ProFound's visit to FIE 2009 showed that, in spite of the global economic crisis, the trade in food ingredients still offers many opportunities. The value of many ingredients is derived from more than just basic functional properties; several exhibitors promoted the possibilities for health claims and clean labelling. These marketing opportunities can greatly enhance sales of products by tapping into the market for consumers with a Lifestyle of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS).

A good example of a health claim was the fibre content and the pre-biotic functionality of gum Arabic. Gum Arabic is normally used at concentrations far below 1%. However, when gum Arabic is used to increase the fibre content of a food product, concentrations can be much higher. This could potentially lead to an expansion of the market for gum Arabic.

Good examples of clean label promotion were provided by several suppliers of natural colours. Colours in food recently received much attention after the criticism of the Southampton study, which pointed out the negative effects on children's health of several synthetic food colours. Food manufacturers are trying to avoid risks of being associated with these synthetic colours by replacing the synthetic colours with natural colours. They can subsequently clean their label from ingredients names which could be associated to the notorious Southampton colours.