Consumers increasingly seek food and beverage products with “clean labels” – whether they are purchasing products at the grocery store, gas station or dining in restaurants. Cargill has label-friendly ingredient solutions. Check out our Starches, Sweeteners and Texturizing options.
Label-Friendly Resource Center
Cargill is here to help our customers meet consumer demand by offering a growing portfolio of label-friendly ingredient solutions.
Clean Label
New Standards in Sweetness
Sugar has been on consumers’ minds for a number or years now. But conflicting attitudes and evolving palates can make product development tricky. We offer inspiration for sweet innovation.
The Best of Both Worlds - Evolving Eating Occasions
The past several years have exerted a lasting impact on eating habits. Learn how to meet consumers where they are now – literally and figuratively – and tap into emerging trends.
Weight Management Wisdom
As consumers experiment with new eating and diet strategies, research suggests that weight wellness is a part of many peoples’ daily lives – and a driver behind a number of food and beverage trends.
Fermenting a Label-friendly Future with Citric Acid
Naturally occurring in citrus fruits and living organisms, citric acid is a label-friendly powerhouse of flavor, preservation, stabilization and more…sustainably made via fermentation.
Formulating for Function
Now more than ever, consumers are seeking foods with functional benefits. But individualized perceptions can make it hard to hit the mark.
In the Mood
Opportunity spaces are emerging in “mood foods,” as consumers recognize that diet can play a role in mental health and general well-being.
Getting Sweet on Fiber
Label-friendly soluble corn fiber is a formulation-friendly solution for improving a product's nutritional profile – plus, it can help reduce sugar and calories.
Hungry for Adventure
The idea of exploring new worlds through taste is nothing new… but the trend gained a definite foothold during lockdown. Learn how to harness the excitement.
The New Flexitarians
As consumers learn more about diet and health, they’re realizing that eating habits can be highly personal – and a little flexibility is a good thing.
A Bakers Hero - Vital Wheat Gluten
Vital wheat gluten brings unparalleled function to bread products – plus offers an affordable source of plant-based protein.
Crafting Great Product Stories
In the food and beverage world, creating stories that engage people is a great strategy for attracting attention and building trust in brands. But the stories must be based on more than just creative writing… these days, they need to come from a place of authenticity.
The Evolving World of "Clean Label"
“Clean” has undoubtedly become a new baseline for product development… but exactly what that means to consumers is growing more complex. Learn what matters most.
Plant Palooza - Tracking Trends in Plant-based Segment
As consumers embrace plant-based products, it has become a solid trend in mainstream food culture, Learn more about these fast-paced trends and how you can partner with Cargill for palette-pleasing plant-based innovation.
Winning Combinations
A crash course in the brave new world of product mashups. Learn about consumers growing desire for new and exotic food and beverage experiences.
A-Peeling Pectin
A-peeling pectin finds growing market for reduced-sugar, label-friendly formulation. This time-tested ingredient is sparking new innovations, as formulators rediscover its aptitude for thickening, gelling and protein stabilization.
Bakery
While bakery products may be the ultimate comfort food, these strategies for improving baked goods' nutritional profile present exciting opportunities for innovation.
Consumers are discovering that baked goods can experience a healthy reset without compromising taste or texture.
When it comes to sugar and salt, snack makers are taking to heart "everything in moderation."
Supplementing protein in the diet is now priority-one for many mainstream consumers.
Dry corn ingredients bring versatility, flavor and nutritional benefits to a wide range of baked goods.
Label-friendly solutions to make products with more consumer-friendly textures and flavors.
The door is increasingly open for innovation in the bakery and cookie category.
Cargill ingredients can help your bakery product earn a consumer-pleasing cleaner label.
