From milk and cream to chips and flakes, coconut, in all its forms, is proving a popular food ingredient among British consumers as EHL Ingredients reports a 15% increase in sales of the superfood.
EHL supplies food manufacturers, bakers, dairy goods producers, wholesalers and caterers with coconut in various formats – chips, toasted chips, coconut creamed squares and flakes, desiccated fine and medium, coconut shavings and coconut milk – and with demand high within the UK food industry, EHL has experienced a surge in enquiries and orders.
Tasneem Backhouse, sales and marketing director at EHL Ingredients, said that orders for EHL’s coconut offerings have been coming in from a wide range of areas in food production. “Coconut can be included in baked goods including breads, cakes, muffins, macaroons and biscuits, within dairy foods such as ice cream and milkshakes, and as part of ready meals and prepared foods such as Thai curries and flavoured rice accompaniments, as well as in Asian, Indian, Caribbean or Middle Eastern meat, fish and vegetable dishes,” she said. “It can also be sold as a healthier snack, either loose on its own, as part of fruit and nut mixes or within snack or chocolate bars.”
Coconut has received positive media coverage highlighting the health benefits of the superfood. Its reputation has brought it beyond health food store shelves and into the mainstream. Consumers are discovering the health benefits of coconut – it is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, can help stave off infections, reduce hunger pangs, lower the risk of heart disease, and also boost brain function. In addition, it is recognised as a gluten- and lactose-free ingredient so is suitable for vegans, those following free-from diets and consumers with intolerances and allergies.
EHL Ingredients sources its coconut from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines from reputable, quality suppliers and while costs have been rising globally, EHL is working hard to ensure prices remain stable. Backhouse explained: “We have stocked coconut as a food ingredient for many years and it has always been popular in the health food and natural ingredient sectors, but increasingly, we are seeing it appear within sweet and savoury foods on supermarket shelves. Our customers in the free-from and conventional food manufacturing, bakery and dairy sectors are placing larger orders of coconut ingredients and we have received many new enquiries.
“Over the last 12 months we have witnessed uplift in sales of coconut ingredients and we predict that this growth is set to continue and that demand will remain high. The reasons for this include: the increase in self-diagnosis of food allergies and intolerances; the popularity of free-from diets; and the increase in NPD in this sector with some coconut products becoming more mainstream and having a broader appeal in the marketplace. Plus it is a naturally sweet, tasty food ingredient and can enhance the flavour of many meals and desserts.”
With up to 25 million people (40% of the UK population ) estimated to be suffering from food intolerances and allergies there is a clear need in the market for food products that are safe for sufferers to eat, as well as appealing, tasty and filling. Coconut is one ingredient that manufacturers should look to incorporate into free-from formulations and recipes.
