Bioenergy puts energy into marketing Ribose ingredient

Having received FDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notification for D-Ribose around a year ago, Bioenergy is stepping up its efforts to market the ingredient.

As part of that push Bioenergy has established a formulation center for the Ribose brand. An assembled a team at the Minneapolis-based company will work with manufacturers interested in either adding Ribose to existing products or testing out the ingredient for new product ideas.

Formulation ​

Pilot scale prototypes including chocolates, oatmeal, cereals, and bars will help the Bioenergy team to inform and demonstrate to customers how Ribose performs in different applications and manufacturing conditions.

This means the team will be able to offer formulation tips, information on working with Ribose in different applications and conditions, as well as finished product stability data.

“We want to be as helpful as possible to customers through assisting them in formulating products more efficiently,” ​said Adia Edwards, quality control manager and formulation center team member for Bioenergy Ribose. “We can help apply the knowledge already gained from years of experience working with Bioenergy Ribose.”​

Marketing​

As well as offering formulation advice Bioenergy will also be on hand to help out with concept development and marketing. Outside experts including Joanne Haase and Sangeeta Patel will draw on their experience of consumer marketing and new product development to advise manufacturers.

Bioenergy caged the value of offering external opinions and a dedicated formulation center in manufacturer expectations. Kathy Lund, vice president of sales and marketing for Bioenergy, said: “Customers are expecting more in-depth product knowledge when formulating new products.”​

The new formulation center is dedicated to Ribose - the flagship ingredient at Bioenergy.

Originally developed for a pharmaceutical application to speed up heart patient recovery after surgery, Ribose made the switch to sports nutrition in 1998. This was on the back of studies linking it to athletic benefits, including energy recovery, and reduction of muscle soreness and stiffness associated with overwork.