Bakery Boom
Plant-based Bakery Reboot
Reducing Sugar & Salt
Plant Based Protein
Corn Shines in Bakery Spotlight
The Next Generation of Gluten-Free Bakery Solutions
Cookies - A Delicate Balance Between Taste and Health
Label-friendly Bakery
Beverages
Sweet Solutions: Stevia Breakthrough Aims to Upend No-Sugar-Added Soda Fountain Formulation
Product developers have long searched for zero-calorie alternatives to sugar and artificial sweeteners at the soda fountain. EverSweet® + ClearFlo™ offers a breakthrough.
Understanding the "Sober Curious" Consumer
Consumers across all age groups are dialing back their alcohol intake. Learn what’s behind the “sober curious” movement – and how to tap into it.
Beverage Basics & Beyond
The demand for new and better beverages transcends all beverage types, with growing consumer interest in functional beverages across the spectrum. Read our article to learn more about what consumers desire from their beverages.
Hitting the bullseye in beverage formulation
Tap into the trends driving today's beverage culture and come away with solutions to help you rise to the top.
What's Next in Functional Beverages
As consumers take more of an active approach to their diets, they have rising expectations for beverages.
5 Trends Tranforming Beverages
Wider trends from the food industry have drastically changed our drinking habits.
Alcohol Flavor Trends
Discover how the market for alcoholic drinks is undergoing a massive transformation in form, function and flavor.
Conscious Cocktails
The global alcoholic beverages market shows no signs of slowing down – though it’s taken some surprising turns lately.
Pectin the new label-friendly catalyst
This label-friendly, plant-based ingredient provides a lot of functionality in today’s popular beverages.
Confectionery
Create Cutting-Edge Confectionery
Over the past couple of years, consumers turned to indulgence for a boost…then realized that too much isn't a good thing. Confectioners now have the opportunity to remake sweets in a healthier image.
Confectionery Conundrum
As with most other food and beverage categories, healthier, better-for-you options are also pervading confectionery. There has been a definitive shift toward new or reformulated confections that offer guilt-free indulgence.
This sugar alternative is worth celebrating
Erythritol: ideal for food and beverage applications that promote sugar reduction.
Sugar Reduction in Confectionery
It takes a new mindset among brands and formulators to experiment in this quickly evolving category.
Functional gummy boom
No longer relegated to health food stores, dietary supplements have gone decidedly mainstream. It’s a reflection of broader trends, implicit in today’s label-conscious consumer mindset.
Our Pectin Experts Help with Confectionery Challenges
Technical advancements in pectin – as well as consumer’s interest in label-friendly and reduced-sugar products – have encouraged more manufacturers to include this fruit-derived thickener and gelling agent in product formulations.
Convenience Foods
New Nature of Convenience
Spending more time at home has re-shaped ideas about mealtime and the role of convenience foods. Tap into these strategies for rapid-prep success.
Modernizing Mealtime
Indications are that some of the pandemic's impact on consumer eating habits represent more wide-scale, permanent changes. See what that means for product development.
No-compromise Convenience
Food culture shifts have prompted a revolution in the industry over the past decade, with convenience foods at the forefront.
Consumers are turning to convenient frozen food
80% of shoppers like having frozen food at home for when they’re “out of time or need something quick”
These Label-friendly Starches Can Take the Heat
For years, modified starches were staples of the texturizing world. But today, simpler labels and familiar ingredients reign supreme.
Simple Starches Solve Complex Challenges
For today’s label-conscious consumer, simple recipes and recognizable ingredients are no longer enough. Increasingly, consumers want to know how those ingredients were produced. It’s a movement that has sparked a return to familiar ingredients, including basic starches.
Upgrading Convenience Products with Functional Label-friendly Starches
Thanks to innovations in native starches, it’s easier for formulators to deliver upgraded convenience products that meet the needs of today’s more discerning consumers.
Label-Friendly Convenience
Partner with Cargill for a full portfolio of ingredients and formulation expertise to meet your goals for label-friendly convenience foods.
Native Starches - Thinking Outside the Box
Native starches are typically made from corn, cassava, potato, rice and tapioca, have not been modified, but merely stripped down to the starch component. A good label-friendly replacement.
