With  2016 now in the past, food and beverage manufacturers can look to the challenges and opportunities that the new year brings. Considering impending legislation, FSMA rule rollouts and a new presidential administration all coming in 2017, the entire food and beverage supply chain could see major changes to their products and operations.

Food Dive spoke with a number of experts about the food and beverage industry’s biggest challenges in 2017. Those challenges varied widely, from differentiation in an oversaturated marketplace to continuing to adhere to consumers’ constantly changing demands. Here’s what they had to say.

Reducing sugar without sacrificing flavor and maintaining clean labels

“Sugar reduction across product categories is going to be top of mind for product developers in 2017. Due to the FDA changes to the nutrition facts panel, which includes a line that calls out added sugar, companies will be looking to retain the same product quality, in terms of mouthfeel, flavor profile and sweetness, but with less sugar. Companies will also be striving to develop clean label products, and will prioritize the use of ingredients that are perceived as more natural, in conjunction with reducing sugar in their products. I know sugar reduction is currently a major emphasis on the products that our R&D team is working on at Imbibe, especially in terms of children’s drinks, carbonated soft drinks, protein and dairy-based drinks, and our customers also expect cleaner labels for these products.”
— Ilana Orlofsky, marketing coordinator at Imbibe

Hear from other experts from the original story at Fooddive