Sirio Group’s Ayanda to launch probiotic soft gel formulation at Vitafoods Europe

Photo © iStockphoto.com/MarsBars

Ayanda (Brandenburg, Germany), the European headquarters of the Sirio Group has secured a European patent for soft gel capsules capable of containing an active probiotic bacteria, as well as one oil, such as omega-3 DHA and EPA, and vitamins in a single soft gel. Prior to this, the manufacturing of soft gel capsules required high temperatures that would mean the destruction of probiotics. However, over the course of ten years, Ayanda has developed a method that minimizes the loss of viable bacteria during soft gel production.

“The industry has spent a long time trying to develop a product like this, and using this new production method we are able to balance the survival of probiotics and the formation of an intact soft gel capsule – so it is a big achievement,” said Dominique Baum, PhD, managing director at Ayanda, in a press release. “It will enable Ayanda to offer unique soft gel probiotics coupled with an additional oil – crucially reducing the number of dosages consumers need to get their supplement needs. With this new technology, we expect to see a large interest from nutraceutical brand owners, as it opens up many possibilities for truly novel products.”

The new technology is part of the wider innovation strategy at Ayanda and Sirio following the announcement of the company’s enhanced global R&D group in early April, which will combine the research and development efforts of Sirio’s more than 100 scientists and industry experts across Asia, Europe, and the United States, to focus on proactive innovation.

“The industry demands products that are more natural and additive free, with consumer friendly labeling and increased transparency. The challenge for brand owners is how to develop these products quickly without compromising on quality,” said Rui Yang, CSO of Sirio Pharma, in a press release. “Our global collaboration will be instrumental in helping our customers develop innovative products that conform with these trends. It’s a big challenge for companies to improve existing formulations – it requires a large and experienced in-house R&D team. With over 500 stock formulas, our R&D specialists will explore novel combinations of ingredients, ensuring products are effective, shelf stable and great tasting.” 

The new technology will be introduced at Vitafoods Europe in Geneva, Switzerland.