JANUARY 2020 V.189 I.

‘Tis the
Seasoning
USE HERBS, SPICES AND FLAVORS
FOR TASTE, ADVENTURE AND MORE
p.62

Lamb Weston’s Seasoned READY-TO-DRINK

Seashore-Style Skin-On Straight COFFEES, TEAS
Cut Fries with Sea Salt, Cracked p.12
Black Pepper and Garlic
PLANT-BASED:
GREEN=CLEAN
p.21

MEAL KITS:
CULINARY
CONVENIENCE
p.38
FORMULATE FOR
BEAUTY, SKIN
p.52

OCTOBER 2018 • PREPAREDFOODS.COM • 1

SENSE THE
DIFFERENCE

SOLVING YOUR FOOD &

NUTRITION FORMULATION
CHALLENGES
Brenntag Food & Nutrition is at the forefront of
formulation and application development.
Our wide range of capabilities for food
applications and functional ingredients include:
application assistance, comparative analysis,
formulation advice, key parameter testing,
process optimization, raw material and ingredient
recommendations, and starting point formulas.

Visit brenntag.com/food-nutrition to learn more about

our application and development centers, or you can
contact us directly by calling (866) 460-0109 or emailing
contact@brenntag.com.
The Natural Choice for Flavor
and Fragrance Ingredients
 KEEP UP WITH
THE FOOD AND PreparedFoods.com

BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
FoodMaster.com

A Publication of BNP Media II, LLC

Subscription Information or Service:

Phone: 800-952-6643 Fax: 847-763-9538
Email: preparedfoods@omeda.com

Editorial and Sales Offices

155 N. Pfingsten Road, Suite 205
Deerfield, IL 60106
847-405-4100

Editorial
Editorial Director Bob Garrison garrisonr@bnpmedia.com
Exec. Editor-Technical David Feder, RDN
federd@bnpmedia.com
Exec. Editor-New Media Nick Roskelly
roskellyn@bnpmedia.com

Contributors
Stephen Kalil • Leslie Levine
Ann-marie Ramo • Amanda Topper • Lu Ann Williams

Production & Art

Production Manager Nann Barkiewicz
barkiewiczn@bnpmedia.com
Art Director Karla Fierimonte fierimontek@bnpmedia.com

Marketing

Prepared Foods’ editors offer expert opinions on F&B Group Marketing Strategy Manager
Lindsey Bryant Sylver

recent trends in Our Viewpoints. David Feder,

248-786-1669 bryantsylverl@bnpmedia.com

Corporate Reprints

Bob Garrison and Nick Roskelly each have their Stacey Hurley hurleys@bnpmedia.com

New Products Conference

own unique insights to help you keep up with the Margaret Whalen
847-405-4071 whalenm@bnpmedia.com

ever changing food and beverage industry. Clear Seas Research

Executive Director Beth A. Surowiec
surowiecb@clearseasresearch.com

Audience Marketing
Group Audience Marketing Manager Amy Schuler
Integrated Media Coordinator Hannah Schmidt

CORPORATE
Chief Experience Officer: Darrell Dal Pozzo

Human Resources & Information

OUR VIEWPOINTS
Technology Director: Rita M. Foumia

Production Director: Vincent M. Miconi

Finance Director: Lisa L. Paulus

Creative Director: Michael T. Powell

Clear Seas Research Director: Beth A. Surowiec

Chief Event Officer: Scott Wolters

Visit www.PreparedFoods.com/blogs today!

BNP Media
Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information
2 • PREPAREDFOODS.COM • JANUARY 2020
 We were
ORGANIC
before it was

COOL

W e’ve been
farming
organic herbs and
vegetables since 1856.
Our expertise is real, our
products exceptional, and our
people genuine. Whether we grow or
source our fruits, vegetables and herbs,
our experience as farmers leads us to select
only the finest raw material to process in our
Midwest facilities. Choose Van Drunen Farms for an
organic, sustainable and transparent supply chain.

