Person using a GLP-1 medication by injecting into their stomach area.

Nestlé’s GLP-1 strategy reframes food formulation around nutrient density

When GLP-1 weight loss medications first began gaining mainstream attention, the food and beverage industry was largely asking a defensive question: what happens if consumers simply eat less? Although that concern has not disappeared entirely, two years into the GLP-1 conversation, the industry response increasingly looks less like a retreat and more like a reformulation exercise. The latest signal comes from Nestlé, which is developing products specifically for people taking weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. The company is looking at high-protein and collagen-containing products, among other nutritional solutions, leveraging AI and nutritional science to inform development. 
Worker on food packing line.
Clean label enters redesign era as formulators tackle taste and texture trade-offs
In 2026, the clean label challenge for F&B manufacturers is reformulating products with simple ingredient lists while protecting taste, texture, and shelf life. The practice of simply stripping ingredients from formulations is giving way to integrated formulation systems.
Woman holding milk bottles.
Botaneco: Oleosomes emerge as multifunctional plant-based fat alternative
Fat does much more than add calories to food. It influences texture, lubrication, flavor release, aroma, juiciness, melting behavior, and the overall tasting experience. Jason Hargreaves, R&D director at Botaneco, says these functions make fat replacement particularly challenging in dairy alternatives, plant-based meats, and other formulated foods. Oleosomes, however, could offer manufacturers another option. Oleosomes are natural structures that oilseeds use to store and protect oil prior to germination. 
Banner with an image of sauce and company logo with food icons
Case study: reformulate a sweet-and-sour marinade
For food professionals, product reformulation is often a complex challenge. How do you improve a product's nutritional composition without compromising on taste, functionality, consumer acceptance, or commercial results? Dutch Spices supports producers in addressing these issues and developed two case studies.This Technical Paper is brought to you by Dutch Spices.
AGRANA Fruit webinar promotional graphic showing a shopper reading a label beside text about gaps in functional F&B
When Healthy Isn't Enough: What's Missing in Today's Functional F&B?
As consumer demand for functional food and beverage products continues to rise, delivering health benefits is no longer a differentiator, it’s an expectation. But while brands compete on claims, many overlook a critical driver of repeat purchase: enjoyment.Taste, texture and sensory excitement often fall short, leaving consumers with products that are good for them, but not compelling enough to come back to. In this webinar, we explore the missing link in today’s functional F&B landscape: “fun.” Why is indulgence still important alongside functionality in many categories and how can brands bridge the gap between nutrition and pleasure without compromising on either.Join us as we unpack emerging consumer expectations, highlight key trends, and demonstrate how a holistic approach to product development can unlock both health and indulgence. Discover why the future of functional F&B lies in both what products do and how they make people feel.
Raisio video thumbnail: Smiling woman in front of wooden shelves displaying Elovena oatmeal, snack biscuits, and other packaged food products
Raisio Food Solutions: How oats can elevate gluten-free product development

At Raisio Food Solutions’ offices in Helsinki, Finland, Heidi Romu from international business development explores how oats can elevate gluten-free product innovation. From boosting fiber and nutritional diversity to improving texture, creaminess, and water binding, Romu discusses the versatility of oats, the requirements of gluten-free production, emerging global demand, and the next opportunities for better-for-you gluten-free foods and beverages.

Latest headlines

View more
Protein innovation enters diversification era as quality and functionality...
Healthy bio dairy products on shelf of supermarket.
Protein innovation is moving into a new phase. For years, much of the discussion focused on animal protein versus plant protein, or conventional protein versus alternative protein. That is changing. Food and beverage companies are now looking at a wider mix of proteins, including dairy, plant, fungal, and yeast proteins, as well as proteins made through precision fermentation. The goal is not to find one protein that does everything. It is to use the right protein, or combination of proteins, for the right product.
EIT Food: Consumer trust gap slows uptake of emerging food technologies
Food scientist looking at cultivated meat sample.
European consumers are showing signs of warming to food innovation, but unfamiliar technologies such as cultivated meat, precision fermentation-derived dairy, and insect-based ingredients continue to face consumer resistance, according to new EIT Food research.
Tate & Lyle sees “white space” as metabolic health enters mainstream F&B
Woman eating cereal and drinking orange juice.
Food and beverage manufacturers are moving beyond sugar reduction toward a more multifaceted reformulation brief, creating opportunities for ingredients that can simultaneously address sugar and carbohydrate content, fiber enrichment, calories, and product functionality, according to Tate & Lyle. The ingredient supplier’s new report, Future-Proofing Nutrition: Designing Products for Lifelong Metabolic Wellness, argues that growing consumer interest in metabolic health is changing how manufacturers approach healthier product development. For the mainstream F&B sector, the shift is significant because it moves reformulation away from a single target — such as removing sugar — and toward products that can offer consumers positive nutritional attributes, while still delivering on taste, texture, and eating experience. 
Tufts University launches food-tech hub for scale-up and commercialization
Lennie Cheung, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Innovation Hub for Food and Materials.
Tufts University has launched a new shared research and development hub designed to help food-tech companies, researchers, and entrepreneurs turn early-stage ideas into commercial products. The Innovation Hub for Food and Materials, based in Medford, Massachusetts, will give users access to equipment and expertise for food prototyping, bioprocessing, formulation, scale-up, sensory testing, and consumer research. Interim space is already available, while the fully equipped 17,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in fall 2026.
False confidence? Cocoa research challenges reliability of sustainability audits
A close-up view of a person's hand using a smartphone to photograph or scan a ripe, yellow cocoa pod hanging on a tree.
A study of cocoa farms in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa-producing country, has found that sustainability monitoring can be vulnerable to manipulated data. The researchers say their findings raise serious questions about how reliably companies and certification schemes can verify claims about the environmental and social standards behind products such as chocolate.
Oral delivery blurs the line between supplement and gray-market peptides
man in his bedroom, taking his daily supplement dose with a dropper

