The global market for plant-based foods has grown rapidly. This created a great demand for the texturizing properties of various hydrocolloids.
Hydrocolloids are used in many plant-based foods to enhance shelf-life and quality. They also modify the viscosity and texture of food products like ice cream, salad dressings, gravies, processed meats, and beverages. They further provide textural functionality in foods such as gelling in jams, fruit fillings, and confectionery; thickening in dairy-based drinks and desserts; and water binding in meat products.
Innova Market Insights quoted that the number of new foods and beverages containing hydrocolloids has risen to an average of 7 percent a year from 2015 to 2019, the global market for dairy alternative drinks had more than doubled in value since 2010, while the number of new dairy alternative product launches grew by an average of 17 percent per year from 2013 to 2017.
Hydrocolloids are also extensively used in different food products as thickeners (soups, gravies, salad dressings, sauces, and toppings), water retention agents, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and gel-forming agents (jam, jelly, marmalade, restructured foods, and low-sugar per calorie gels). They also can be applied for inhibiting ice and sugar crystal formation in ice cream, and the controlled release of flavors.
With the global demand for new plant-based products, hydrocolloids are important food structuring agents and even for many traditional foods, such as jellies and pies, and will continue to play important and vital roles in novel food structure development. We, at W Hydrocollloids, continuously seek for innovations designed for new ways to eat, responding to both to consumer trends and the imperative to improve the sustainability of the planet and consumer health. Some of our existing products that are geared towards plant-based food are fiber-hydrocolloid blends for plant-based meats, and carrageenan blends with gellan gum for non-dairy alternatives like almond and soy milk.
To learn more about our different ingredient solutions for plant-based products, please contact our Sales Team at sales@rico.com.ph.
