instore - July 2016 - (Page 19)

product knowledge With clean labels being all the rage among consumers these days, various retailers are rethinking their prepared foods ingredients list, and how best to tailor it for mass appeal. When it comes to using sweeteners for those that are made in-house, malt and molasses not only fit the bill for a clean label, but have significant nutritional benefits that can enable your product to boast an even healthier lifestyle than its branded and shipped counterparts. "Malt used to be thought of only for its nutritional value, in products such as Ovaltine and Carnation Instant Milk," says Jim Kappas, vice president of sales and marketing for Malt Products Corp. "Over the years, corn and cane sugar have been substituted because they are less expensive, so many Americans only think of malted milk shakes and malted milk ball candy as areas where malt can be used. Our main message is to consider adding malt for its nutritional value. On a gram-per-gram basis, malt has five times more antioxidant power than broccoli. It is also well established to help athletes recover after endurance exercise." Malt has a lot of potential within its flavor profile, and not just when it comes to candy or milk-based beverages. It can also be used in bakery confections and both sweet and savory snacks. Globally, it's already used in products such as artisan breads, chocolate-coated foods, bagels, pretzels, and breakfast cereals. "Malt has 5 times more antioxidant power than broccoli." Jim Kappas "Beverages and snacks are emerging as high growth categories," Kappas says, "and cereals, baked goods and sauces/condiments are well established segments. Malt enhances nut flavors, and 'rounds' or 'softens' dark chocolate notes. It masks bitter flavors, and complements savory flavors like cinnamon, cardamom or curry." Malt and molasses are essentially unrefined sugars, and are similar to unrefined whole grains in their nutritional benefits, Kappas says. Malt Products Corp. offers everything from organic and non-GMO sweeteners to Kosher certified products, and sells a large variety of syrups based on everything from rice and grains to honey and corn. STUART BURFORD / ADOBE STOCK Malt & molasses "The goodness of 'whole sugars' is analogous to the whole grains message that has transformed the baking industry over the past few years," Kappas says. "In fact, the sprouting and malting process makes the nutrition in malt extracts more bioavailable than the whole grains themselves. Of course, it's a story that our grandparents knew, but somehow has gotten lost over the decades, due to cost savings initiatives and fascination with calorie reduction, etc." Another benefit to using these products, he says, is that on top of putting any of the aforementioned buzzwords on your product label, you can also tell consumers that your product contains no processed sweeteners. "The only processing we do is to add water, time and temperature to concentrate the phytochemicals (aka antioxidants), vitamins, and minerals," Kappas says. "Our molasses is gluten free, GRAS (generally recognized as safe), non-GMO, and Kosher, with no added sulfites. And all of our malts have been developed to cover a wide range of flavors, colors, sweetness, body, and proteins. Should our standard malts not meet your requirements, other malt products can be custom-made to suit a retailer's needs." There's even an interesting backstory behind how malt and molasses are made, which can appeal to those end customers who enjoy 'farm to fork' transparency in regard to what they eat. "Essentially, our process is the front end of a brewery," Kappas says. "While a brewery takes a starch and ferments it to alcohol, we use the same natural enzymes present in the whole grain barley to convert it to sugar, then concentrate it to evaporate solids under vacuum (to minimize the temperature). While our process has modernized, it is interesting to note that along with honey, malt extract is the most ancient of sweeteners. The term 'ancient' is also used for grains today, and in that regard, malt extract is also a predecessor of modern refined syrups. From about 1,000 BCE to 1,000 CE, it was possibly the most widely used sweetener in the world." Molasses isn't as old, and is basically a naturally occurring and equally nutritious sweetener extracted from sugarcane during the production instore * JULY 2016 * 19 RUSLAN OLINCHUK - FOTOLIA / ADOBE STOCK NEED TO KNOW

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - July 2016

TARGET AUDIENCE More on millennials
ON OUR RADAR
BY THE NUMBERS Cupcakes
Millennial mindset
The end of Big Food?
commissary INSIDER - July 2016
Insight Insider: Mrs. Gerry’s builds room to grow
Yes, there is a Mrs. Gerry
Food Safety: Corrugated packaging vs. reusable plastic containers (Part 1 of 2)
Equipment: Flexibility with depositors
Product Category Spotlight: Cooked, cured meats
Technology: High pressure pasteurization
Research and development: Hard-boiled eggs: the next big thing for graband- go snacking
NEED TO KNOW Malt & molasses
CONSIDER Trending cheese flavors
LATEST INNOVATION Labor savers
ON DISPLAY Grab-and-go lunch
FIRST TO MARKET
product showcase
AD INDEX

instore - July 2016