Cargill marketing manager: Answering Nutri-Score labeling demands with bakery reformulations

We sit down with Ellie van der Burg, Cargill’s Bakery marketing manager, to discuss how the corporation is helping customers cater to the Nutri-Score labeling system, which gives consumers dietary information. As the system develops, product ratings often take a hit. Cargill is creating new formulations that meet these demands while regaining taste and quality appeal.

Nutri-Score was first conceived in France and offers a traffic light labeling scale for F&B products, indicating relative nutritional content. The scale runs from A (dark green), representing the healthiest choices, to E (red), indicating the least healthy options. 

Currently, it is widely used in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland. While there are criticisms of the system, adoption is increasing, and the system is becoming more complex, meaning brands must reformulate products or often be left with low nutrition ratings. 

To answer these issues, Cargill is creating bakery and sweet products, like brownies, that qualify for higher ratings while maintaining taste and texture profiles. 

What are the main challenges the Nutri-Score system presents F&B companies? 

Van der Burg: While the Nutri-Score system aims to promote more nutritionally balanced consumer choices, it requires F&B manufacturers to stay agile and proactive in reformulating products to maintain favorable ratings and brand reputation. 

For example, when the Nutri-Score algorithm was updated in 2023 to reflect the latest scientific findings, it had a mixed impact on product ratings. Stricter rules on sugar content have negatively impacted traditionally high-sugar bakery products. 

Cargill is reformulating brownies, one of the lowest ranked products under the Nutri-Score system.On the positive side, the updated algorithm better rewards wholegrain-based products and those with higher iron or calcium content, reflecting a more nuanced approach to fiber and protein content. 

These changes necessitate recalculating Nutri-Score ratings, which can impact a product’s image if scores decline. Companies may need to reformulate their products to achieve better ratings, which can be a complex and resource-intensive process. 

Given that nutritional improvement is a key opportunity space for the bakery category, Cargill is committed to supporting those customers who are willing to improve the nutritional profile of our customers’ cake application. Whether they’re looking to showcase that on a nutritional label (Nutri-Score or traffic light label) or undergoing a silent reformulation strategy, we can help them succeed. 

You’ve recently released some new products geared toward meeting Nutri-Score requirements. What’s new about them? 

Van der Burg: At Cargill, we’ve recently made significant progress in aligning our new product releases with Nutri-Score requirements, particularly in the sweet bakery segment. One of our most exciting developments is entering the Nutri-Score race with brownies. 

Cakes and pastries represent the largest sub-category within the sweet bakery segment in terms of volume, value, and new product development. Within this sub-category, brownies are among the top five applications for innovation, showing a promising value growth of 4% (CAGR 2021-2023) and growth of 6% of new product launches (according to Euromonitor and Innova Market Insights). 

Traditionally, brownies are not associated with healthy indulgence, and most on the market have Nutri-Score rankings of D or E. However, we aim to change this dynamic by offering holistic solutions that address the growing consumer demand for improved nutritional profiles in cake applications, including brownies. 

To demonstrate the possibilities, our application experts have achieved what once seemed impossible through dedicated reformulation work. We have developed delicious brownie prototypes with significantly improved Nutri-Score ratings: Nutri-Score C with 30% sugar reduction, low sodium, and high fiber and even Nutri-Score A with 85% sugar reduction, low sodium, and high fiber. These options have been validated by our internal R&D and sensory experts, and consumer tests have confirmed their acceptance.

Our success in this area is underpinned by several key factors: a broad portfolio of ingredients to enable improved nutritional reformulation, deep technical expertise on ingredient functionality and application, holistic application expertise from concept to commercialization, and sensory insights to ensure our products meet consumer expectations for taste, texture, and overall enjoyment. 

How is Cargill working to help compliance with the system more generally? 

Van der Burg: Nutrition is becoming an increasingly important topic for bakery consumers, with nutritional value now a prime consideration when making purchasing decisions. New consumer research shows that nutritional information is in the top three purchase criteria for cakes and patisserie, and 74% of bakery consumers check the nutritional labeling “sometimes” or “most of the time.” 

The Nutri-Score algorithm underwent changes at the beginning of 2024.In line with this trend, Cargill’s Sweet Delights research reveals that even though indulgence remains a key purchase trigger, consumers want the best of both worlds. They are looking for tasty products with an improved nutritional profile, an energy boost without the sugar crash, and portion control. 

The rise of both the “Premium Indulgence” and “Guilt Free” consumer trends align with the consumer desire for cake applications that both taste good and are nutritionally balanced in their composition. As the line between indulgence and nutrition blurs, bakery manufacturers are seeking holistic solutions to address the growing consumer need for improved nutritionally balanced [PA4] profiles in cake applications. This is particularly the case now that the Nutri-Score system plays such an important role in consumer purchase decisions. 

Cargill can help customers meet these trends by supporting the improvement of the Nutri-Score rating of our customers’ cake applications through reformulation. 

As a one-stop-shop bakery partner with a comprehensive toolbox of holistic solutions, our unparalleled portfolio of ingredients is further boosted by our deep technical and application expertise. This combination of portfolio and expertise enables us to achieve the best of both worlds: a nutritionally improved recipe with an indulgent experience. 

Do you have further innovations in the pipeline that are relevant to Nutri-Score viability?

Van der Burg: At Cargill, we are focusing on further innovations in the sugar reduction space to support Nutri-Score viability further. For example, Cargill soluble fiber enables significant sugar reduction, helping products achieve Nutri-Score ratings of C, B, or even A. 

To further improve scores, our experts have developed methods to completely remove sugar from the dough, using a combination of Cargill’s sweeteners, such as maltitol and erythritol, to deliver the best sensory results. 

Another innovation that further enables sugar reduction while also delivering a delicious chocolatey color and taste is Cargill’s Gerkens Sweety cocoa powder. It provides a rich brown color and maintains a well-balanced chocolatey flavor with low bitterness. Additionally, Cargill’s aerated chocolate chunks allow for a chocolate name on the pack while offering a smooth melt-in-mouth feel and an improved Nutri-Score due to lower sugar and fat content. 

Achieving the right texture balance is also crucial. To maintain the iconic brownie texture, our experts use Cargill’s texturizers, including native corn starch and maltodextrin. The starch enhances the moistness and softness of the brownie, while maltodextrin adds texture to compensate for the sugar loss. 

These innovations reflect our commitment to helping bakery manufacturers meet Nutri-Score requirements while delivering products that consumers love. By combining our extensive ingredient portfolio with deep technical and application expertise, we enable our partners to create nutritionally improved recipes that do not compromise on indulgence.

There is no good food or bad food. We should speak about more nutritionally “balanced” consumer choices.