The Evolution of Premixes in Dietary Supplements and Functional Food

Premix specialists have a tough job satisfying the needs of every food and beverage manufacturer. But they do it anyway. So what are they up to now?

Beverage Caps

Forget beverages. It’s all about beverage caps.  Premix specialist Fortitech Inc. (Schenectady, NY) is partnering with Liquid Health Labs Inc. (Manchester, NH), developer of the PowerCap, for a new approach to premixes.

The PowerCap is uniquely designed to house beverage premix ingredients until the user releases them with a twist or punch of the cap. Storing ingredients in this fashion can prevent them from exposure to light, heat, and other factors that might otherwise degrade ingredients before the point of consumption. Conveniently designed to fasten to the mouth of standard water bottles, the PowerCap is fully transportable without the added weight of a bottle full of liquid.

“We’ve had PowerCap requests from new and existing customers who think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” says Fortitech communications manager Patrick Morris. “They like the convenience of the delivery system and the solutions we can offer with it.” Morris adds that Fortitech can supply all-in-one solutions that even include sweetener, flavor, and color-all kept out of sight until the point of consumption.

Clear Ingredients

For foods and beverages designed with ingredients in plain sight, color can be a major hurdle. The bold colors of nature don’t always blend well in foods and beverages. A little flexibility would be nice, right?

After years of development, DSM Nutritional Products (Parsippany, NJ) proudly offers a handful of ingredients uniquely available in clear color. The company’s Crystal Clear line includes clear green tea extract (Teavigo) with reduced bitterness, clear resveratrol (resVida), clear vitamin E 15% in an unmatched powder form, and a clear sports nutrition peptide (PeptoPro).

Just short of complete transparency, DSM also supplies a beta-carotene that is light-pink in color. “So many beverages are moving in the direction of berries and red fruits, but beta-carotene’s natural orange color just doesn’t fit with that,” says DSM marketing manager Caroline Brons. “Our new beta-carotene isn’t clear in solution, but it has very low color saturation. Its slightly pinkish color makes it much more versatile.”

Ingredients from Nature

As much as premix suppliers can create new experiences for your customers, trust and familiarity with natural sources is still tantamount. The back-to-nature trend towards all forms of nutrition-from vitamins and minerals to shelf-life extenders-still holds value for label readers.

For every nutritive ingredient, Caravan Ingredients (Lenexa, KS) makes sure to offer up natural, clean-label alternatives. Vitamins, minerals, natural fillers, and natural sweeteners are part of a wide array of natural-sourced ingredients available from Caravan and other premix suppliers.

“On the minerals side, we’ve been using what are called ‘mineralized yeasts,’ where the yeast grows in a broth containing various mineral compounds,” says Caravan Ingredients product manager Dave Pfefer. “It takes the active mineral up into the yeast cells, concentrates it, and the yeast cells are denatured. They’re a source of concentrated minerals, like chromium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc.”

New Additions

Which ingredients are popping up in premixes? Caravan Ingredients points to vitamin K2, a bone health ingredient increasingly partnered with vitamin D and calcium.

Another emerging nutrient is the omega-3 DHA. DSM will tell you that its life’sDHA algal omega-3 brand has moved well beyond DHA’s original home in infant formulas and into visual and cognitive arenas. The premix specialist and direct ingredient supplier has a slew of other branded ingredients to choose from.