It’s easy to embrace the benefits of healthy, flavorful soups, but making them requires a bit of food engineering. Super premium soups, unlike their conventional counterparts, are jam-packed with nutrients. Often considered a winter staple, super premium soups shouldn’t just provide warmth and comfort, but also flavor and nourishment.
Today’s consumers, especially Millennials, are looking for convenience and quality in packaged soup. They will gravitate to something more than the standard can of soup in the grocery aisle. Top-notch healthy ingredients like brown rice, lentils, sweet potato, broccoli and pumpkin are examples of delicious wholesome ingredients in super premium soups. They can turn an ordinary soup into a super premium soup with just a few tweaks.
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So what valuable features set premium soups apart? Let’s dive into the main ingredient types needed to develop a super premium soup. Your customers will thank you.
Premium Soups Are Made With Premium Broth
The only way to be sure your broth is worthy enough for a super premium soup label is to use a from-scratch recipe. That is, one made from water, chicken, carrot, leek, cabbage, celery and salt, for example.
Many manufacturers will often try to skimp on broth ingredients, which will result in less flavor. In addition to flavor, broth made from scratch will provide a rich, velvety texture and smell, not to mention more nutritional value. Broth is the “secret” ingredient to any good and consumers can tell the difference right away.
For non-dairy and vegetarian premium soup options, coconut cream and coconut milk can be used as a rich base to replace evaporated milk and heavy cream. There are a variety of traditional and Asian-inspired soups using these ingredients as a base for super premium soups.
Premium Soups Contain Healthy Vegetables
Super premium soups need fresh and natural vegetables to incorporate a ton of healthy vitamins, minerals and fiber. You can find these super ingredients in beets, red lentils, sweet potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and leeks.
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Kale is a popular item that can be added to a variety of soup types, from clear to cream based broth. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties make it a favorite among soup consumers. Kale is also rich in fiber, Vitamin A, K and C and easily added to enrich soup flavor, texture and volume. Creating powerful combinations of immune-boosting plants and vegetables is an excellent way to provide functional nutrition that consumers are craving.
Premium Soups Are Hearty, Often With Meat
Whether the premium soup is vegetarian or contains meat, it should be a hearty soup that sticks to the ribs and is satisfying as a complete meal. Soups that contain many vegetables and perhaps even grains like brown rice may not need as much meat. However, soups containing meat are very popular and filling favorites among today’s consumers. Popular options include roasted chicken, shredded chicken, beef tips, cubed ham and sausage pieces. The meat should be small enough for the spoonful, but not so small that it gets lost among the other ingredients.
There, you have it! Super premium soups will continue to rise in popularity as people seek healthier convenience foods than fast food. Even as the price for super premium soups rises compared to conventional soups, customers will still be able to save money by increasing their nutritional intake with soups that nourish. Making super premium soups that tastes like homemade soups -- or even better -- will keep customers coming back for more.
