Tigernuts & dandelion
Schofield said new sources of prebiotic fibres, such as Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion, tigernut and baobab, were starting to emerge in product launches.
“Although few and far between, products are launching using these new sources of prebiotic fibre,” she said.
“Prebiotic fibres occur naturally in many different plant foods. As demand for natural fibres increases, many new sources of prebiotic fibre are likely to be researched and discovered.”
US health root tea brand Yoot is one example, using organic chicory powder and dandelion root extract in its tea that boasts digestive health benefits.
Another US examples comes with Organic Gemini's use of ground tigernuts (Cyperus esculentus, also known aschufa) as a prebiotic fibre in its smoothie mixes, which also contain niche protein sources like pea and Sacha inchi.
Tigernuts – which aren’t actually nuts but small root vegetables – pack out the powders with 8 g of fibre per three tablespoon serving.
Probiota 2017
Schofield will discuss markets in-depth at Probiota in Berlin on February 1-3, 2017.
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