In a time of fake news, modern era desserts designed for the fitness and health conscious customer are showing up everywhere across the land and in the freezer case. The brand comes with the mantra of healthy eating, good for you, with low calories and low fat. The trend is growing and a respectable amount in the frozen dessert category and Did I mention highly profitable.
According to Statista.com, in 2016 plant based non-dairy desserts grew 18% compared to dairy based which grew by 2%.
Plant Based Composition
Non dairy or vegan frozen desserts are limited to a number of base ingredients and if the product is to have body and texture, then choosing the right base with a gum or emulsifier (controls crystallization and prevents separation) may be necessary. Here’s a look some bases and gums which are commonly used.
Non Dairy Bases
- Coconut oil, coconut cream, coconut milk, each add body, but in separate ways
- Soy, one of the first proteins to be seen in products and over the years has been less popular especially with woman due to hormone disruption
- Pea, an up and coming protein, easily available
- Almond and cashew milk
Gums and Emulsifiers for Non- Dairy
- Guar gum, a polysaccharide composed of the sugars galactose and mannose.
- Xanthan, from the strain of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris, the same bacterium responsible for causing black rot to form on broccoli, cauliflower, and other leafy vegetables.
- Gellan, a water-soluble anionic polysaccharide produced by the bacterium Sphingomonas elodea
- Carob bean, also known as locust bean gum
- Locust bean, from a galactomannan vegetable gum and extracted from the seeds of the carob tree
- Tara, from the seeds of the Tara Tree via bacterial fermentation and a newer gum to appear in products such as Byrer’s.
- Emulsifiers, soy, mono and diglycerides, polysorbates, carrageenan, guar gum and canola oil (study up before determining to use one)
Challenges in Making a Non-Dairy Product
The concept and decision to create a silky smooth, non dairy, low calorie frozen product is the easy part, the challenge is finding the perfect combination of base ingredients, sugars, gums, freeze temperature and over-run (air). There are a number of products in the freezer case, but in my opinion they are designed for the customers that simply seeks low calories and not so fussy about smooth texture, good body and silky mouth-feel. There is growing popularity and new brands showing up in non-dairy, low calorie products, but will it’s customer base remain loyal to the brand using “hard to understand” ingredients simply for the purpose of claiming to be “healthyish”. I say no.
Guilt and Eating
What really gets my goat up (yes it’s really a term) are the companies pushing out popular selling, low calorie products and using catch phrases like “race to the bottom”, which to me basically says, yea go for it, nobody’s looking, it’s ok to eat the entire pint. I see the tactic as a simply message to sell product, but to me it’s a totally irresponsible marketing approach, possibly targeting individuals with food issues or low esteem issues. The concept to eat large portions without the consequence of consuming a ton of fat and calories has been around for a long time. Here is an article from 1995 called “To Good To Be True” which among many topics, named Entenmann’s a baking company, introducing a 97% fat free danish back in the 80’s and marketing that it’s ok to eat an entire tray without the guilt. For years companies have depended on the marketing department to come up with catchy terms and words to entice consumers. The result is the customer believing that eating the whole thing is ok and even healthy. So why do companies stretch the truth in marketing, in my professional opinion, because the product can’t successfully sell simply on the merits of it’s ingredients and the message there could be viewed as maybe it’s not so good for you.
Company’s Making “Not So” Good For You Products While Appearing As Attractive
While looking at products on the grocery shelf or seeing in a commercial, you’ve come to recognize the bla, bla, bla buzzwords like natural, non-gmo, organic, sugar-free, low sugar, grass fed, super food, Paleo or new to the lot certified transitional. Don’t get fooled into buying a product simply in believing what you read on the label. Here are a few examples, “very healthy”, “good for you”, “guilt free”, “protein fortified” “slimming” or my new favorite, “non-dairy ice cream”. The FDA language suggests ice cream is loosely and commonly used because it’s not federally regulated and in the case of non dairy ice cream, the responsible listing should be displayed as non-dairy frozen dessert. A small detail representing a big message.
Sell on The Merits of Good Quality Alone
When receiving a call from a person looking to engage in my consulting services, the conversation typically begins with “I’ve got a great idea for a healthy ice cream”. My response is to take a moment to pause, take a deep breath and reply, “interesting I’d like to hear more about it”. Why the skeptic you ask, because I recognize they are looking at a concept that has been hyped up on social media or read about that many times delivers a message under false pretense. I will do what is requested, but would rather see a client invest time and money on a non-fad product like high fat, real ice cream or even a cultured frozen yogurt. A typical super premium ice cream has over a 1,000 calories per pint and suggests a serving of four (which I believe is over stated). So when clients want to make a so called healthy product with low calories and the idea is to eat all you want, I suggest to consider making a product with no more than five ingredients and tell the customer to eat a great product in moderation. I suggest this as I believe no fad products, will continue to be the foundation of the industry.
Contact Darryl if you have a great idea on a new, never seen before frozen dessert and want to launch successfully with a responsible message. Your fan base will appreciate your honesty, honestly!
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