Functional food formats: Opportunities for science-backed and tasty nutrition ingredients

05 Jun 2024 --- Consumers look for functional ingredients in convenient and indulgent formats with a “good for you” value. In the rise of “foodie formats,” scientific research is still crucial for success. However, key players DolCas Biotech, Arla Foods Ingredients and Givaudan tell us that taste is becoming increasingly important in these functional foods. 

Dr. Shavon Jackson-Michel, director of medical and scientific affairs at DolCas Biotech, tells Nutrition Insight there is a growing demand for functional ingredients in “nutri-food crossovers,” in addition to traditional capsules and tablets. 

“They’re moving into the sector where they are useful in foods, beverages, shots or dispersible products from a sachet. This is answering the market as it continues to evolve from traditional deliveries into more fun and interesting delivery formats.”

Troels Nørgaard Laursen, director of health and performance at Arla Foods Ingredients, expects trends in taste, convenience and new formats to be “here to stay.” 

“We are focusing on bringing a lot of nutrition in very compact formats and developing ingredients that can bring even more nutrition in smaller doses. It can also move protein into other formats like protein coffee, cold brew coffee and protein tea.”

“These are examples of where you must ensure the ingredients can perform in these formats, which requires something above and beyond the normal ingredients in the market today.” 

New product formats 
Nørgaard Laursen highlights that sports nutrition products consumers are changing. He sees more active nutrition and lifestyle consumers looking for these products. He notes this “opens an opportunity for companies to cater products more specifically to those consumer groups.” 

At the same time, he underscores that companies need to determine what key characteristics these new consumer groups may be looking for. “One of our observations is the importance of taste, comparable with any other food product.”

“There is also an innovation in formats, having something convenient to consume as a healthy alternative to other food products. We see in the dialogue with our customers that many brands are already discovering this. We are trying to support them in bringing novel products out that cater to this.” 

The Curcugen-infused dark chocolate demonstrates the ingredient’s versatility in functional foods (Image credit: DolCas Biotech).Similarly, DolCas Biotech showcased Curcugen-infused dark chocolate at the recent Vitafoods Europe trade show. “Curcugen is our branded turmeric extract. It’s a 50% concentrated material; it has a spectrum of other natural native ingredients to turmeric, including essential oils and polysaccharides,” says Jackson-Michel.

“It’s also water dispersible, which makes it convenient and positioned for formulation into functional foods like chocolates, beverages, gummies, and more,” she continues. These products contain a fully clinically researched dose of 500 mg daily. 

Holistic hydration 
Arla Foods Ingredients developed several holistic hydration concepts — beverages that combine hydration with nutritional benefits — such as functional protein water. 

“We see from our surveys that two out of three consumers are looking for functional drinks with added components, and they also want the things combined so they don’t have to take many different things,” explains Nørgaard Laursen. 

For example, the company developed a concept with clear protein water “where you cannot taste the protein,” he continues. “You don’t have any dryness; you have a neutral product where you can work with new flavors compared to the other clear drinks we have on the market today.”

The company is moving into botanical flavors, such as hibiscus and white peach with lemongrass. “We are showing that you can combine these concepts. You can have the protein, and then you can add, for example, caffeine from fresh coffee berries into the product, which still has a good taste, so you get both the energy and the protein.” 

“We have another example where we have added zinc, so you have health claims on cognition or immune system to go along with your protein.”

The power of taste 
For a long time, the focus has been on the effects of nutrition, sees Nørgaard Laursen. “A lot of people take nutritious products for an effect.” 

“But there’s been an increased focus on taste,” he sees. “If consumers have to return to a nutrition product, it must be tasty and convenient.”

“One of the trends we observe is foodie formats,” adds Mieke Acda, product manager of natural and nutrition at Givaudan. “It’s still starting, but to keep the consumer interested in those formats, we need to improve the taste of those products and the full experience.” 

“It’s not only the communication on the pack but also the taste profile that fits with the benefit you would like. Therefore, we work with our experts on taste, flavor and masking. Our company has several flavorists that are experts in masking and reducing bitter off-notes.” 

She highlights that adding volatiles needed in nutrition for the proper efficacy is sometimes challenging regarding taste.

Givaudan developed beverages, gummies and candies combining science, taste and sustainability.Science, taste and sustainability 
Acda illustrates that Givaudan combines science, taste and sustainability in its products. 

“We know that consumers would like to see that the product or supplement they take works in the body. We perform our clinical trials to show that our ingredients perform well and have the right efficacy to show that they can contribute to the health benefits the consumer would like to have.”

“Especially in the nutraceutical industry, we see more ‘foodie formats,’ like gummies, shots and drinks, and there we know the consumer would like a great taste and a good experience.”

Givaudan offers flavor and masking solutions to reduce the off-notes from botanicals. In addition, Acda explains that the company considers which flavor fits well with the benefits a product provides — “What is the flavor profile that fits best with sleep, relaxation or energy, to provoke the right mood we would like to have?”

“The last part is sustainability because we also know that consumers want to know where their product is coming from. Is it sourced well? Is it sourced sustainably? We know where our ingredients are sourced. We have excellent connections with the farmers producing our ingredients, and we make sure you can put those stories on the pack to communicate to your consumer where the product comes from.” 

At the recent Vitafoods trade show, Givaudan showcased several concepts incorporating these three values, such as gummies and beverages. Acda asserts that these concepts use a specific ingredient with efficacy, adding that these products also have a complete consumer experience — smelling, tasting and feeling a benefit. 

Clinical research 
All three companies underscore the importance of science and clinical research in developing new products. 

Givaudan’s Acda explains that the company focuses on determining the mechanism of action of its branded ingredients, such as Cereboost for mental focus and Pacran for urinary tract infections. 

The company conducts “gold-standard clinical trials with our own ingredients, together with our research partners, to obtain the right efficacy and the right dosage and the right health benefits.” 

At Vitafoods Europe 2024, we sat down with Troels Nørgaard Laursen.Jackson-Michel illustrates that DolCas Biotech has five clinical studies on its Curcugen brand. For example, it increases sports recovery and supports mood and gut health. 

“In a clinical study, we were able to show that over three days after taking Curcugen a single time and then performing a very rigorous exercise regimen, our athletes were able to show a reduction in recovery time and inflammatory markers, and they were able to have better range of motion quicker.” 

Research further reveals that the company’s Curcugen only uses what is “naturally present in turmeric” and nothing else to enhance the absorption of the active molecules. At the same time, bioavailability studies show a 39 times enhancement of free curcumin and a 52 times enhancement of total curcuminoids. 

Arla Foods Ingredients, meanwhile, developed a product on glucose control. Nørgaard Laursen explains the company tested this in clinical trials with patients with type 2 diabetes.

“They struggle with balancing blood sugar and keeping it in the healthy range over a day. It will typically drop if you exercise or before a meal, and perhaps it will peak too high after a meal. The concept we’ve been testing is a mix of functional whey proteins that you can have in a shot before a meal.” 

The study participants received this protein shot 10–15 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner. The research revealed that when receiving the pre-meal shot compared to the placebo, participants experienced two hours more during the day in the healthy range of blood sugar. 

“This is an example of a natural nutritional intervention as an alternative to a pharmaceutical drug,” Nørgaard Laursen concludes. 

By Jolanda van Hal