How does FOFI affect consumer behavior?

How does FOFI affect consumer behavior?

If you’ve been in the food industry for more than a hot minute—whether you’re a retail buyer, a café operator, or someone who just stands in the grocery store aisle staring at packaging for 10 minutes—you’ve probably heard the term FOFI thrown around. For those who haven’t, FOFI stands for “Formulated On Food Ingredients,” a category of ingredients developed to enhance the flavor, texture, shelf life, or nutritional profile of processed foods without being artificial additives. As someone who’s spent the last eight years running a small FOFI supply company, I’ve talked to hundreds of consumers, restaurant chefs, and retail product developers about this stuff. What’s stuck with me most is how often people assume FOFI is just another fancy ingredient trend, when in reality, it’s quietly reshaping what we buy, how we make choices, and even what we expect from the food we eat. FOFI

Let’s start with the basics that most people miss: FOFI isn’t a single ingredient. It’s a broad group—think natural flavor enhancers made from yeast extracts, texturizers derived from pea protein, plant-based color stabilizers, and even mild acidifiers made from fermented fruit. The biggest difference between FOFI and old-school additives like MSG or artificial preservatives is that FOFI is built to work in harmony with other food components, not mask flaws. For example, a FOFI might be a blend of fermented rice extract and yeast protein designed to boost the umami of frozen pizza sauce, or a mix of citrus fiber and oat extract that keeps low-fat yogurt from turning runny without adding extra sugar. When I first got into this business, I remember a big bread company client coming to us because their whole-grain loaves were getting rejected by consumers for being dense and crumbly. Their old fix was adding extra dough conditioners that people labeled as “chemicals” on surveys. We swapped in a FOFI made from milled flax and wheat bran extracts, and within three months, their approval rating for the bread jumped 28%. That’s not a small number in the food industry. It’s proof that FOFI doesn’t just work for product developers—it works for consumers, too.

So how exactly does FOFI change consumer behavior? Let’s break it down into four areas I’ve observed first-hand over thousands of consumer interviews and purchase data reviews. The first is what I call “the low-sugar, low-fat paradox.” For the last 15 years, every consumer trend report has said people want less sugar and less fat in their food. But when companies cut sugar or fat, products taste worse—so consumers don’t buy them. In 2021, I worked with a mid-sized cereal brand that spent two years reducing added sugar from 12 grams per serving to 4. But sales dropped 19% in the first quarter, because people complained the cereal tasted “bland” and “like cardboard.” We suggested three FOFI tweaks: a small amount of maltodextrin derived from brown rice to boost sweetness without adding empty sugar, a yeast-based umami blend to cut the aftertaste of the reduced sugar, and a small dose of citrus fiber to add a subtle mouthfeel that mimicked the original cereal’s crunch. They rolled it out, and sales bounced back by 14% within two months, with nearly 60% of surveyed buyers saying they “didn’t notice a difference in taste” even though the sugar was still 3 grams lower than before. That’s the power of FOFI: it solves the biggest pain point of reduced-sugar or reduced-fat products, which is poor taste. Consumers don’t just buy healthier products when they taste good—they keep buying them. That’s a shift that’s hard to get any other way.

The second shift is in how people approach “clean label” claims. For years, clean label meant no artificial ingredients, but many consumers still hesitated to buy products with long lists of natural-sounding terms like “sodium erythorbate” or “xanthan gum.” A lot of people I talk to at grocery stores say they assume those terms are just another name for chemicals, even if their own go-to list doesn’t include a banned substance. FOFI changes that because it’s built to make ingredient lists shorter. A few years ago, a snack chip client came to us with a product that had 17 ingredients on the label, including two separate preservatives and a flavor enhancer. We created a FOFI blend of rosemary extract and citric acid that replaced both preservatives, and a yeast-based flavor boost that cut two other ingredients used to enhance the chip’s cheesy taste. The final label had 9 ingredients, and that’s when the brand’s clean label sales took off. A consumer survey we ran with that client found that 72% of people who bought the new chip said the shorter ingredient list was the main reason they chose it over competitors. What’s interesting here is that this isn’t just about “naturalness”—it’s about clarity. When people can read a product’s ingredients and recognize every term, they feel more confident buying it. FOFI makes that possible without sacrificing shelf life or taste, which is why it’s become a go-to for brands targeting the growing clean label crowd.

