IFT FIRST samples show off ingredient innovations
Exhibitors offered prototypes crafted to demonstrate their products' capabilities.
Photos: Jenni Spinner
One of the myriad benefits of being a food journalist: you hardly ever go home from a conference or expo hungry. IFT FIRST 2025, which took place in Chicago July 14‒16, was no exception. The various restaurants and food kiosks scattered around McCormick Place went largely without customers; anyone passing by and seeing the expressions on the faces on the bored and lonely staff’s faces might have felt sorry for them.
I happily joined my fellow IFT FIRST diners by eating my way around the show floor. The samples were so plentiful that I didn’t even think about dinner when I got back to my Chicago home later that evening. Most were delicious, but a few stood out, and not just because they were delicious or featured flavors I crave (pickle? Yes, please!). These tasty bits and bites showcased the capabilities of the ingredients incorporated into the recipes. That makes me doubly happy as a food writer. One, I get a better understanding of just what these products can offer producers like you. Second, my full brain is accompanied by a full belly.
Ardent Mills: Savory Cheese Buns made with chickpea flour
I have to make two confessions with this one. First, while I love all things chickpea—falafel sandwiches, hummus, roasted and seasoned (sometimes homemade but usually made by experts like Biena Snacks), etc.—offer me goods baked with chickpea flour and I will accept but with low expectations. Too many times I’ve had bitter-tasting bites, so I’m skeptical. With these prototype buns—with the wheat flour supplemented with chickpea, which offers higher fiber and protein content—my skepticism was unfounded.
Second confession: I ate two.
Cargill: protein-enriched tortilla chips
One of the top trends spotted at IFT FIRST 2025 is common to nearly every other food show I’ve been to in recent years: pack protein into everything. In the hands of a capable R&D whiz, the results can be tasty, satisfying, and deliver a pleasing texture. Sometimes, either the flavor is off, the satiety isn’t quite right, or the texture is gritty or otherwise off-putting. Not only did these chips skillfully showcase a number of ingredients (Puris pea protein, Alberger salt, Clear Valley oils, and the company’s yellow masa flour), they also tasted, felt, and filled up well.
Blommer: chocolate-coated ice cream bars
During much of the show, the aisle near Blommer Chocolate’s booth was overfilled. All the attendees might have been adults, but I wasn’t alone in feeling kid-like glee in eating ice cream for lunch at IFT First. The staff at this booth kept busy handing out bars that showcased the company’s chocolates in the form of the sweet coating—I opted for the bar covered with Saratoga Gold Dark Chocolate, enveloping chocolate ice cream. The samples did a decent job of showing off the possibilities of using the ingredient in frozen treats and other items.
AAK: cinnamon sandwich cookies
Crafting a good sandwich cookie is a tricky art—getting the flavor and texture of the cookie right, then marrying it with the right amount of crème is a balancing act. Then, add a coating (which needs to have the right flavor, texture, and visual appeal to seal the deal) and the process becomes even more of a fine balancing act. These prototypes featured cookies with a nice, pleasing crunch; tasty filling in the right amount; and a tasty layer of chocolatey coating. The sample featured the company’s Cebes 29-54 NH compound coating, Cisao 8312 palm shortening, and Confao 12 palm oil. In addition to tasting good and aptly demonstrating the ingredients’ capabilities, the cookies also looked pretty.
Pom Wonderful: double chocolate cookies
The state of the cocoa market continues to frustrate food and beverage producers, and the number of exhibitors offering new (or relatively new) cocoa extenders and replacers reflects the growing need for solutions. This company showcased its versatile POMxL liquid pomegranate extract with double chocolate cookies. Pom Wonderful touts the ingredient’s ability to help reduce sodium and sugar; enhance color, flavor, and texture; and deliver antioxidant benefits. After eating my first sample, I went back for another.
Oterra: pickle slushies
You might say the pickle flavor craze is going too far if it’s sneaking into beverages, especially a sweet-and-savory slushie like these samples. However, I beg to differ—if there’s a pickley treat I’d turn down, I can’t think of one; the success of Popeye’s pickle-centric menu (which includes a pickle slushie like this one, along with a pickle lemonade) indicates I’m not alone. This sample (which doesn’t fall under Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery’s coverage area, but I required hydration) featured colorings made with spirulina and turmeric—and, in a good example of collaboration frequently found in the food and beverage field, also incorporated Bell Flavors & Fragrance syrup, with Twang Foodservice’s Cucumber Chili Lime Salt providing garnish for the diminutive glasses.
Just because IFT FIRST is over for the year doesn't mean the conversation has to be. If you attended, I'd love to hear what you thought of the event, including the exhibits, the keynotes, the sessions around the show floor, and more. If you didn't make it, feel free to drop me a line about what you think you missed. Email me at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com; I'd love to talk!
Related: Wixon launches guava, tamarind flavors at IFT FIRST
