The growth of nutritionally complete meals and ‘Smart Foods’ are providing compelling solutions to Britain’s national nutrient deficit.
A future-facing concept being ushered into the mainstream – Smart Foods are nutritionally complete ‘meal alternatives’ that supplement 26 key minerals and nutrients.
Having all of the caloric and nutritional benefit of a full meal but in the form of a shake, powder or protein bar. Instead of feasting over a soggy midday sandwich or snacking on crisps to keep satiated, ‘Smart Foods’ provide a viable alternative for those of us who are on the go. If we are to stick to the age-old adage that food is fuel – why not choose foods that actually fuel us as opposed to sugar-laden snacks and sodium-saturated sandwiches?
Their popularity has seen a stratospheric rise in both Europe and the UK. The smart food market in Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands alone is estimated to be worth around €10-20 billion in the medium – to long-term, with annual growth rates of up to 50 percent. Having tripled its revenue in 2020 and doubled the figures in 2021, yfood recently announced its run-rate of €100 million in just four and a half years of trading.
Why ‘meal alternatives’?
yfood’s nationwide launch leverages the benefits of having a nutritionally complete, yet delicious, product that is not meant to replace all your meals – but compliment a healthy and varied diet. The concept of the ‘meal alternative’ slots in with our faced-paced lives – in between work, school and personal responsibilities it is unrealistic to have perfectly planned meals for every occasion. yfood’s modern approach to nutritional nirvana aims to work around speedy lifestyles that lend themselves to poor eating habits. A survey conducted by yfood revealed that 40% of Brits only resort to junk food when on-the-go, indicating a huge gap in the market for a product that not only comes in delicious flavours like Classic Choco and Smooth Vanilla, but contains essential nutrients and vitamins to keep us going throughout the day.
European food tech innovator, yfood, has recently hit supermarket shelves – introducing its range of protein bars, powders and shakes to the British diet. Aiming to reform the country’s relationship to unhealthy eating, yfood has launched their Classic Choco and Smooth Vanilla with Co-Op, with the drinks retailed at £3.50. The meal alternatives offered by the smart food innovators comes complete with 26 key nutrients and is available in a variety of flavours and plant-based options, with one serving (500 ml) of yfood providing consumers with around 34 g of protein, 68% of your daily protein needs.
Noel Bollmann, CEO and co-founder of yfood comments:
“Smart food is not intended to replace classic eating with fresh and high-quality foods – on the contrary: a varied and diverse diet is and remains essential. Nevertheless, the reality is that many people do not always manage to eat a balanced diet due to lack of time or availability problems. In these situations, Smart Food helps people to eat better in the long term. Thus, Smart Food is a completely new category of food that competes with junk food and bad eating habits, but not with conventional food.”
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