Food Additives

What to Expect

CPG companies face ongoing challenges in meeting clean-label demands, ensuring supply chain resiliency, and advancing decarbonization efforts. The uncertainty surrounding potential policy shifts under the upcoming Trump administration could heighten these challenges, driving greater urgency for proactive solutions. This is particularly critical when sourcing climate-challenged ingredients like cacao, coffee, vanilla, and palm oil, as well as at-risk ingredients that pose health and safety risks. In response to these challenges, a growing number of innovators are creating alternative ingredients and processes designed to be environmentally resilient while aligning with consumer preferences for clean-label products. 

In this Ideathon, Lux Research will showcase developers in alternative cacao, coffee, palm oil, and other food additives, representing the breadth and diversity of alternative climate-challenged ingredients. 

As companies optimize and mimic the organoleptic properties and functionality of alternatives to traditional plantation-derived products, Lux’s Ideathon on climate-challenged ingredients and food additives will answer the following questions: 

1. What novel technologies can meet the growing demand for cacao, coffee, and palm oil alternatives while maintaining modest capital expenses and cost per unit? 

1. How do the regulatory paths and timelines look for each of these technologies? 

1. What additional strategic partnerships and investments should the food industry anticipate in the coming years to overcome and prepare for political uncertainty?