New stars in the organic food heavens
At BIOFACH 2024, the Best New Product Award was once again given out in seven strong categories. We talked to the winning companies and now present the winning products.
Sweet and plant-based enjoyment
With its Organic Ice Cream Pralines Raspberry vegan, Gelato Classico – Die Eismanufaktur GmbH won the Best New Product Award in the Frozen Food category. This creamy dessert embraces the Sweet Soulfood product trend, which focuses on indulgent feasting under the banner of responsible organic nutrition. Like many of the products that follow this trend, the raspberry sorbet-based ice cream pralines rely on plant-based alternatives for proven classics like ice cream, cakes, and other desserts.
Ethically and environmentally exemplary: consuming meat with a clear conscience
As the winner of the BIOFACH category Fresh Food, purro back to meat from the Austrian organic butcher Juffinger is paving the way for conscious and responsible meat consumption. “The idea is to pay more attention to aspects like the quality of raw materials, regionality and transparency in production as well as animal welfare,” says Helga Juffinger, authorized representative of Juffinger Organic Butcher. “Our purpose was to provide conscious consumers who like to eat meat with a sustainable alternative to vegan! Even though vegan trends are putting pressure on the traditional meat sector, purro can offer solutions, including flavourful sausage, ham and salami products whose production is ethically and environmentally exemplary.”
Vegan treats in a jiffy
Biovegan GmbH managed a double win with their My sweet rice moment in the Grocery Products – Snacks and Sweets category and My vegan bacon alternative in the Grocery Products – Cooking and Baking category. The latter reflects the Mushroom Mania product trend. With its authentic bacon taste that comes from just one ingredient – smoked shiitake mushrooms – the product shows what a wide range of processing options are available for mushrooms, thanks to their texture and variety of flavours. My sweet rice moment is the first instant rice dessert that is totally non-dairy and based on purely natural ingredients. “Besides the use of high-quality organic ingredients, our main focus when developing our ‘rice moments’ was ease of preparation. Whether at home or on the go, simply pour the contents of the bag into a cup and pour on boiling water – that’s how fast and uncomplicated plant-based food can be,” explains Sigrid Krambeer, Head of Marketing at Biovegan GmbH.
The dual honours are a sign that the company is headed in the right direction. “Our products are in sync with the spirit of the times as well as consumers’ tastes. The trend toward plant-based organic foods that are good for people, animals and the environment is validated by the results of the Best New Product votes. It inspires a positive outlook on the future of the industry.”
Plant-based protein intake made simple
HANS Brainfood GmbH triumphed in the Other Grocery Products category with its HANS BIO Ultra Protein 85%. This vegan, flavour-neutral protein powder contains no added flavours, sweeteners or other additives and has a high protein content of 85 percent. Matthias Coufal, founder and Managing Director of HANS Brainfood GmbH, relays the product’s origin story: “We wanted to avoid compromise and developed a process for producing plant-based protein that was more soluble and flavour-neutral. At the same time, we also increased its bioavailability, thus meeting all our requirements. The overall concept is unique, which is why it appealed to so many trade fair visitors and greatly simplifies vegan protein intake.”
Sustainable packaging also comes to the wine rack
Another concept that was popular with trade visitors and was the winner in the Drinks category was PFANDtastico – Italian and Spanish organic wines in 0.75l reusable bottles from Riegel organic wine. Claudia Stehle, Head of Marketing at Peter Riegel Weinimport GmbH, explains its appeal. “The PFANDtastico wine series is the first organic wine series in brand-new 0.75l reusable bottles. Until now, there were only 1l reusable wine bottles.” She also describes the idea behind the concept: “When you deal in organic wine, you also have to think about drink packaging. Avoiding waste means taking responsibility for the product across its entire life cycle, from production and consumption to environmentally-friendly disposal. At Riegel organic wines, we’ve been marketing organic wine in reusable bottles for over 30 years. It’s very important to us that drinking wine be associated with sustainability.
The production of new glass and cardboard packaging as well as their transport are the highest emissions factors in the (organic) wine trade. That’s why we’ve long been pursuing the goal of marketing our wines in a 0.75 reusable bottle.”
Reliable protection against mosquitos and friends
Non-food was also recognized at BIOFACH in the Non-Food category. This time the winner was Aries Umweltprodukte GmbH & Co. KG with its Anti-mosquito care stick. This high-quality, plant oil-based product reliably repels mosquitos, flies and ticks for up to 5 hours. “This product is the result of two years of development that included many challenges. In the end, we were able to launch our proven mosquito repellent in combination with a skin-care component,” explains Mathilde Szczesny, Managing Director of ARIES Umweltprodukte® GmbH & Co. KG. She’s delighted to have won the Best New Product Award. “This award is proof that with our clear and simple recipes and our product range policy, we continue to cater to the spirt of the times, just as we have throughout our company’s 35-year history.”
