In 2017, PacMoore hosted over 30 different current and potential customers at the PacMoore Innovation Lab in Gridley, IL. We have had the opportunity to work on extrusion projects ranging from early stage ideation to final formulation refinements. From small startups to multinational food conglomerates we have partnered with them all and were blessed by each interaction and opportunity to serve.
When Innova Market Insights released their Top Food Trends for 2017 late in 2016, PacMoore took notice. As 2017 progressed, we were definitely able to verify the accuracy of two of these trends (Clean Supreme and Seeds of Change) because they acted as primary drivers of many of the projects we worked on this year.
Clean Supreme
As consumers seek cleaner, simpler food ingredient labels we have been challenged to address the status quo by finding alternative ingredients with similar functional properties that provide a clean label declaration. One example is in regards to emulsifiers. For many extruded projects we have found that an emulsifier is very helpful in achieving certain textural properties of a finished crisp or snack. Historically we would have consulted our emulsifier “toolbox” and generally recommended a soy-based, beaded distilled monoglyceride. However, to satisfy our customers’ needs for alternative options that will help them achieve a clean label we have embarked on many journeys to seek, identify, and trial alternative ingredients with similar functionality.
Which ingredient declaration would you prefer to see on your clean label product?
- Distilled Monoglycerides
- Rice Bran Extract
Yep, we agree it’s pretty obvious. 😊
Special thanks to our good friends at Ribus for continuing to offer and introduce exceptional functional ingredients with a clean label!
Seeds of Change
The growth of Ancient Grains (actually many are seeds) is another trend evident in customer projects this past year. We have seen everything from A to T (not quite Z), meaning we’ve seen everything from Amaranth to Teff. All of the ancient grains we’ve worked with offer enhanced nutritional factors and excellent extrudability in a variety of applications. Amaranth brings an earthy flavor to the mix and a powerhouse of protein, typically around 14%. Teff has a clean, slightly sweet flavor and incredible expansion properties making it a great option for direct expanded extrusion applications.
Bringing it All Together
Would you like an ingredient solution that combines these two trends? Have a look at some of the clean label (think 1 ingredient label type of clean) ancient grain crisp concepts we recently produced. How about a quinoa crisp made of 100% quinoa flour? How about a sorghum crisp with an ingredient label declaration of “Whole Grain Sorghum” and nothing else? We’ve created ingredient solutions that marry up clean label with ancient grains and we’re pretty excited about it! What product ideas do you have that could become winning consumer propositions by utilizing these types of trending crisp inclusions?
As we begin 2018 we invite you to reach out to our team and let us know how we can help support you on your extrusion development projects. We’ll collaborate with you to figure out the best process and solution for your project. We believe in giving our customers ultimate flexibility in process and product extrusion, while keeping it simple.
Working with small volume? We have pilot scale extrusion equipment that is not only perfect for our product development work but also ideal for small production runs. Contact us today to get started or for additional information about our extrusion capabilities! And, as always, we are here to serve with our other tolling and turnkey services as well – dry blending, spray drying, re-packaging, consumer packaging, and more.
Reflecting with Thanks
Now that 2017 has ended, we reflect on the blessings of another year of working with our incredible customers and thank God for His provision for PacMoore again this year. During this time of reflection, let me be the first to offer our sincere thanks to each of you for trusting us with your projects! We trust that every interaction you have had with the entire PacMoore team has reflected our values of Faith, Family, Integrity, Respect, and Excellence.
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