Cargill prepares for functional future of fruit juice
business unit, offering its ingredients and product development
expertise to a bigger customer base, including functional beverage
makers.
The unit, which has specialized in fruit blending and supply of commodity raw materials for some time, is seeking to position itself as a one-stop development shop that can also offer insight into how flavors and functional ingredients behave in compounds or finished products.
"Our research shows [consumers] are prepared to pay a premium for food and drinks with added benefits, and we are therefore currently putting a lot of our product and flavor development focus into sthe development of great tasting beverages that have proven health benefits," said Alexander Lichter, business development manager for the unit.
Dr Fred Brouns, PhD, a nutritionalist with Cargill, said in a presentation at Anuga this week that successful launch of a functional beverage is dependant on having the essentials in place at an early stage.
These essentials, he said, include measuring whether the ingredient has the desired effect, whether it is safe, awareness of legal or regulatory issues, stability, effective dose, and the taste and convenience of the final product - all issues which Cargill says it can help the customer get to grips with.
Brouns also drew on consumer research indicating that fruit and vegetable juices are well received as carriers of functional ingredients which, in the past, were primarily used by the dairy industry.
As well as containing higher concentrations of fruit and vegetable-derived antioxidants, thanks to modern extraction and concentration techniques, fruit drinks can also contain other health-promoting ingredients that do not normally occur in fruit and vegetables in any amount.
One of the key areas that Cargill Juice Beverage Applications is currently investigating includes ways to incorporate the eye health carotenoid lutein into beverage products. It also has products in the pipeline with high magnesium and potassium content, has created a soy protein isolate called Prolisse for heart health and also has products for the health and fitness, and beauty and diet markets.
But Brouns said that products are unlikely to attract repeat buyers and prove a market success unless they can offer at least one other determinant for success besides just being healthy. The most important of these determinants is great taste, and the others are indulgence, desire, convenience, for on-the-go, extreme, sharp mind and mental performance, anti-aging, and wellness.