Third, FOFI is reshaping how consumers think about convenience food. For a long time, convenience food had a reputation for being unhealthy—think frozen dinners, processed snacks, that kind of thing. But post-pandemic, people still want quick, easy meals, but they don’t want to feel like they’re sacrificing quality. I saw this first-hand when a frozen meal client came to us a few years back. They made a line of healthy frozen dinners, but consumers complained they tasted “freezy” or like they’d been sitting in a freezer too long. We developed a FOFI blend of pea protein extract and mushroom powder that bound the meal’s sauce and proteins together, locking in moisture without adding extra fat or sugar. We also added a small amount of fermented onion extract that boosted the meal’s savory flavor, so it didn’t need as much sodium to taste good. When they rolled out the new version, sales of that line rose 32% in six months, and customer reviews shifted from “it’s okay for frozen food” to “it tastes like I made it at home.” What that tells me is that consumers aren’t willing to choose between convenience and quality anymore. FOFI makes that middle ground possible, and when brands can deliver that, they build loyal customers. I’ve talked to dozens of shoppers who say they used to only buy fresh food, but now they reach for frozen meals because they taste better than they used to—all thanks to FOFI.

The fourth and most surprising shift I’ve seen is in how consumers approach sensory-specific choices. It sounds fancy, but what it means is that people are now more likely to pick products that have consistent, enjoyable sensory experiences, even if they’re buying different brands. For example, if you buy a jar of peanut butter from Brand A, you expect it to be creamy, slightly salty, and have a balanced nutty taste. If Brand B’s peanut butter is lumpy and too sweet, you’ll switch back. FOFI helps brands deliver that consistency, especially for mass-produced products. A jam client told me that before they started using FOFI, every batch of their strawberry jam had slight variations in sweetness and texture, and they’d get hundreds of consumer complaints every month about “too runny” or “too sweet” jam. We gave them a FOFI blend of apple pectin and lemon extract that stabilized the jam’s texture and balanced the fruit’s natural sweetness across every batch. Within three months, their complaint rate dropped by 85%, and they actually saw an increase in repeat purchases. What that translates to is that consumers are now less likely to experiment with new products if they’ve had a bad experience with a brand’s consistency. FOFI fixes that inconsistency, which means brands can retain customers who would otherwise jump ship. I never would have guessed a texturizer blend would affect how often people come back to buy a product, but the data doesn’t lie.

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. There’s still a lot of confusion about FOFI, and some consumers are wary of any ingredient that isn’t something they can pick from a garden or a farm. Last year, we ran a small consumer focus group where a group of 10 people who followed a strict whole-foods diet all said they wouldn’t buy products with “lab-made ingredients,” even if we explained that FOFI is made from natural sources. That’s a challenge, and it’s one we’re working to address by being transparent about where our FOFI comes from—all our products are made from non-GMO, plant-based sources, and we’re pushing for brands to label FOFI on their packaging clearly, rather than hiding it under vague terms like “natural flavors.” Another challenge is that FOFI isn’t a silver bullet. It works best when it’s used to solve specific problems, not as a way to cover up low-quality ingredients. I’ve seen brands try to use FOFI to make bad-tasting, low-quality produce taste good, and it never works—consumers can still tell the difference. FOFI is a tool, not a replacement for good raw materials, and that’s a lesson I’ve had to teach clients more times than I can count.

Looking ahead, I think the biggest impact of FOFI will be in making food more accessible to people who can’t always eat fresh, whole food. Think about low-income neighborhoods where fresh produce is hard to come by, or elderly people who have trouble chewing fresh food, or people with dietary restrictions who can’t eat common ingredients like gluten or dairy. FOFI can help make nutrient-dense, easy-to-eat food that tastes good without being expensive. I recently worked with a non-profit that makes shelf-stable meals for food-insecure families, and they used our FOFI blends to reduce sodium, add protein, and improve texture without increasing the cost per meal. That’s the kind of thing that doesn’t show up in sales reports, but it changes lives. It’s not just about consumer behavior in the grocery store—it’s about making food better for everyone, no matter their income or circumstances.

SLAM If you’re a brand looking to improve your products, or a retail buyer wanting to understand what’s driving consumer choices in your store, FOFI is worth paying attention to. It’s not a passing trend, it’s here to stay because it solves real problems for both brands and consumers. The shift I’ve seen over the last eight years—from people assuming all processed food is bad, to realizing that science can make good food even better—has been one of the most rewarding parts of my work. If you want to talk more about how FOFI could work for your products, feel free to reach out. We’ve spent years refining our blends, and we’re always happy to help brands navigate the space, whether you’re a small local operation or a large national retailer.

References

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). Formulated on food ingredients: Applications in sustainable food systems. Rome: FAO Press.
2. NielsenIQ. (2023). Clean label and reduced-sugar product performance: Consumer insights from North America and Europe. New York: Nielsen Holdings.
3. Smith, L. et al. (2021). Sensory improvement of reduced-fat processed foods: The role of formulated food ingredients. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 58(12), 4512-4521.
4. Deloitte. (2022). Future of convenience food: Balancing speed, health, and taste. Deloitte Center for Consumer Industry.
5. Jones, M. et al. (2023). Consumer perceptions of formulated food ingredients: Transparency, trust, and purchasing behavior. Food Quality and Preference, 107, Article 104892.

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