Premix Pampering

Today’s consumers are increasingly curious about that fine print on the back of your product: the nutritional facts. Are you willing to lose out to a competitor product because your product was lacking calcium by a few percentage points? I think not.

As consumers wise up, nutrient-packed foodstuffs are becoming less of an oddity and more of a mandatory tactic. Rest assured, there are premix specialists to help you boost a product’s nutritional value with a simple addition of ingredients in powder, liquid, or whatever application form best fits your need.

Beyond Standards of Identity

First and foremost, some foods and beverages are required by law to be enriched with specific nutrients. Examples include milk products, enriched rice, and enriched noodle products. (Read FDA’s Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations if you are not familiar with the list.) Beyond that, an ever-growing variety of nutrients can bring added appeal and nuritional value to virtually any ingredient list.

Algae is not indigenous to bread, but it can be, according to The Wright Group (Crowley LA), whose lengthy list of new premix ingredients already includes other marine omega-3 oils, coenzyme Q10, and even stabilized forms of probiotics.

Another premix specialist, Fortitech Inc. (Schenectady, NY), claims an offering of over 1400 ingredients. Fortitech says it is the only U.S. company solely devoted to premixes.

Packaging the Premix

As it happens, we are on the brink of a truly innovative premix supply market. For certain ingredients, it is now necessary to protect them in conditions they would not normally thrive in. SuperCoat microencapsulation technology, provided by The Wright Group, makes premixing with amino acids and omega-3s a neutral-tasting experience where activity is preserved up until the point of consumption.

Elsewhere in premix advancements, companies are even packaging the final product. As of this year, Fortitech now offers market-ready beverage powder products. Complete with functional ingredients, flavors, colors, sweeteners, and stabilizers, Fortitech’s concepts can be used in stand-alone sachets, traditional beverages, and even beverage-cap dispersion systems.

Choosing Ingredients

Navigating the world’s nutritional ingredients can be a daunting task, which is why premix specialists will break it down easily. The most flashing example may come from Caravan Ingredients (Lenexa, KS), whose Nutrivan premix line is categorized by health condition, ranging from heart health and bone health to pregnancy and satiety. The company’s heart-health premix concept uses omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), soy phytosterols, vitamin E, and magnesium.

And don’t forget to check with your premix specialist about the possible use of product marketing claims like “as much iron as a cup of spinach” or “as much vitamin C as a cup of blueberries.” In today’s market, premix pampering like this is to be expected.