Holistic health and sustainability to drive future food industry advances, says IFF
The firm revealed this prior to a talk at Gulfood Manufacturing Foodtech Summit, Dubai World Trade Centre on October, 30.
FoodNavigator-Asia spoke to IFF’s Karen Stanton, the global marketing and branding director, and Mamdouh Seoudy, Middle East business development and marketing manager who told us the health trend was taking precedence.
Health is wealth
Stanton said: “Food and beverage organisations will start to view health not from the traditional reductionist approach that considers the body, mind and environment as separate entities, but as a whole eco-system that connects inner health to outer well-being and beauty,
“(This means) food manufacturers will look at nutrition, exercise, sleep, hormones, microbiome, gut health and broader lifestyle issues as factors that impact the whole person,
“With continued technological advances over the next decade, augmented and holistic health solutions will no longer be limited to niche groups or the ultra-wealthy, but will move into the mainstream and enable consumers to push the boundaries of their capacity for sleep, fitness, and cognition,” she said.
Sustainability
Seoudy added businesses that proactively solve the challenges facing society and the world at-large, from stress on natural resources and global warming to waste reduction and environmental degradation, would lead the field.
“What does the future look like if consumers reject the idea of eating meat every day? It’s happening already. People are being driven by health, wellness, sustainability and ethics and consumers are shifting towards flexitarian lifestyles and more plant-based protein sources,” they added.
Seoudy said because of consumers’ desires, companies would in turn want their businesses to yield more social and environmental benefits than it extracts.
One way to do so is by using food technologies.
For example:, “Food grown from in-vitro cell cultures through tissue engineering technology will provide greater control over food. This can make food healthier and avoid the environmental impact of animal-based food production,” he said.
New IFF
In June IFF rebranded itself to be more than a flavours and fragrances company, advancing its sustainability and health strategies.
The company will launch its latest programme, called IFF Futures, at Gulfood Manufacturing, which is a trend-driven global innovation program to help companies constantly innovate to stay relevant.
Stanton and Seoudy said the Middle East and Africa region hold massive potential, as it represents close to 20% of the world’s population.
“Our new brand positions us to better accommodate the fast-growing mid-tier market, which is especially important for our strategic growth markets like the Middle East and Africa region,” explained Seoudy.
