Wandering through the halls at the Sial international exhibition in Paris this week was a great way of spotting new trends in the world of food and drink.
There was absolutely no doubt that health was top of the agenda for many of the 5,000 or so exhibitors at this year’s show - with more healthier, better for you, low fat and lite products on offer than ever.
But when Sial shuts its doors tomorrow, what else will its 130,000 visitors have been sampling?
Well, omega 3 was clearly the hottest property in town. At Sial, you could find practically every product had been enriched with Omega 3. Eggs, cooking oils, even olives.You name it; they all had it.
The industry also retains its fascination with finding new uses for the humble banana. We spotted it as the key ingredient in energy bars, ‘energetic jelly’ drinks for sportsmen, frozen chocolate-coated banana sweets and pure juice drinks.
What was surprising was that the sexy food ingredient of last year - aloe vera - was hardly to be found at Sial. The other surprise? Low-carb products took something of a back seat at the show - despite the high-profile stand taken by Atkins Nutritional.
Snacking and products with a convenience proposition (albeit sometimes very tenuous) were the other key trends of Sial 2004. And there was also a plethora of ethnic foods on show - particularly evident on the British stands
In many ways, the dairy hall was the most imaginative as it was where many of trends were to be found. In terms of convenience, there were sliced, diced, cubed and grated cheeses of every type. On the health front, there were low fat, low cal and low cholesterol products, as well as functional foods galore.
As with many European trade fairs, there were far too many energy drinks for our liking at Sial - most of them blatant Red Bull rip-offs. This particular bubble just will not burst, it seems.
Speaking of me-toos, the growth of breath freshening strip products was also reflected by exhibitors at Sial - even though Listerine and Wrigley got there first and would appear to have the market sewn up.
Sial wasn’t just about product innovation. It also reminded companies that new competitive threats are looming. South American red meat producers were out in force at the show, for example, as were Polish dairy companies - who says they are not well equipped to start exporting westwards into the EU?
There was absolutely no doubt that health was top of the agenda for many of the 5,000 or so exhibitors at this year’s show - with more healthier, better for you, low fat and lite products on offer than ever.
But when Sial shuts its doors tomorrow, what else will its 130,000 visitors have been sampling?
Well, omega 3 was clearly the hottest property in town. At Sial, you could find practically every product had been enriched with Omega 3. Eggs, cooking oils, even olives.You name it; they all had it.
The industry also retains its fascination with finding new uses for the humble banana. We spotted it as the key ingredient in energy bars, ‘energetic jelly’ drinks for sportsmen, frozen chocolate-coated banana sweets and pure juice drinks.
What was surprising was that the sexy food ingredient of last year - aloe vera - was hardly to be found at Sial. The other surprise? Low-carb products took something of a back seat at the show - despite the high-profile stand taken by Atkins Nutritional.
Snacking and products with a convenience proposition (albeit sometimes very tenuous) were the other key trends of Sial 2004. And there was also a plethora of ethnic foods on show - particularly evident on the British stands
In many ways, the dairy hall was the most imaginative as it was where many of trends were to be found. In terms of convenience, there were sliced, diced, cubed and grated cheeses of every type. On the health front, there were low fat, low cal and low cholesterol products, as well as functional foods galore.
As with many European trade fairs, there were far too many energy drinks for our liking at Sial - most of them blatant Red Bull rip-offs. This particular bubble just will not burst, it seems.
Speaking of me-toos, the growth of breath freshening strip products was also reflected by exhibitors at Sial - even though Listerine and Wrigley got there first and would appear to have the market sewn up.
Sial wasn’t just about product innovation. It also reminded companies that new competitive threats are looming. South American red meat producers were out in force at the show, for example, as were Polish dairy companies - who says they are not well equipped to start exporting westwards into the EU?
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