Innovative Cranberry Delivery Systems Include “Popping” Crystals as Well as Beverages

Photo © iStockphoto.com/nsilcock

Cranberry-ingredients supplier Fruit d’Or Nutraceuticals (Villeroy, QC, Canada) is presenting innovative new delivery formats for its nutraceutical-grade cranberry ingredients, which the company says are standardized for their high content of proanthocyanidins (PACs). The new delivery formats include beverages as well as “popping” crystals that burst on the tongue once consumed.

Fruit d’Or worked with 3i Solutions (Wooster, OH), a specialist in rendering water-dispersible forms of oils, to make its own cranberry oil suited for beverages. “The cranberry oil, rich in antioxidants, has been emulsified for use in beverages without any separation, which is huge,” said Stephen Lukawski, CEO of RSSI Inc., the partner and global business development arm of Fruit d’Or, in a press release.

Lukawski gave some examples of new beverage concepts featuring cranberry oil, including beauty-from-within drinks. “We can now provide the skin-health benefits of cranberry oil, CoQ10, and omega fatty acids 3, 6, and 9 in drinkable supplements, such as shots, and now in carbonated beverages, juice fortifications, and even more viscous drinks such as yogurts and milks, and the oil maintains its functional integrity from point of manufacturing through being consumed,” he said.

This year, Fruit d’Or is also showcasing its ingredient in what it calls Cran Pops-effervescent “popping” crystals that dissolve in the mouth. The company is formulating Cran Pops with LactoCran, which is a hybrid ingredient marrying Fruit d’Or’s own Cran Naturelle cranberry seed powder and Sabinsa Corp.’s (East Windsor, NJ) LactoSpore Bacillus coagulans probiotic strain. Cran Pops also include xylitol, a natural, calorie-free sweetener known to have oral-health benefits such as teeth whitening and breath freshening.

Fruit d’Or worked with PFHIX Inc., a company specializing in the patent-pending technology to create the crystals, to create Cran Pops. According to a Fruit d’Or press release, “Cran Pops represent a new delivery system as a homogenous product that enhances bioavailability and absorption in the mouth while providing a sweet taste sensation.” Lukawski calls the crystals an alternative delivery vehicle to gummies. He said the suited are for both kids and adults and allow the ingredients in this format to make “maintaining oral, gastrointestinal, energy, immune, and overall health fun and convenient,” without requiring consumers to swallow pills.

And, he said, thanks to Cran Naturelle’s standardized cranberry content, “the beauty about Cran Pops is that it delivers all the benefits of 10 oz of cranberry juice powder, without the added sugars, calories, preservatives, or other unnecessary additives.” Each 6-g Cran Pop serving provides two billion spores of LactoSpore Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 and 750 mg of Cran Naturelle organic cranberry juice powder.