Frozen as pleasing as fresh food
Hard-working, label-friendly ingredients help formulators
deliver the next generation of frozen foods.
Simple Ingredients. Pure Functionality.™
The new SimPure™ portfolio of functional native starches offers food and beverage manufacturers a label-friendly solution, together with greater process tolerance, shelf life and storage stability.
Dairy
Deciphering Dairy
Dairy alternatives may have disrupted the category in recent years, but dairy is still a huge global market with a lot going for it.
Plant-based Dairy by Design
As plant-based dairy alternatives continue to gain momentum, it will be increasingly important to push the envelope in innovation and sourcing.
Redefining Dairy Innovation
Humans may have been consuming dairy since the Neolithic age,1 but modern-day dairy is evolving at a dizzying pace. Dairy — and its plant-based alternatives — is a key focus of innovation at Cargill.
What's Next in Dairy Alternatives
This category is here to stay, but how much it will grow and where it’s headed next are the questions.
Novelty, Nutrition in the Frozen Dessert Aisle
When it comes to frozen desserts, increasingly consumers expect more than a great-tasting, indulgent treat.
Plant-Based Yogurts Catching Consumer Eyes
Consumer attitudes toward yogurts are changing again. Plant-based yogurts are the new market disrupter, as the rising star of the dairy case.
Yogurt Infographic
The U.S. yogurt category has been evolving in recent years, due to a convergence of trends and changing consumer behavior.
Balancing Sugar Reduction, Taste & Function
Cargill dairy experts discuss approaches to sugar reduction without sacrificing taste or functional attributes.
High Protein Dairy Trends
Consumers are seeking protein like never before, perceiving protein as the macronutrient most beneficial for top health issues.
The Growing Appeal of Dairy Alternatives
Leverage our specialty sweetness and texture ingredient portfolio to bring consumer-pleasing dairy alternatives to market.
Sugar Reduction in the Dairy Case
Consumer attitudes toward sugar have changed dramatically over the past decade.
Rich Texture in Frozen Desserts
Textural attributes are key for decadent, reduced sugar frozen desserts.
Meat Alternatives
Taking the Measure of Plant-based Meat Alternatives
With widening adoption and heightened performance in plant-based meat alternatives, it's essential to keep pushing boundaries in formulation innovation.
Plant-based Revolution
What's next? Learn how consumers are embracing the idea of plant-based eating in a big way.
Plant-Based Proteins and the Convenience Factor
Plant-based meat alternatives are emerging as the new star of the alternative category, and as these products reach parity in taste, texture and price, they are also gaining steam in one of America’s favorite food categories – convenience.
Understanding the Rise of Alternative Meat
Alternative meat has been around for a long time, but in recent years, it has seen an extraordinary rise in popularity. Some insight is provided here.
Meat Alternatives [Infographic]
Plant-based proteins are gaining awareness and acceptance, propelled by interest in healthy eating, sustainability and animal welfare.
Fertile Ground for Innovation in Plant Protein
Demand for meat alternatives is booming, as U.S. consumers modify their protein preferences to include a healthy dose of plants.
Snacks
Strategic Snacks
As snacking has become an integral part of daily life, the baseline for success has undergone a seismic shift.
We share consumer insights and current trends shaping snack strategy.
How Tortilla Chips Transformed American Snackers
Tortilla chips are a national snacking staple. And why not? The crunchy, corn-based treat dials into many of the biggest trends in the snack landscape as well as sensory appeal. Learn more about this delightful snack in our report.
Trends in Healthy Snacking
As snacking has become a mega-trend, the category itself has been transformed. Learn how to cater to current consumer expectations.
Breaking the boundaries in new bar development
Bars are now for everyone, but it is important to note that their expansion is tied to the rise of snacking culture – as consumers look for convenient, nutritious foods that can double as an on-the-go meal. Learn more in our report.
Frequent Snacking Puts Focus on Sugar Content
A snack is no longer considered an occasional treat – it’s become part of consumers’ daily diets.