Visit us at NPEW in Anaheim 815-472-3100 | sales@vandrunen.com

March 4, Fresh Ideas: F139 www.vandrunenfarms.com
March 5-7: Booth 3689
 JANUARY 2020
VOLUME 189 • ISSUE 1

INSIDE new product trends

12 HITTING THE SHELVES: READY-TO-DRINK COFFEES, TEAS
Prepared Foods profiles new retail RTD off erings
including cold brew and flavored coff ees, oatmilk nitro
draft lattes, kombucha and flavored teas.
18 BEHOLD THE POWER OF ... CHEESE!
Playing to the universal and indefatigable craving for
cheese brings unlimited possibilities for formulators.
21 WHEN GREEN = CLEAN
Plant-based innovation in food, beverages and
ingredients continues to flourish with consumer
interest in health, sustainability and ethics.

culinary creations
31 “FLEX” THE MENU
Plant-based products are impacting menus. Mintel
says operator strategies, product solutions need to
be on target.
33 PLANT TO PLATE: BREAKFAST FOODS
Prepared Foods showcases new meats, sandwiches,
plant-based meat patties and pancakes all developed for
restaurants, institutions and school foodservice operators.
35 FIRST PERSON
Prepared Foods talks prepared meal solutions with
Catherine Proper, CEC, director of culinary operations
at Freshly Inc.
38 FIT TO KIT
An increasing number of consumers avoid cooking
meals at home—by cooking meals at home.

better for you

51 FORM + FUNCTION
Prepared Foods profiles new functional, drinks and
supplements.

62
52 THE SKIN YOU’RE IN
When it comes to the outside, it’s what’s inside that counts.

ingredient challenges

COVER L AMB WESTON SEASONED 62 ‘TIS THE SEASONINGS

SEASHORE-ST YLE SKIN-ON STRAIGHT
CUT FRIES. PHOTO COURTESY OF
Herbs, spices and flavorings add adventure, taste,

STORY
L AMB WESTON HOLDINGS INC., health and color.
(WWW.L AMBWESTON.COM)

r&d applications
‘Tis the Seasonings 76 FEEDING FLEXITARIANS
New ingredient solutions, strategies optimize protein
Herbs, spices and fl avorings add adventure, taste, blends, nutritional benefi ts, taste and texture.
health and color. 77 ABSTRACTS: SHOWCASE OF NEW ORGANIC, NON-GMO
INGREDIENTS.
4 • PREPAREDFOODS.COM • JANUARY 2020
Our garlic forms
to your needs

The distinctive, full flavor of our California

garlic can set your application apart, and
the Garlic Company has it available in every
form you could possibly need.

TheGarlicCompany.com | 661-393-4212

©2020 The Garlic Company

 .COM

ONLINE Stouffer’s Meatless

Lasagna
Nestlé launched Stouff er’s
Meatless Lasagna made with
Sweet Earth Awesome Grounds.
Acquired by Nestlé in 2017,
Sweet Earth is the creator of
dozens of plant-based off erings
including the Awesome Burger,
which launched in October 2019.

CANNABIS
• Vitafusion Full-Spectrum
Gummies
• Mood33 Hemp-Infused
Herbal Teas

Naked Tropical Guava MEALS & SIDES

Naked Tropical Guava is a • Real Good Foods Frozen
smoothie that blends guava Chicken Entrees

with other fruits such as • Veggiecraft Farms

Plant-Based Pasta
pineapple, kiwi, and orange.
The Non-GMO Project certified
smoothie is available in a
TRENDS
• 2020 Food Trend Predictions
15.2-ounce bottle.
• Innova Top Trends for 2020

MOBILE
With the Prepared Foods mobile
app, you connect to news, new
products, trends and research
articles the moment they publish
online. Download the app today:
www.preparedfoods.com/apps
6 • PREPAREDFOODS.COM • JANUARY 2020
WE KNOW STRATAS FOODS - YOUR GO TO SOURCE FOR NON GMO
You can always depend on Stratas Foods to serve as

NON your leading supplier of Non GMO products including:

