With crop prices high, the supermarkets competing on price, and general panic in the financial markets, food manufacturers are being squeezed from all sides to cut costs.
"We are starting to see more enquiries from clients looking for alternative ingredients and reformulations to replace some of the more expensive ingredients in their products," says Sarah Britton of the Product Innovation and Ingredients Division of Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL).
Cost reduction work is a regular part of RSSL's service offering, but the company predicts that the extreme events of recent weeks will persuade more food manufacturers to consider reformulating products. "There are options available, with new ingredients or new approaches, that can help take the cost out of production without compromising quality," adds Sarah. "Clearly, each case is different, but in working for clients across the whole spectrum of food production, we have seen approaches working in one area that could bring similar benefits in other foods."