Top food ingredients trends for 2016

A boost for organic sales, the rise of alternative baking ingredients and medicinal herbs for tea and coffee were other trends identified by the UK company. 

‘It’s all about protein’ 

The growth in the popularity of high protein diets was expected to continue in 2016, fueling the demand for nuts and ancient grains, said EHL Ingredients sales director Tasneem Backhouse. 

“Protein is a key buzzword in the food industry and we expect its popularity to grow even further in 2016,” Backhouse said. 

“We have seen increases in sales for our protein-packed ingredients such as seeds, nuts and grains, suggesting consumer demand is gathering pace for protein intake.” 

‘Boost for organic sales’ 

Sales of organic ingredients, such as herbs and spices, were due to increase in 2016 as healthy eating becomes even more mainstream, the company predicted. 

“These are an easy and effective way of adding flavour to healthy dishes, so healthy doesn’t have to mean boring,” said Backhouse, noting that beans were also popular. 

“There’s a clear consumer trend for only eating whole, natural foods such as vegetables, fruits, meats and wholegrain carbohydrates and because health-conscious consumers are opting for natural alternatives where possible.” 

Rise of alternative baking ingredients  

Sales of alternative baking ingredients, including gluten-free options, were expected to rise in 2016 as the demand for free-from products continues.  

EHL Ingredients highlighted the potential of gram flour, buckwheat flour, polenta, ground almonds and organic rice flour as alternative to wheat flour for baking.  

“Using vegetables to bake with, such as courgettes, aubergines and sweet potatoes, is on the increase, and gluten-free baking that incorporates alternatives to the usual wheat flour is seeing a huge surge in popularity,” Bakehouse said.  

“This is mainly due to the growing interest from consumers adopting a gluten-free or gluten-reduced lifestyle, which they believe will offer significant health benefits.”  

Medicinal herbs for tea and coffee 

A fresh approach to tea and coffee is an emerging trend, according to EHL Ingredients which sells products such as nettle leaves for tea and dandelion coffee.  

“We have seen sales of medicinal herbs such as nettle leaves, rooibosh, chamomile flowers and cut raspberry leaves rise by 10 per cent in 2015, and we expect this trend to continue into 2016,” Bakehouse said.

“Dandelion coffee is particularly interesting, and is a product that we predict will grow in popularity with cafés and juice bars that wish to offer a larger range of alternatives to traditional teas and coffees.”