Dive Brief:
- In direct response to the quest by consumers to understand where their food comes from, and what is in their foods, chief financial officers at food companies are adjusting where they direct investments, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Cargill Inc.'s finance chief, Marcel Smits, said the company has "a much bigger seat at the table" with consumers to address transparency about food formulation and how it handles raw materials. Smits was part of a panel discussion at the BMO Capital Markets Farm to Market conference.
- Consumer demands for reduced sugar led General Mills to re-engineer the placement of sugar for some of its cereals, placing sugar crystals on the outside of flakes rather than in the mixture, said Donal Milligan, CFO.
Dive Insight:
One example of responding to consumer demands is Quaker Oats, which developed a cleaning system to remove stray grains from products to ensure their oats meet the FDA's standards for gluten free.
For executives at Ingredion, addressing several trends, including clean labels and food protection, should lead to an expansion of the company's specialty portfolio. At a presentation earlier this year at CAGNY, Ingredion's executives outlined their goal to increase the specialty portfolio to approximately 30% of its net sales by 2019, up from 25% in 2015.
The company has prioritized acquisitions and investments to help broaden its portfolio and achieve growth, which includes the acquisitions of ingredient companies Kerr and Penford.