Incorporating high-density grains such as chia and amaranth into cereals has traditionally been problematic, the company says, because they tend to sink to the bottom of the bowl when milk is added. However, Taura Natural Ingredients’ R&D team is said to have overcome this by incorporating the grains into fruit flakes. The result is described as a greatly improved eating experience for the consumer with optimised distribution of ingredients throughout the product.
“The popularity of ancient grains and the rise in demand for healthier breakfasts are two trends that have emerged simultaneously and to dovetail them is a logical step,” said Raf Vanlommel, Sales & Marketing Manager for Taura Natural Ingredients. “However, formulation difficulties have stood in the way of NPD in this area. We’ve solved this problem by combining the grains with our URC® fruit – which is a fantastic solution because fruit is completely in tune with the trend for healthy eating and better-for-you breakfast products.”
Three-quarters of new breakfast cereal launches had a health proposition of some kind in the year to 31 October 2014, according to recently published data from Innova Market Insights, which also noted an emerging trend for cereals to contain “chunky” grain-based pieces.
“Healthy grains are on-trend and ancient grains particularly so,” said Vanlommel. “But using them in breakfast cereals isn’t always straightforward. Our fruit flakes offer an outstanding solution that gives breakfast cereal companies an innovative new formulation option that will meet consumer demand for delicious and healthy cereals to start the day with.”
In addition to preventing ancient grains from sinking to the bottom of the bowl, Taura Natural Ingredients fruit flakes are said to help take the edge off the off-taste sometimes presented by ancient grains, ensuring the cereal is palatable.
Taura Natural Ingredients says it is able to combine any kind of grain inclusion with its low-density URC fruit flakes, which are made from real fruit with no added sugar, colours, flavours or preservatives. URC (Ultra Rapid Concentration) is a process of concentrating the taste, texture and natural goodness of fruit into pieces, flakes and pastes for use in applications such as breakfast cereals, chocolate, baked goods, confectionery and snack bars.
