Almonds: the ingredient that combines nutrition and performance
In contemporary food development, ingredient selection is no longer just a matter of nutritional content. Today, new product development goes beyond meeting basic nutritional needs, aiming to create foods that actively support well-being while delivering a high-level sensory experience.
Increasingly, innovation is the result of the intersection of two dimensions: active ingredients, focused on nutritional benefits, and high-performance ingredients, essential for the technical success of the product. Identifying raw materials that meet both requirements is now a decisive competitive advantage.
Active ingredients contribute to overall well-being thanks to the presence of nutrients and bioactive compounds that support metabolism, energy, cardiovascular health, and protein intake. From a market perspective, they enhance the nutritional credibility of products and reinforce their positioning in the healthy, smart nutrition, and functional food segments.
High-performance ingredients, on the other hand, act on the formulation side: they influence texture, structure, stability, and mouthfeel. These ingredients function as binders, emulsifiers, stabilizers, or thickeners. They are key elements for ensuring quality, shelf life, and a consistent sensory experience on an industrial scale.
When these two functions coexist in a single ingredient, the result is a formulation that balances technical precision with sensory appeal. Almonds and their derivatives are a concrete example of this dual role.
As active ingredients, almonds offer a complete nutritional profile: plant proteins, fiber, vitamins, and monounsaturated fats contribute to satiety, sustained energy, and overall well-being.
As high-performance ingredients, almonds stand out for their versatility in formulation. Almond flour and marzipan naturally enhance product texture, serve as natural binders and emulsifiers in clean-label products, and provide stability without the need for artificial additives. Their delicate and adaptable flavor makes them suitable for a wide range of applications, from bakery products to functional snacking, and even plant-based formulations.
For us at Alfrus, the ingredient of the future is one that eliminates the conflict between health and sensory quality. Through a controlled supply chain and calibrated processing, our almonds are carefully handled to preserve their nutritional profile and ensure reliable technical performance.
At Alfrus, we consider our flours, flakes, sticks, and chopped almonds as tools for formulators. Choosing Alfrus almonds means integrating an ingredient that not only enhances the product’s health narrative but also guarantees optimal performance in terms of stability, taste, and texture.
But which trends are driving the growing demand for active and high-performance ingredients? The expansion of plant-based diets, the focus on wellness and active lifestyles, the search for multifunctional ingredients, and the preference for simple, transparent labels. In this context, almonds naturally meet all these needs.
The market no longer rewards products that excel in only one dimension. Consumers are looking for foods that work for the body and please the palate. Almonds embody this synthesis, positioning themselves as one of the key ingredients on which to build the next generation of food products.
2nd January 2026
