier snacks”
  2014 Flavor Trends: Yogurt’s Fruitful Union

Our Company

In January, 2011, Keith Stewart Fruit Products, Inc. becomes Stewart Ingredient Systems, Inc. S.I.S. will remain committed to the standards of rapid development services, lean manufacturing and relationship business which allowed us to survive and thrive through the decades. The next generation is hungry to expand on our traditions and leverage them into greater innovation and aggressive growth. We deeply appreciate all of those customers and suppliers who have helped us build for this day and look forward to nurturing existing relationships while looking forward to new opportunities, earning the same loyalty and sense of partnership.