The Austrian food group AGRANA recently showcased its extensive product range, extending from fruit, brown flavour and spicy preparations to starch, sugar, flavourings, syrups, sauces and betaine, at the Food Ingredients Europe trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany. The Fi Europe, one of the most important trade fairs for food and beverages, which annually attracts around 1,400 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors, took place at the Messe Frankfurt event location between 19 and 21 November 2024.
The functionality and sustainability of foods were again the AGRANA key focus at Fi Europe this year, with all-in-one solutions, 3D printers and live cooking events attracting particular interest from visitors. Consumer trends are continuing to revolve around the issues of naturalness, health, enjoyment and sustainability. This was also the case at the stand where AGRANA again presented solutions for plant based dishes and meat alternatives. AGRANA demonstrated its food development skills with several vegan flavour combinations as alternatives to whey such as pineapple and dragon fruit as well as pumpkin seed and vanilla. This entailed combining the group’s in-house starch, juice and flavouring components to create all-in-one solutions.
“For us, the Fi Europe was the perfect opportunity to showcase our innovative all-in-one solutions for the food industry. This is also underscored by our recently approved AGRANA NEXT LEVEL strategy, which encompasses tailor-made products for the food and beverages sector from our newly created ‘Food & Beverage Solutions’ business unit and which will further advance our innovative strength,” explains AGRANA CEO Stephan Büttner.
Chocolate alternatives and new ice cream creations
Visitors had an opportunity to taste several innovative ice cream varieties at our ice cream parlour: bitter-sweet vanilla ice cream with a pink grapefruit and caramel swirl or spicy-sweet chocolate ice cream with blood orange, lemon and spices were on the ice cream menu. The honey-sweetened ice cream with a fruity blueberry and lavender swirl, as well as a yoghurt made with a chocolate alternative based on fermented sunflower seeds, were also popular with visiting industry insiders.
Juicy and tasty meal alternatives
One of the highlights at the AGRANA stand was once again the live cooking at the bistro bar. Products from all of AGRANA’s business divisions were also in use here: from vegan chocolate cake with apricot jam to vegan meatballs based on wheat protein and a fluffy potato purée. The meat alternatives were particularly popular due to their taste and texture. The recipes for these are developed by AGRANA and act as a proof of concept for the use of corn starch, potato fibres and textured wheat protein.
Betaine to tackle ageing and jetlag
Functional foods that promote a healthy lifestyle and help the body recuperate are proving to be a strong trend. Betaine is an ingredient that AGRANA produces from GMO-free sugar beet molasses and that can be used in many different ways, including in beverages and food supplements. For example, the positive influence of betaine on our fluid balance and metabolism can be seen in the anti-ageing or anti-jetlag effects of these products.
Flavourings and beverage compounds from AUSTRIA JUICE
One of the main focuses this year for AUSTRIA Juice, a joint venture between AGRANA Beteiligungs and RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria, was on beverage compounds as orange alternatives. Also on display were flavourings for use in fruit juices and beverages, as well as possible applications of flavourings such as in dextrose tablets or gummy bears. The company also demonstrated its flavouring expertise in the form of filled chocolates (banana, coconut and rum), as well as in mocktails: alcohol-free mojitos and Mai Tais were served.