Food Business News - February 23, 2016 - 27

Ingredient Trends

Manufacturers
responding to
non-G.M.O. trend
Consumer concerns
around health and
wellness and the
environment are
supporting the trend
he anecdotal evidence
suggesting a shift of mainstream food and beverage
products toward non-genetically modified ingredients is growing. During the month of February, alone, several companies,
large and small, announced
initiatives meant to establish a
position in the niche or differentiate themselves from other
manufacturers.
On Feb. 2, for example,
Archer Daniels Midland Co.,
Chicago, announced it had acquired a controlling stake in
Harvest Innovations, a manufacturer of minimally processed, expeller-pressed soy
proteins, oils and gluten-free
ingredients. All of the products
manufactured by Harvest Innovations are non-G.M.O.
"More and more consumers are looking for foods that
are gluten-free, that aren't genetically modified, and that are
healthy and organic, and ADM

February 23, 2016

is perfectly positioned to meet
those needs," said Vince Macciocchi, president of ADM's
Wild Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit. "We
were already the provider of
choice for a wide range of
healthy, clean label ingredients, and in the last year, we've
significantly expanded our
product portfolio. Today's addition perfectly complements
our existing ingredient businesses and offers customers a
full-service, one-stop shop for
their ingredient needs."
On Feb. 9, La Brea Bakery,
Los Angeles, a small baking
company, announced it is in the
process of transitioning its entire line of artisan bread to nonG.M.O. ingredients. Many of La
Brea Bakery's bread products
already are certified non-G.M.O.
by the Non-GMO Project, according to the company. La
Brea Bakery will transition the
rest of the products that aren't
already non-G.M.O. throughout
the year, with the entire bread
portfolio 100% non-G.M.O. by
Dec. 31, 2016.
"This is an investment we
are making in our brand to stay
relevant with consumer eating
patterns," said Kristina Dermody, president of La Brea Bakery.
That same day New World
Pasta Co., Harrisburg, Pa., and

a subsidiary of Ebro Foods,
said its pasta products, which
are marketed under the American Beauty, San Giorgio, Ronzoni, Creamette, Prince and
Skinner brands, had been certified non-G.M.O. by the NonGMO Project.
To Jennifer Tesch, chief marketing officer for Healthy Food
Ingredients, Fargo, N.D., the
trend is not surprising.
"During the past several
years, from a domestic standpoint, consumer understanding and consumer education
of G.M.O.s, non-G.M.O.s and
the Non-GMO Project has
grown," she said. "There was a
time when it was not very well
known, but by informing consumers about what it is and
the fact they have been given
a choice - that has really
driven the growth, and we are
seeing the numbers explode
exponentially."
The numbers are driven by
activity in the market as ingredient companies strive to add
non-G.M.O. certified ingredients to their product portfolios.
Data provided by the Non-GMO
Project show the growth has
been rapid.
The Non-GMO Project lists
verified products under a variety of categories, including
bread and baked goods, dairy

products, soups and sauces,
etc. Within its wholesale ingredients category, which includes
such ingredients as flour, soybean meal, seasonings, etc., the
number of verified products has
risen from 15 in 2010 to 852 by
the end of 2015.
"... The interest from wholesalers and ingredient manufacturers has experienced the
most growth in the past two
years," said Annie Shannahan,
client services director for the
Non-GMO Project, Bellingham,
Wash. "In fact, 81 products
were added to this category in
January (2016) alone. If that
trend continues this year, we
will see twice as many new
wholesale products verified
as compared to 2015. We see
this as a good indication that
consumer demand is starting
to have a rippling effect on the
supply chain."
This past December, Flavorchem
Corp.,
Downers
Grove, Ill., introduced a line of
Non-GMO Project verified flavors, including cocoa, coffee,
orange, lime, peppermint and
lemon. Edward McIntosh, marketing manager for the company, said Flavorchem's nonG.M.O. initiative is in an effort
to be proactive.
"The public is still increasingly
focused on health and wellness

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Food Business News - February 23, 2016

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