Nutrition Insight

The emerging peptide market is rapidly growing, and so too are concerns about the safety of these short chains of amino acids as consumers and industries grapple with distinguishing them from supplements. The labels on these gray-market peptides often note that the products are not for everyday use or human consumption, yet there are brands using some of these peptides in their oral supplements. 
Highlighted features
Medicine container bottle with weight-loss drug Wegovy tablet pills from Novo Nordisk inside
Food Ingredients News
EU Wegovy pill approval could deepen GLP-1 impact on food...
The approval of an oral version of Wegovy in the EU could broaden the impact of GLP-1 medicines on the food and beverage industry, as easier access to weight-management treatment potentially brings more consumers into a market already showing changes in appetite, purchasing behavior, and nutritional priorities.
The US FDA building.
Policy & regulation news
FDA proposes mandatory GRAS notifications as US moves to...
The US FDA has unveiled its proposal requiring companies to notify the agency every time they conclude an ingredient is generally recognized as safe (GRAS). The move will close a route that the FDA says has allowed manufacturers to put substances into the food supply without informing regulators since 1958.
Drought impacts agriculture. Farmer looks at dried up crops.
Research & Science news
Rabobank warns of rising El Niño risks across food...
A strengthening El Niño is putting a range of agricultural commodities under renewed weather pressure, with cocoa, palm oil, sugar, Robusta coffee, and Australian grains among the markets most exposed to adverse weather, according to Rabobank.

Ingredient focus

View more
Image

Clean label evolutionAug2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that consumers globally are reducing artificial ingredients in their diets to eat healthier. Global data also shows that clean label claims are gaining ground in ...

Brought to you by:

Ingredion

Product innovation

View more
Image

New frontiers in protein Aug 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 6% average annual growth in F&B launches with protein ingredients and high/source of protein claims between April 2021 and March 2026. The top subcategories were Cereal, Dairy, and Meat Substitutes. Soup and hot drinks with protein ingredients were emerging. The top protein ingredients were milk protein, pea protein, and soy protein isolate.

Trend analysis

View more
Image

What’s next in Desserts and Ice Cream?Aug 2026

Innova Market Insights data shows that flavor still plays a vital role in ice cream and dessert choices, with the category growing at a 4% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. While ice cream accounts for the largest share of these launches, toppings and flavor combinations are becoming more creative areas for NPD. Sour flavors are also gaining attention in desserts, growing by 132% over the past five years globally.

Multimedia

View more
Raisio video thumbnail: Smiling woman in front of wooden shelves displaying Elovena oatmeal, snack biscuits, and other packaged food products
Video05:24
Raisio Food Solutions: How oats can elevate gluten-free product development

At Raisio Food Solutions’ offices in Helsinki, Finland, Heidi Romu from international business development explores how oats can elevate gluten-free product innovation. From boosting fiber and nutritional diversity to improving texture, creaminess, and water binding, Romu discusses the...

Erika Milczek, Curie Co.
Video06:06
IFT FIRST 2026: Curie Co boosts dairy yields with protein-stabilizing enzyme
Image
Video03:45
IFT FIRST 2026: Nexira launches Eficacia Advanced to cut costs with lower dosage
Image
Video04:08
IFT FIRST 2026: AAK spotlights specialty fats in deconstructed Dubai-style chocolate
Subscribe to our newsletters
PlatformsFood Ingredients FirstNutrition InsightPackaging InsightsPersonal Care InsightsThe World of Food Ingredients
About usContact usAdvertisingPrivacy statementSitemapArchiveEditorial Team
Follow us
Image