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Vitafoods Europe 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.

Vitafoods Europe 2026 preview: Five key trends shaping healthy F&B innovation

Vitafoods Europe 2026 promises to showcase the growing integration of health and wellness ingredients traditionally found in nutraceuticals into mainstream F&B products. The event in Barcelona, Spain, next week, will demonstrate how functional ingredients have become key differentiators for brands looking to win over increasingly health-conscious consumers. Visitors can expect to find functional ingredients ranging from protein innovations for metabolic health to probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics for gut health. Meanwhile, beauty‑from‑within ingredients, such as collagen, will demonstrate how mainstream brands are tapping into the growing demand for products that promote both internal health and external beauty.
Young consumer eating plant-based burger.
Plant-based trends: Striking the balance between targeted nutrition and sensory appeal
The plant-based food market continues to grow at a rapid pace, as consumers seek healthier, more sustainable, and personalized nutrition. As these demands evolve, plant-based innovation is moving beyond meat mimicry and “one-size-fits-all” products to deliver solutions that target specific health benefits. Innova Market Insights highlights the plant-based sector’s shift toward nutritional value over imitation, with consumers globally increasingly favoring natural, clean label ingredients and functional benefits like gut health. Plant-based options are also increasingly found in familiar formats for convenient access to nutrition.
A person using GLP-1 medication on the beach.
Vitafoods Europe 2026: ProNutra Tec targets GLP-1 side effects with plant-based Vollagen
The GLP-1 weight loss drug category is reshaping how the F&B industry thinks about protein. As millions of consumers use GLP-1 receptor agonists to lose weight, research is pointing to a significant side effect — accelerated protein and collagen breakdown in the body. For F&B manufacturers building functional formulations for this growing consumer segment, ProNutra Tec is positioning Vollagen, a plant-based collagen alternative derived from non-GMO corn starch, as a solution.
TechnicalPaperCeamsa
CEAMFIBRE a gut-friendly fibre solution
What's else, besides CEAMFIBRE's mutifunctionality? Could a citrus fibre be gut friendly? CEAMSA investigated whether CEAMFIBRE®—a partially soluble citrus fibre—may exhibit potential prebiotic and satiating properties using in vitro colonic fermentation models and enteroendocrine cell assays. Read the full study to find out.This Technical Paper is brought to you by CEAMSA.
Coralie Garcia, ADM
ADM: Translating consumer behaviors into scalable flavor strategies

Coralie Garcia, senior flavor product marketing manager for EMEA at ADM, answers key questions on translating consumer emotions into flavor strategies, balancing sustainability with innovation, and the role of data in flavor development. Filmed at ADM’s Flavor Innovation Center in Berlin, Germany, the discussion offers valuable insights into the future of flavor across a diverse F&B market.

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Vitafoods Europe 2026 preview: Nutraceuticals, functional food & targeted wellness
At the Vitafoods Europe 2026 trade show (May 5–7), the nutraceutical industry will showcase its ingredients, functional foods, and new product applications for increasingly health-conscious consumers. In Barcelona, Spain, suppliers will gather to present the latest innovations in gut health, longevity, women’s health, beauty-from-within, sports nutrition, pet care, and metabolic health. Exhibitors are set to highlight proteins, postbiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, botanicals, enzymes, and flavors. We preview some of the standout companies and innovations.

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Urban agriculture: A strategic solution to future-proof Europe’s vegetable...
three young urban farmers on rooftop garden
Urban agriculture could produce up to 28% (20 million metric tons) of vegetables annually, potentially fulfilling nearly one-third of Europe’s current vegetable production, scientists in the Netherlands and Germany estimate. The research highlights the untapped potential of urban agriculture in European cities and its potential to contribute significantly to food security, sustainability, and resilience.
GNT launches Shanghai office to meet China’s surging demand for clean label...
Colorful Chinese dumplings in an earthenware bowl in China.
GNT Group has opened its first dedicated sales and application office in Shanghai, marking a significant operational commitment to the Chinese market as demand for plant-based, clean label colors accelerates across the country’s F&B industry. The new facility includes an application laboratory equipped to provide Chinese customers with tailored formulation support.
Spirits giants Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman call off merger talks
Bottles of Jameson whiskey.
Talks between Pernod Ricard and Brown‑Forman over a potential merger have now been formally terminated, marking a swift end to negotiations that had signaled a possible step-change in global spirits consolidation.
Nestlé ramps up restructuring with Blue Bottle Coffee sale and job cuts
Blue Bottle Coffee shop.
Nestlé has agreed to sell Blue Bottle Coffee as part of its ongoing restructuring, marking a retreat from specialty retail coffee. The move aligns with the company’s strategy to streamline its portfolio and focus on scalable global brands, particularly in coffee, where Nescafé and Nespresso continue to drive growth. The divestment comes as Nestlé accelerates efforts to exit or review non-core assets, including its water division and parts of its vitamins and supplements businesses. The F&B giant is increasingly sidelining lower-growth businesses, as management prioritizes brand-led categories with stronger international reach.
Ambition versus reality: EIT Food reveals major gaps in the protein transition
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A new foresight study from EIT Food finds strong alignment around a “Circular protein renaissance,” but warns that Europe’s protein transition risks drifting off track due to gaps in financing, regulation, and consumer trust. The key takeaway from the research highlights a disconnect between industry ambition and the trajectory currently taking shape in a more diversified protein system.
How multi-omics and AI are revolutionizing nutrition research for sustainable...
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Nutrition Insight

