Watson Blogs

With more than 150 meal kit brands on the market and meal kit spending growing three times faster than other channels, it’s clear that meal kits are a hit with consumers.¹ But with Blue Apron and HelloFresh still failing to turn a profit and analysts calling the model unsustainable, meal kit companies are switching gears—and moving into grocery stores. 

Consumers can now access convenient, high-quality prepared foods through a variety of channels beyond traditional grocery stores and restaurants—including mini grocery stores, Amazon food lockers, home delivery, food trucks, next-generation vending machines, and grocerants like Eataly. Though the channels may vary, what consumers look for in prepared meals is surprisingly consistent. Looking ahead, trends in 2019 include global flavors, fresh ingredients, protein, and more.

What has more protein than Greek yogurt and the ability to go sweet or savory? Cottage cheese—and it is well-positioned to steal market share in the cultured dairy aisle. With flavors like blueberry acai chia and kalamata olive, and pecan and almond mix-ins, the explosion of innovation guarantees that this is not your grandma’s cottage cheese.

Environment-friendly nutrition will be trending big this year across the dairy industry, according to market research firm Infiniti Research.¹ From reducing greenhouse gas emissions to recycling food waste, dairy companies are finding that environmental sustainability also makes good financial sense.

When Kraft Mac & Cheese was revamped to exclude artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, we had to admit that clean label had gone mainstream. As the meaning of clean label continues to expand, simply removing undesirable ingredients may no longer be sufficient to satisfy consumers—especially for dairy products.

While milk producers face economic headwinds and demand for fluid milk slows, dairy processors continue to prove that innovation is key to holding consumers’ attention. Trends like protein-fortified ice cream, a cultured competition to become the next Greek yogurt, and the expansion of bold flavors across fluid milk, yogurt, and ice cream are keeping dairy fresh and exciting for 2018.

According to health professionals, getting enough potassium can reduce your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.¹ Yet most American adults are falling short of the recommended daily intake. Research suggests that consuming an optimal amount of this crucial mineral may protect against a host of ailments including cardiovascular disease, muscle wasting, osteoporosis, and kidney stones. It can help to maintain healthy blood pressure and ensure proper nerve, kidney, and heart functions. In 2016, the FDA added potassium to the list of nutrients required to be listed on a food’s nutrition panel.

With more than 90% of Americans snacking several times a day¹ and grocery store perimeter sales outpacing the rest of the store,² the time has arrived for snackable fruits and veggies. From bite-sized cucumbers and baby carrots to single-pack apple slices (with or without nuts, cheese, or dip), fresh snacking is expanding the definition of snack foods and offering a way for brick-and-mortar retailers to outshine e-commerce grocers.

According to a 2017 Mintel report, 66% of consumers have tried hybrid beverages, with the most popular being nutrient-fortified bottled water and carbonated juice.¹ With soda and juice sales flat and milk sales declining, the recent growth of hybrid beverages may provide just the boost the beverage industry is looking for.

The average sodium intake is 3,440 mg each day. This is well over the recommended amount of 2300 mg per day. The recommended amount of 2300 mg converts to 1 teaspoon of sodium or 6 grams of salt each day.By contrast, 3,440 mg of sodium per day converts to 1.5 teaspoons of sodium, or 8.35 grams of salt. Needless to say, sodium is considered an overconsumed nutrient of concern for Americans. The Dietary Guidelines recommend Americans to decrease sodium intake in their diet. With the rise in obesity and sodium intake, researchers found a direct association between caloric intake and sodium consumption. The higher the food intake, the higher the sodium content of the diet (1).

The Dietary Guidelines of Advisory Committee (DGAC) identified added sugars as a “cross-cutting topic” of public health importance. In the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), the recommendation was to solely to limit the intake of added sugars. For the first time, the Dietary Guidelines are putting a number on the amount of added sugars recommended for consumption. In the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, the recommendation is to consume a maximum of 10% of daily calories as added sugars. Americans ideally should be limiting this to 4-6% of calorie intake for optimal health.

Fatty acids are divided into 3 different types: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds, monounsaturated fatty acids have one double bonds, and polyunsaturated fatty acids have two or more double bonds. Saturated fats are solid and unsaturated fatty acids are liquid at room temperature. Foods are comprised of a combination of these fatty acids in varying amounts.

School is just around the corner! The beginning of the school year is often the busiest time of the year for families, who are rushing to get school supplies, new clothes, and coordinate new extracurricular activities. What many parents don’t think about is what to prepare for their child’s lunch that year. A healthy lunch helps the kids concentrate and stay awake for the rest of their school day. First, the facts. Preparing a lunch is healthier and oftentimes cheaper than buying a lunch at school. Also, homemade lunches allow the parent to have control over what and how much their child is eating.

Choline Nutrient Content Claims Now Allowed

“B4” you reformulate, consider adding choline (also known as vitamin B4) to your nutrient mix. As one of the many recent changes to U.S. food labeling regulations, a Daily Value has finally been set for choline. This creates the opportunity to fortify products with choline and pursue 'good source' and 'high' nutrient content claims for choline.

Here's a look at everything you need to know about what’s happening right now in baking—from spinach bread to charcoal croissants to crackers that resemble Swiss cheese. 

The first time I came across someone with Celiac disease was in college on a night out to a restaurant. I never heard of the disease and I rarely ever heard about gluten-free food. So as we were ordering food, hearing someone say they couldn’t eat most things on the menu was surprising to me, even a little annoying, because I couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal. However, when I learned how painful and demoralizing it can be to have Celiac disease, it really made me rethink how important it is to for the victims to have food that is good for them to eat.

In Asian countries, the soybean is a traditional protein staple. Soybeans contain high amounts of isoflavones, which are beneficial to health. Isoflavones are compounds derived from plants that give estrogenic activity. 

Did you know that in the past four years, the grocery store perimeter has experienced a growth rate of more than double that of the center of the store, with a CAGR of 3.8% for the perimeter, compared to 1.8% for the rest of the store?¹ Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods and subsequent price cutting initiative in fresh foods indicates strong awareness of this trend.

What’s in a loaf? A basic loaf of bread contains four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt.¹ But if we stop there, we’ll have a European-style bread that goes stale in a day.² Bread that is mass produced and distributed needs a little help from food science to achieve machining tolerance, volume and texture consistency, and delayed staling.

Emojis are a great start if you are looking for something new to revamp your products.

Ascorbic Acid, or more commonly known as Vitamin C, is naturally found in citrus fruits and many vegetables. It is considered an antioxidant.

The baking industry has made huge leaps in the gluten-free trend. As people become more aware of their food habits, their demand for food they can safely eat has increased. Here at Watson, we have come up with a line of gluten-free mixes that can be used in restaurants and food service institutions.

July 26th is National Bagelfest day! Bagels are unique in the bread world for their hard chewy outsides and their soft, warm insides. There are so many varieties of bagels like the everything bagel, sesame seed bagel, blueberry bagel, etc. There are even rainbow bagels to keep up with food trends.