Texturizers: We’re the bit of the business everyone needs and no one understands
As the afternoon drew to a close, we hooked up with Wendy Erickson, technical service manager, and Dana Craig, category marketing manager, at Cargill Texturizing Solutions - the part of the business that probably saves customers the most money, and helps them create formulations that really deliver for consumers from a sensory and nutritional perspective - but rarely seems to grab the headlines (gums and starches are not sexy).
In a lot of cases, customers are being challenged to reduce costs, but don’t always understand the function that an ingredient or combination of ingredients is playing in their products, and need help to reformulate without damaging their brands, said Erickson.
“In many cases, we can help them save money and improve the nutritional profile of their products.”
Customers’ pre-occupations vary according to what’s happening with the price of certain ingredients, with surging prices for eggs, guar gum, gelatin and a variety of dairy and meat proteins all prompting a lot of reformulation over the years, she said, while negative press coverage about certain ingredients has also driven some recipe changes.
“There were some negative press reports about carrageenan [a seaweed-based ingredient used in everything from processed meats to yogurts for its gelling, thickening and stabilizing properties] earlier this year, and we started gearing up in case customers had questions, or even wanted to remove it, but they didn’t gain any traction.”