Snack Consumption
Snacks are considered one of the most promising categories in the consumer goods space.
Reducing Sugar & Salt
When it comes to sugar and salt, snack makers are taking to heart "everything in moderation."
Cleaning Up the Snack Food Aisle
Cargill’s ingredient experts continue to find new ways to get more out of the corn kernel.
Snacking is Big Business
Cargill can supply you with the label-friendly ingredients you need to satisfy consumer demand for nutrient-packed snacks.
Label-Friendly Ingredients in Action - Snack Bars
Experts predict continued growth in this category for several years.
Sports Nutrition
Sports drinks take aim at female consumers
Once the sole purview of bodybuilders and hard-core, predominately male athletes, sports nutrition products have muscled their way into the mainstream.
Tapping into the active nutrition consumer
Today everyone, from your neighbor to your grandmother, is looking for a more efficient way to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Sport Nutrition Products
Taking to new levels. Products must now be designed, positioned and marketed with pinpoint accuracy.
Sports Nutrition is Going Mainstream
The sports nutrition category is booming. Consumers worldwide are turning to foods and beverages which support their healthy lifestyles and tout improved energy, endurance or alertness.
Sustainability
Sustainable Developments
As people become more sophisticated in their understanding of environmental and public health issues, they increasingly expect brands to align with their values.
Setting the Standard for Sustainable Stevia Production
Learn how Cargill is setting the standards for a sustainable stevia supply chain through multi-level programs that assure full traceability from the field to formulation.
Sustainable Sweetness
Proprietary research shows that sustainability claims are carrying ever-more weight in purchase decisions. Learn how Cargill's multifaceted approach to sustainable sweeteners can help you win with consumers.
Sustainability Q&A
We talked with Ryan Siroli, Cargill's row crop sustainability manager, to better understand how the company is advancing sustainable agricultural practices.
Communicating the Concepts of Label-Friendly and Sustainability
Products that contain label-friendly ingredients and that are produced sustainably have taken a stunning leap in consumer awareness in the last couple of years.
Understanding the Sustainable Consumer
Nearly three in four consumers now say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their environmental impact.
Label-Friendly Ingredients for Sweetening & Texturizing:
Canola Lecithin
Cargill is a supplier of canola lecithin. Canola lecithin may be used in a wide variety of food applications, including chocolate and confectionery, bakery and convenience foods.
Custom Texturizing Systems
Our knowledgeable technical applications team can help you successfully integrate functional Custom Texturizing Systems in existing food and beverage products or in new product development.
SimPure™ Label-Friendly Starches
Cargill offers a diverse selection of label-friendly, nature-derived texturizers.
MaizeWise® Whole Grain Corn Products
MaizeWise® whole grain corn products, such as corn flour, can directly replace existing ingredients, or blend with them, while helping deliver 100% whole grain nutrition. Product varieties include corn flour, corn meal and masa flour.
Soluble Corn Fiber
Packed with dietary fiber, soluble corn fiber can enhance nutrient profiles and support sugar reduction goals in products ranging from beverages to bakery – without impacting taste or appearance.
SimPure™ Soluble Rice Flour
More and more, ingredient familiarity matters. SimPure™ 92260 harnesses one of nature's most traditional botanical sources – rice – to create a label-friendly alternative to maltodextrin.
Non-GMO* Tapioca Syrup
Cargill's portfolio of tapioca syrups features a full range of carbohydrate profiles and Dextrose Equivalent (DE) levels plus Certified Organic lines.
ViaTech® Stevia Leaf Extract
ViaTech® stevia sweeteners are high performance ingredients that help food and beverage manufacturers achieve optimal taste and sweetness at higher usage levels.
Some Cargill products are only approved for use in certain geographies, end uses, and/or at certain usage levels. It is the customer's responsibility to determine, for a particular geography, that (i) the Cargill product, its use and usage levels, (ii) the customer's product and its use, and (iii) any claims made about the customer's product, all comply with applicable laws and regulations.