Ingredients manufacturers, traditionally geared up to market their products to processors, have consumers in their sights. A clear trend is emerging in the industry as com- ponent suppliers strive to create the food market’s answer to the Intel Pentium brand.
Intel’s Pentium processor, the engine that drives the majority of personal computers, is a world renowned brand in its own right. Some ingredients manu- facturers, it seems, are determined to emulate the IT giant’s success with their own brands.
DuPont Protein Technologies, for one, plans to shake up the European soy milk market with the launch of the Solae brand.
The Solae “trust mark”, as it has been dubbed by its owners, will appear on the packaging of products that contain DuPont’s soy proteins. The brand, launched in the USA in July, will first appear in Europe on cartons of So Good soy milk.
Solae, says DuPont, will only appear on products that meet “specific nutrition and taste criteria”.
“The Solae promise will help take food brands to new frontiers,” said company president Stephan Tanda. “Women shoppers, our primary target, have told us that they are looking for a symbol that helps them sort through the clutter of health messages in the supermarket. The Solae brand offers a good health seal that is unique in the food industry.” Meanwhile, Orafti has extended its Beneo programme to Switzer- land.
The Beneo symbol, carried by selected products containing Orafti ingredients, is designed to communicate health benefits to consumers. The scheme was launched last year in Belgium.
Emmi 4Plus, a vitamin-enriched yogurt, is one of the first brands to sport the Beneo symbol in Switzerland. The product incorporates 3g of Orafti prebiotics, said to help improve the health of the digestive system.