Press Room
October 26, 2006
Note: Media kits are available at Cognis booth #5001 and WILD booth #1001-1003
Webcast Poll: Functional Food Leaders Validate Need for Help in Avoiding Costly Roadblocks to Launching New Products
Weight Management Tops List of Upcoming Health Platforms
Results of a recent webcast poll show that leaders in the functional food industry agree on the enormity of hurdles involved in launching a new functional food or beverage, noting a wide range of reasons from creating competitive advantage to finding a product that resonates with consumers. But, when asked to pick the next health platform their companies are targeting with new products, their responses were much more closely aligned.
Cognis Nutrition & Health, a global supplier of natural health-enhancing ingredients, and WILD Flavors, Inc., a worldwide supplier of natural flavor and color ingredients sponsored the September webcast with Food Product Design magazine. Earlier this summer, Cognis and WILD announced an agreement to jointly develop innovative flavor systems with health benefits. The webcast is the first of several joint efforts the companies have underway to demonstrate how they can offer turn-key solutions to new product launches.
Nearly 370 leaders in functional foods registered for the event, and about 165 logged into the live broadcast over the Internet. The webcast can be viewed anytime at no charge at www.foodproductdesign.com.
Participants attending the live webcast were fairly split in their responses when asked to identify “the biggest hurdle in launching a new functional food or beverage”:
- Creating a product that is differentiated versus the competition (20%)
- Achieving a stable product (18 %)
- Keeping the cost per serving acceptable to consumers (16%)
- Making a great tasting product (13%)
- Understanding the regulatory/patent/legal requirements (11%)
- The financial investment involved with product development and launch (10%)
- Choosing the right product that resonates with consumers (10%)
When asked what is “the next health platform our company is targeting with new products”, 39% of respondents indicated “weight management”. Healthy aging was cited by 21%, followed by heart health (14%), immunity (13%), cognitive function (8%), eye health (1%) and skin (1%).
Commenting on the polling results, the webcast presenters acknowledged that functional food launches are increasingly varied in scope, thereby requiring specialized know-how from start to finish.
“It’s clear that there are many roadblocks in new product development and these results help explain why so few succeed,” said WILD’s Greg Horn, Senior Director, Technology and Innovation. “Based on the overwhelming number of questions we received during the interactive Q&A, companies formulating new products don’t just have a few problems—they have a lot! Together with Cognis, we have more than 115 years of combined technology experience to help companies avoid the pitfalls that waste time and money.”
Cognis’ Scott Backman, Market Development Manager, Functional Food and Food Technology, pointed out that nutrition can be an extremely valuable tool in differentiating functional foods and beverages from the competition. “We can help formulators bridge the gap between the health benefits consumers desire and the good taste they demand.”
The poll was conducted during the webcast which covered valuable information on boosting sales, avoiding pitfalls to new product launches, reducing new product development time, and identifying which ingredients best address consumers’ top health concerns.
For more information, please contact Scott Backman at scott.backman@cognis.com or call 708-579-6188.
About Cognis:
Cognis (www.cognis.com) is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients, with a particular focus on the areas of wellness and sustainability. The company employs about 8,000 people, and it operates production sites and service centers in 30 countries. Cognis has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and delivers natural-source raw materials and ingredients for food, nutrition and healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Another main focus is on products for a number of other industries, such as coatings and inks, lubricants, textiles, as well as agriculture and mining. The company holds a 50-percent stake in the joint venture Cognis Oleochemicals, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of oleochemicals.
Cognis is indirectly owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and SV Life Sciences. In 2005, Cognis recorded sales of 3.18 billion euros and an Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and exceptional items) of 356 million euros.
Cognis Nutrition and Health, a business unit of Cognis Group, offers one of the industry’s largest portfolios of natural-source, non-GM, health-enhancing ingredients for dietary supplements, functional foods, medical nutrition, pharmaceutical and healthcare products. As a global supplier, Cognis partners with industry leaders to provide science-backed products to meet today’s most pressing consumer health needs. Cognis also manufactures emulsifiers, emulsifier-based compounds, and numerous other specialty products for the food industry worldwide.
About WILD:
In the United States, WILD Flavors, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio (www.wildflavors.com) delivers innovative flavor, color, ingredient system and process technology solutions to the food and beverage industry. WILD continues to provide innovative and great tasting concepts as well as ingredients through application expertise and technological advancements.
The WILD portfolio covers flavors, flavor systems, extracts, fruit and vegetable preparations, concentrates, seasonings, natural colors, health & wellness ingredients, sweetening systems and specialty ingredients such as functional flavors. WILD and Allied Companies worldwide have 2,500 employees and operate 14 manufacturing facilities and 70 offices around the world.
Contact:
Caron Blitz
Blitz + Associates, Inc.
Phone: +1-847-945-0101
E-mail: prblitz@aol.com