It’s an ingredient! It’s a beverage! It’s bone broth!
Bone broth got its start as a high-nutrient soup stock but broke into the market as a beverage in 2014.1 Now, bone broth is a versatile product that can be found frozen, boxed or even in beverage sections of grocery stores.
Bone broth’s popularity is growing
Bone broth has become wildly popular as a product for a variety of health needs. Made by simmering meaty bones with vegetables for 24-48 hours, bone broth is essentially soup stock that is considered to be healthier because of additional bone marrow nutrients cooked into the broth.2 While the research is yet equivocal, bone broth has been anecdotally praised for healing “leaky gut” syndrome, reducing inflammation, strengthening bones and joints and supporting skin and hair health.3,4
Several factors came together to usher bone broth into the spotlight. First was the rediscovery and acceptance of dietary fat and umami mouthfeel. Foods with these features were once considered “indulgent” but found favor again. Aiding this was the rise of the Paleo diet, which is an extremely strict diet that asks followers to eliminate any food products and ingredients that would theoretically not have been available to cavemen. Bone broth’s basic nature as a simple food with few ingredients means it is well-suited to such stringent diets. Bone broth even fits the current trend of “nose to tail” cooking, or using all parts of an animal for optimal nutrition that otherwise may have been discarded.5 Finally, many cultures have a long-standing traditional version of a healing or nutritive broth. Bone broth was positioned to step into the ring and garner attention as a nutritional “silver bullet.”4,6
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Innovative packaging for bone broth
While bone broth is likely not the panacea its current reputation claims, it is undeniable that bone broth is wildly popular. Bone broth is carving out a niche for itself everywhere from brodo (“broth” in Italian) stands to upscale restaurants and is shining in versatility.7 To that end, manufacturers are finding creative ways to package bone broth to get it onto new shelves in stores to reach their consumers. Currently, bone broth can be found in boxes, cartons, spouted gusset pouches, glass containers and K-cups.8,9 It is most commonly available refrigerated or frozen, although some brands have developed packaging methods to give the broth a shelf life of six months to two years, depending on the brand.8,10
While the bone broth category is thriving, a hurdle to even greater success is consumer education. It has been observed that, as sales of bone broth increased, so did sales of pasteurized bone broth products sold in grocery store soup sections, as well as bouillon soup base.4 This indicates that a portion of consumers are likely not clear on the aspects of bone broth that are considered beneficial and believe that broth in general was equivalent.
Ultimately, it’s up for debate whether bone broth is here to stay or is just a fad. For the time being, the bone broth market is wide open and just waiting for innovative ideas.
Resources
- Broth is hot – No bones about it
- Ask the Expert: What’s the Deal With Bone Broth?
- Ask the Expert: Collagen Peptides for Bones and Joints
- Magic or mythic? Bone broth is at the center of a brewing cultural divide
- Trending: Why Stock Is a Staple but Bone Broth Is a Trend
- Why Do We Still Believe in “Bone Broth”?
- Chefs make the most of versatile bone marrow
- Bare Bones: ‘We want to be the most convenient bone broth on the market’
- Bone broth debuts in a K-cup format
- Bone broth category offers ‘massive opportunity’ for early movers like Kettle & Fire
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Great Article. Thank you !