The demand for lower sodium food and drink products is everywhere you look, with an ever-increasing range of options appearing on supermarket shelves. Whether it’s soup or seasonings, dressings or dairy, beans or breakfast cereal, consumers are more spoilt for choice than ever before.
What’s driving the demand?
In a word, awareness.
It’s generally recognised that there’s more to cutting down on sodium than sprinkling less salt on your dinner. The real danger lies in sodium-heavy processed products such as snack foods, ready meals, meats and pizzas, where the damage has already been done.
Almost 80% of the salt we consume comes from processed foods.
Today’s consumer is a lot more knowledgeable, and is in the habit of checking product labels for nutritional value – including salt content. And if the count is too high (for example, one slice of store-bought pizza can easily contain a third of the recommended daily allowance), the product goes back on the shelf.
In addition, the world’s population is ageing, and compared to previous generations, is extremely health-conscious – taking a keen interest in staying active and making the most out of their golden years. This means not only keeping in shape through exercise, but taking more interest in what they eat.
At the other end of the age scale, there is widespread recognition that too much sodium has a negative impact on the health of children. Parents are actively looking to reduce sodium and are constantly on the lookout for products that will keep the children happy as well as healthy.
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has been another driving force in the demand for lower sodium food and drink products. According to the WHO, a healthy diet is very important during the crisis since what we eat or drink can affect our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections. Particularly since COVID-19 affects the cardiovascular system, and the damage excess sodium causes to the heart is now well-known.
Consumers are actively switching to healthier lifestyle choices to strengthen their immunity, as the dangers of poor diet have been hammered home in the media during the pandemic.
Awareness of the need for high-quality, low-sodium food and drink has never been higher.
Can a low-sodium product be formulated without sacrificing flavour?
Few people buy low-sodium products for the taste. Most have either been advised to switch to them by a medical professional, or have decided themselves to reduce the amount of salt in their diet.
The truth is, most of these products are something of a mixed blessing. While it’s true that they help customers cut down on their sodium intake, this comes at a cost.
That cost being flavour. Most agree that the flavour of low-sodium alternatives normally just doesn’t compare the original higher sodium product. So how should food producers win over the low-sodium consumer?
The biggest problem facing manufacturers is what to replace the salt with. It has to provide low levels of sodium without any loss of flavour. Simply cutting the amount of salt doesn’t taste the same. Adding increased amounts of sugar to compensate for this comes with its own set of problems, carrying a potential health risk. The same applies to synthetic salt, which can also leave a bitter aftertaste.
But imagine there was a product that gave you the best of both worlds – the authentic taste of salt without the high sodium content.
Saltwell, the natural solution
Consumers rightly feel they shouldn’t have to sacrifice good taste for good health. And now, thanks to Saltwell, they don’t have to. Saltwell looks like salt, tastes like salt, and gives you all of the benefits of salt. All that’s missing are the high levels of sodium.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Saltwell is a completely natural blend, exclusively extracted from a million-year-old mineral-rich underground sea below the Atacama Desert in South America.
Saltwell can already be found in products such as cereals, ready meals, soups and sauces – with more being added to this growing list.
And the good news is that many manufacturers are able to simply substitute salt for Saltwell, without having to change recipes or manufacturing processes. Switching couldn’t be easier. An equal ratio (1:1) will produce the same tastes and results as ordinary salt, but with a massive 35% less sodium.
Saltwell is a major breakthrough in the drive to develop the next generation of low-sodium products. It gives manufacturers an opportunity to give the health-conscious consumer exactly what they want: a healthier, low-sodium option without sacrificing flavour.
Get in touch to discuss how Saltwell can support your objectives, and request a sample to taste it for yourself.
