
How to enrich your diet with fiber and why it matters
Fiber is the easy way to maintain a healthy daily diet. Discover how fill the fiber gap with NUTRIOSE® soluble fiber.
Read the article and access scientific publications.
Consumers are becoming more health conscious. They are taking a proactive stance toward their wellness.
The Innova Consumer Trends Report 2023 indicates that health and well-being are currently the highest spending priorities for consumers, with the primary objective of achieving a sense of wellness.
This is reflected in consumer behavior, with a significant number of individuals opting for healthier food choices. According to Kantar Food 360™ multi-country market research (2022), around 67% of consumers have transitioned to healthier food options over the past two years.
Health is a key driver for innovating in food and beverages and including protein and fiber fortification to address consumer health concerns.
There is a significant “fiber gap” between how much fiber people need to eat (recommended daily intake of fiber) and how much fiber the population eats daily.
For example, in the US, men on average consume only about 50% of the needed 25-30 grams of fiber (recommended daily intake), with slightly better fiber consumption results in the UK (71%) and France (67%). The number is lower in Japan at 48% (1). This fiber gap is key for customer innovation to level up the amount of fiber in products they provide to consumers. Most people don’t eat enough fiber and need more for their overall health, which is the main reason to enrich products with fiber.
About 31% of global consumers try to increase their consumption of fiber (Innova Trends Survey 2020). The recommendations for daily fiber intake vary per country guidelines, but it’s a challenge globally for people to achieve in their diets. Part of the difficulty can be related to inflation and the ability to buy fiber-rich foods. However, despite rising costs, people are less likely to compromise on health when it comes to food (Innova Lifestyle and Attitudes Survey 2022). The Nutriscore labeling system in Europe has prompted the food industry to reformulate products to improve their nutritional value and score. The system has also made food products more appealing to health-conscious consumers who are looking for healthier options when shopping for food.
Having a high fiber content in a product result in a better nutritional profile, which is why it's encouraging to see that regulations and country guidelines on nutrition are placing more emphasis on the importance of fiber.
1. UK: National Diet and nutrition survey, UK–2016-2019.
USA: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), USA–2010.
France: Etude Estaban – Nacre 2015 and Santé publique France 2017.
Japan: FROST, Report soluble fiber 2023.
Get your daily fiber intake,
the easy way
To enrich their products with fiber, food manufacturers and brands must collaborate to educate consumers on the importance of fiber intake. This collaboration can help fill the fiber gap and improve consumers' knowledge of the health benefits associated with fiber consumption. By working together, food manufacturers and brands can play an important role in promoting healthy eating habits and improving public health.
Here’s an example of how much fiber a person needs to eat in a day: one apple, half of a small pumpkin, two slices of whole wheat bread, 100 grams of cooked meal, 100 grams of cooked lentils, and 30 grams of almonds.
Depending on their lifestyle and time constraints, it can be harder for people to get the right amount of fiber to reach the daily amount. At Roquette, we have several concept examples that can be useful for customers to achieve high fiber and good taste in their products.
Fiber is the easy way to maintain a healthy daily diet. Discover how fill the fiber gap with NUTRIOSE® soluble fiber.
Read the article and access scientific publications.
Discover a scientif review of the multiple clinically proven benefits of this outstanding soluble fiber.
Our plant-based range of NUTRIOSE® soluble fiber offers high fiber content, with about 80-95% of fiber depending on the ingredient grade. One gram of NUTRIOSE® is almost equal to one gram of fiber. Thereby, it provides an easy way to boost the fiber content of products.
NUTRIOSE® is easy to use because it doesn't change the appearance of a product. It has good solubility, making it easy to mix with other ingredients. NUTRIOSE® is neutral in taste and color, so it won't affect the overall taste or appearance of the food or beverage formulation.
By improving the level of fiber in a product, customers can help address the fiber gap along with the health benefits related to fiber.
*FMCG Gurus consumer survey made with 32 000 consumers in April 2022
It’s well known that protein is essential for life and needed for good nutrition as a building block for the body and metabolism. 77% of global consumers associate proteins with general wellbeing (FMCG Gurus consumer survey made with 32 000 consumers in April 2022).
Beyond the nutritional aspect, protein may promote multiple health benefits such as muscle mass development, helping feel full longer, provide the right level of energy, or help balance blood glucose levels. Most people eat enough protein. Therefore, the challenge and the base of nutrition is to diversify the food and protein sources. On average, people living in Western countries (Europe, North Americas) consume 60% protein from animal sources, and just 40% from plant sources (according to FAOSTAT 2017). Now, those consumers consider consuming more plant-based foods for different reasons: health, environment, ethical and animal welfare concerns.
As people come to learn and understand the science behind plant proteins and their health benefits, more consumers are interested in food and beverage products with functional benefits to meet their protein needs from plant-based sources. Adding plant protein to products can be a challenge as it may change the taste, texture, and price. Despite its nutritional benefits, gaining consumer acceptance of plant protein-fortified products can be difficult due to these changes. These factors are also challenges for manufacturers. Our applicative experts can help them formulate and develop good-tasting products from our different plant protein ingredients. Examples of food and beverages fortified with protein include nutritional or breakfast bars easy to eat on the go, as well as other convenient products like ready-to-drink protein beverages to boost protein intake.
As science continues to prove the potential health benefits of proteins and the importance of plant proteins as a source, people are more likely to accept and incorporate it into their diets. With the increasing understanding of the benefits of plant proteins, more people will see it as a valuable part of a healthy lifestyle.
Protein fortification can be challenging for manufacturers to differentiate their products to be competitive, easy to access, taste good and affordable for consumers.
Customers and formulators can contact our experts to help them choose the right grade of plant protein for their formulation. Sometimes, they might need to use a few different grades of protein to address their unique challenge. We can help them select the right format to address taste, texture and affordability.
Our extensive experience, innovative approach, and regulatory expertise allow us to assist formulators with product claims, such as labeling products as high in protein or improving their nutritional profile.
As our customers' top partner, we provide support for product development and market readiness through our sustainable protein range, which is locally sourced and produced for both local and global markets.
NUTRALYS® offers several grades that can serve as an excellent source of protein in meat alternatives, as well as for protein fortification in baked goods. Additionally, it can be used for specific "nutritional” food such as high protein powder mix for sport nutrition.
Our plant protein offers unique texture, taste, and nutritional benefits that are specific to each application, usage rate, and consumer preference.
With various botanical sources of plant protein, such as pea, wheat, rice, and fava bean, our customers have the flexibility to experiment with different grades and combine them to achieve the desired protein content and sensory performance in their products.
This scientific information is provided to food operators for awareness only. It is not intended to be communicated to or shared with consumers. NUTRALYS® and NUTRIOSE® health benefits are supported by at least one clinical study and do not constitute a regulatory validation for health claims. Food manufacturers who would like to use NUTRALYS® pea protein and/or NUTRIOSE® soluble fiber for these benefits will have to run their own studies based on their own formulation, and respect regulatory claims validation process where appropriate.