GMO

©2015 STRATAS FOODS • WWW.STRATASFOODS.COM • 1.888.404.1004

Editorial
V IE W
CHIEF EDITOR • GARRISONR@BNPMEDIA.COM
Courting “Conscious” Consumers
DOESN’T IT JUST FEEL RIGHT to make some sort of declaration with
the start of a new calendar year? In the normal world where we
as consumers live—some of the most popular declarations (“New
Year’s resolutions”) involve foods, drinks and the conscious decision
to lose weight.
This month, I’d encourage industry professionals to pause,
reflect and resolve to enhance your brand’s relationship—it’s
emotional appeal—to those same consumers. Why? More
shoppers are making pointed, conscious decisions to buy—or not
buy—based on a growing list of factors.
Remember, it’s not that consumers were “unconscious” before.
Oil and petroleum companies Shell and Exxon/Mobile once were
targets of consumer boycotts related to both ethics (in 1986, pro-
testing Shell investment in white-controlled South Africa) and
the environment (in 1989, protesting the Exxon Valdez oil spill
damage to ocean water wild life). Last but not least, consumers’
annual weight loss (health) resolutions also fit the bill here
Yet everything else has changed. When it comes to raising
someone’s consciousness, we live in a wired world where it
only takes seconds to share social media posts with images and
information (truthful, or not). We even have satellites orbiting
the earth to photograph and document deforestation in the most
remote areas.
So what interests consumers? Prepared Foods’ 2020 Predictions
issue in December had many articles about consumers embracing
plant-based foods and beverages and a “flexitarian” lifestyle.
Bottom line: consumers aren’t necessarily converting to vege-
tarian or vegan diets—so much as they are making alternative
choices for health reasons (reduce meat) or environmental reasons
(concern over land, water use).
The NPD Group notes that nine percent of adults consider
the environment as a top factor when making food and beverage
purchase decisions, and it’s young adults, ages 18-44 years old,
who are most likely to feel this way.
“Marketers need to understand that sustainability can be a
deciding factor for consumers,” says Darren Seifer, NPD food
and beverage industry analyst. “While concerns like taste,
convenience, health, and affordability are still primary factors for
choosing foods and beverages, a company’s sustainability efforts
can be the tie breaker if all other factors are equal.”
About the time this issue prints, thousands of you will be
walking the aisles of the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA)
annual Winter Fancy Food Show. Among SFA’s 2020 predictions
is Sustainability-Driven Product Development. According to
SFA’s “State of the Specialty Food Industry Report 2019-2020,”
BOB GARRISON
consumers, especially
Gen Z, are values-
PHOTO: NES TLE USA ( W W W.NES TLEUSA.COM)
oriented shoppers who
look at a company’s
values and production
methods when making
purchasing decisions.
Upcycled products,
those using ingredients
that are normally
discarded, are becom-
ing more prevalent. NES TLÉ’S MAINS TRE AM LINES
Biodynamic farming, S TOUFFER’S AND DIGIORNO INTRODUCE
a practice that helps MEATLESS OPTIONS FOR GROWING BASE
sustain the biodiversity OF “FLEXITARIANS.”
and health of the land,
also is coming more into
focus for consumers.
In its “Sustainability 2019: Beyond Business as Usual report,”
researchers for The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash., say they
recorded a huge shift in how consumers view who is responsible
for sustainability—moving that mantle away from individuals
and toward government and corporations.
While consumers (especially younger consumers) seem
more willing than ever to change their lifestyles in the name
of sustainability, an important shift has occurred in their
recognition of the need for collective action and the corre-
sponding limits of individual action on large-scale issues such
as waste, pollution and climate change. In this year’s research,
asked who bears the most responsibility for making our world
more sustainable, 84% of consumers ranked “large companies”
as their first, second or third choice (up 4 points from 2013)
compared to 58% who cited “individuals” (down a significant
15 points from 2013).
When he opened Prepared Foods’ 2019 New Products
Conference, BeyondBrands LLC Founder & CEO Eric Schnell
talked about natural and organic foods’ tremendous growth
(as evidenced by a booming Natural Products Expo West).
Schnell then added that perhaps it’s time to reconsider the entire
better-for-you space (even involving everything from deodorant
to clothing) and recast it in a new light as “conscious brands.”
I don’t know where you are in efforts to better connect with
“conscious” consumers but taking no action—related to greener
packaging, clean label formulating, ingredient sourcing, etc.—
represents a step in the wrong direction. pf
JANUARY 2020 • PREPAREDFOODS.COM • 9