A review has explored how multi-omics and AI have accelerated the evolution of nutritional epidemiology. The research outlines next-generation methods for creating precise and sustainable diets to improve health outcomes at scale for people and the planet. The paper outlines the main challenges and advances to dietary assessment methods, observational study design, and multi-omics technologies. Future directions point to multidimensional precision nutrition based on stage-specific management alongside sustainable nutrition, such as the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet.
Highlighted features
April 2026 F&B industry highlights.
Food Ingredients News
April in review: UN FAO food security warning, Coffee...
In April 2026, the UN FAO’s chief economist warned that a prolonged Strait of Hormuz crisis could result in a “global agri-food catastrophe,” urging anticipatory policy actions to mitigate a supply crunch for key agri-food inputs like fertilizer. PepsiCo boosted its revenue through consumer price cuts and healthier snack sales. Fonterra sold its global consumer business to global dairy leader Lactalis. Keurig Dr Pepper acquired JDE Peet’s to form an expanded coffee giant.
Activia yogurts in supermarket.
New Product Development
The year of fiber: How Danone turns surging demand into...
Fiber has moved from a nutrition afterthought to a formulation priority for F&B manufacturers, as Western consumers increasingly prioritize gut health to support their overall well-being. Food leaders like Danone view fiber as a long-term strategic ingredient, but success depends on balancing functionality, sensory performance, and scalable sourcing in fiber-enriched products. Innova Market Insights ranks fiber as the second most popular functional ingredient for consumers in the US, behind protein. Around two in five say they are highly interested in fibers, signaling a strong baseline demand. Although WHO recommends a minimum of 25 g of fiber per day, most consumers in developed markets fall significantly short, highlighting a persistent “fiber gap.”
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Food Ingredients News
Asia-Pacific flavor trends: Takasago on “digital natives”...
Asia Pacific (APAC) has emerged as a flavor innovation hub for F&B manufacturers, as they work to navigate consumers’ fast-evolving taste expectations. Social media-driven curiosity for global cuisines is co-existing with local flavor demands, with companies advancing technical innovations around taste modulation, plant-based, and sustainable food systems, particularly to appeal to younger generations.

Ingredient focus

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Natural colors surge in F&B industryApr2026

Innova Market Insights data shows that consumers are actively reducing artificial ingredients in favor of natural alternatives. The use of natural colors in F&B launches is rising, with +9% growth...

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Product innovation

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Plant-based F&B launches see steady growth Apr 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 3% CAGR in plant-based F&B launches between 2021 and 2025. Dairy and Meat Substitutes remain the key categories, while Fruit & Vegetables showed the fastest growth (36% CAGR) during the same period. Emerging ingredients in plant-based launches include sucralose, oat flake, and vegetable fats.

Trend analysis

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Healthy beverage trends: A growing market for functional drinksApr 2026

Innova Market Insights has identified “Beverages with Purpose” as one of the top F&B trends for 2026. Consumers worldwide are increasingly prioritizing health-conscious beverages, driven by growing industry support and innovation. This shift is accelerating the demand for functional drinks, with protein and biotic benefits leading the charge as key trends in healthy beverage development.

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Video10:38
LATAM fortification strategies diverge from WHO recommendations

Eugenia Muinelo, manager of regulatory affairs Latin America at EAS Strategies, discusses how LATAM nations are tailoring food fortification for population-specific deficiencies. As a region that suffers from a “double burden” of obesity and micronutrient deficiencies, governments are taking...

Coralie Garcia, ADM
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ADM: Translating consumer behaviors into scalable flavor strategies
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Win-Win: Fermentation unlocks cocoa-free, climate-friendly chocolate NPD
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More per Bite: Turn wellness into market success
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