Meeting Millennial Demand: Organic Maltodextrin For Infant Nutrition

In recent years, market-savvy consumers have become increasingly aware of food  safety, in addition to being equipped with better technology to obtain information about their diets. This has driven food manufacturers into a position to become transparent about the ingredient lists of their products. In a competitive food industry, the need to outshine and to meet growing customer expectations can easily result in the use of undesirable alternatives and preservatives—elevating cost effectiveness, shelf-life, and taste, among others.

Not surprisingly, consumers are equally informed about this adverse trend. In this climate, organic products are generally perceived to be natural and safer for consumption. According to market research company, Euromonitor International, the demand for organic food is on the rise, with Asia Pacific identified as the fastest growing region. Organic food products generally cater to a niche consumer segment—those who are looking for nutritious and safe alternatives to existing options. Among the various pockets of population, millennials are the demographic most open to organic products, with 50 or more percent of organic product shoppers being parents from this generation.

Within the Asia Pacific region, the organic food and beverage market size is valued at US$4.1 billion in 2016, and further growth is projected at CAGR 12.1 percent between 2016 and 2021.

ORGANIC BABY FOOD

Riding with this clean- label, all-natural, organic trend, Cargill’s C*NutriDry-Organic Maltodextrin—an infant-grade maltodextrin—is produced with natural enzymatic process with the highest food safety standards. Its high solubility provides parents with trustworthy baby food options. Highlights of this ingredient also include being quickly digestible for a baby’s growing intestines, and enabling energy harvest more effectively. Its neutral taste also prevents babies from being drawn away from breast milk, as well as developing a taste for sweet foods.

The C*NutriDry-Organic Maltodextrin is produced from Cargill’s Cikande, Indonesia plant specially designed to produce infant-grade maltodextrin. There, high standards of food safety and organic sourcing are practiced. Equipped with a comprehensive laboratory, non-genetically-modified reliability and organic certification have been achieved accordingly.

CHALLENGES IN THE ORGANIC MARKET

As organic agricultural systems demand higher costs in many aspects—such as higher fixed costs and overhead, certifications, biological pest controls instead of chemical fertilisers, lower yield from smaller farms, labour intensiveness, maintenance of soil health and water quality consumers may be deter red from purchasing the pricier produce. Additional costs may also be incurred for the compliance of stringent organic regulations imposed by governments, which can affect complete supply chains.

The situation is similar for baby food. Despite the enhanced safety standards of organic baby food, their premium pricing may seem unjustified to some parents. While stringent regulations exist, the possibility of certain vendors making false claims can serve to undermine consumer confidence in organic products—such as cases of vendors mislabelling their products with the aim of misleading customers.

Yet, two factors can lift competitiveness for food developers in the fast-growing organic shelf space:

Organic+: Establish a balance between ‘functional’ and ‘organic’ by increasing organic food innovation in existing product range. This provides added value for consumers, encouraging purchase.

Cost And Profit Optimisation: Justify premium prices by highlighting the perceived advantages of organic products to enable such optimisation to be achieved by consumers. Cargill, being the leading and exclusive supplier of organic maltodextrin in Asia, has taken these concerns into account and developed an infant-grade dry mix of nutritive carbohydrates compliant to organic regulations. Priding themselves as a turn-to ingredient producer, Cargill especially strives to provide the best ingredients for baby food.

Aiming to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way, Cargill recognises that pregnant women and their offspring benefit the most from organic products—since they are the most susceptible groups even to low levels of pesticides. C*NutriDry-Organic Maltodextrin is one of our various contributions, offering optimal price-performance ratio for competitive organic labels.