The Nordmann Living Lab

You started at Nordmann on July 15. How have things been since then, and what kind of tasks do you take on in the Nordmann Living Lab?

Maria Wrogemann: It’s all been pretty eventful so far and working here has been great! The new Living Lab is wonderful and looks out over a beautiful field of flowers, and I have the fabulous task of developing delicious new food products and nutritional supplements here. Specifically, my goal is to find synergies between ingredients from our suppliers and the wide range of applications that serve our customers. I always aim to use these synergies in such a way as to provide our customers with comprehensive, innovative product solutions and even help them find new applications for their products. The lab is basically a big playground for me to get creative in, and it makes my job at Nordmann a lot of fun.

We are also planning to conduct product training and seminars in our new laboratory to support our customers with what they need. I’m sure they’ll be able to benefit from all the services and innovative products that we offer.

There are also two trade shows coming up – Food Ingredients Europe in Frankfurt at the end of November and Vitafoods Europe in Geneva in May 2024 – and I’m looking forward to attending them and showcasing our new lab formulations there.

What kind of formulations and projects are you working on at the moment?

Maria Wrogemann: The Living Lab is currently undergoing a few last stages of development, but we’ve been making a lot of plans and I’ve already been able to implement some of our first ideas – using plant extracts for sports nutrition applications, for example. I’ve already made natural, low-carb, vegan energy snacks and I’m working on low-carb, sugar-free protein bars and cookies – even sugar-free, low-salt ketchup!

What exciting developments are you seeing in the Food & Nutrition sector?

Maria Wrogemann: Oh, there are so many fantastic developments and trends right now that I can’t even list them all! Sugar or salt reduction are definitely popular issues, as well as vegetarian and vegan food options or cultured meat. The industry is also buzzing with things like upcycling coffee grounds, natural ingredients, plant-based proteins, sports nutrition, dairy-farm supplies, plant-based alternative products, spice blends, breweries … also excipients for producing cooking oils. There’s so much going on!

Ideally, a new and modern product will not only provide an excellent taste experience, but also rate high in terms of its sustainability and naturalness, its carbon footprint and its health benefits. Where its raw materials come from – hopefully somewhere local! – and whether they’re ethically sourced also play a decisive role.

For dietary supplements and the health care industry – i.e. for capsules, sticks and sachet formulations – regulatory requirements and European Food & Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims are also really important. Some of the major trends and developments in these fields address ease of use, beauty from within, weight management, energy and immune system support.