Divi’s Nutraceuticals to showcase sustainable and clean-label nutraceutical ingredients at Vitafoods Europe

24 Apr 2023 --- Clean labels continue to influence consumer purchases and perceptions regarding the healthiness of products, according to Innova Market Insights. At Vitafoods Europe in Geneva, Switzerland (May 9-11), Divi’s Nutraceuticals is set to highlight its “free-from” ingredient range, Novel Application.

The company states that the offerings contain no palm oil, added sugars or synthetic antioxidants.  Divi’s Nutraceuticals will also present AstaBead – highly concentrated beadlets of sustainable and natural astaxanthin – and Vitamin D3 500 SD, a high-potency spray-dried powder providing 500,000 IU per gram.

Innova further reveals that natural and clean ingredient claims in supplement and sports nutrition product launches grew by 13% between 2018-2022. 

Additionally, astaxanthin is beneficial for cognition, immunity and skin – three categories Innova states have seen remarkable over the past few years. D3 has also received attention for its benefits for mobility and bone strength.


NutritionInsight sits down with the senior vice president of Divi’s Nutraceuticals, Heinz Niggli, to discuss the products and processes the company will feature at this year’s tradeshow.

Can you tell us how Divi’s Nutraceuticals developed the Novel Application ingredient range?
Niggli: In recent years, consumers have become increasingly concerned about the potential adverse health effects of food additives and favor products that contain as little additives as possible. To meet this demand, many food and nutraceutical manufacturers have engaged in a process of reduction or elimination of additives in their products. To support its customers in their clean label approach, Divi’s Nutraceuticals has developed a “free-from” range of ingredients with fewer or no additives. These products are allergen-free and made from raw materials that do not contain gluten or GMOs. Finally, these ingredients are formulated without the addition of silicon dioxide and Divi’s Nutraceuticals will feature its astaxanthin powder, an ingredient which has been shown to improve cognition.therefore do not contain nanoparticles.

Processing aids like silicon dioxide are widely used in the production of spray-dried products to increase their flowability. Divi’s benefits from a long experience in the formulation of fat-soluble ingredients. By adjusting different parameters during the production process, Divi’s produces silicon dioxide-free spray-dried products with the same flowability performance and characteristics as conventional spray-dried products. Divi’s silicon dioxide-free spray-dried products exhibit flowability and dispersibility and are completely dust-free.

Can you tell us about AstaBead in terms of quality, sustainability and its benefits and potential uses?
Niggli: Divi’s and Algalif have joined their expertise to develop highly concentrated beadlets of sustainable natural astaxanthin. Algalif’s production process, located in Iceland, provides premium quality, high concentrated oleoresin naturally sourced from microalgae. Their sustainable indoor production process is designed to deliver high yields of premium astaxanthin using only renewable energy and pure Icelandic water. Divi’s transforms this oleoresin into exclusive, easy-to-handle AstaBead beadlets that contain 5% astaxanthin – the highest concentration on the market – allowing smaller tablets and hard-shell capsules that are more attractive to consumers.

AstaBead products are easy to handle due to their beadlet formulation and provide uniformity as well as stability. Divi’s benefits from decades of experience in the formulation of fat-soluble ingredients, especially in the encapsulation of actives in beadlets. A true beadlet must be formulated in such a way as to respect the essential balance between its two functions – to be easy-to-handle and stable during manufacturing and storage of the final product, while being able to deliver its active ingredients at the right time. Stability and bioavailability go hand in hand and are equally important in the quality of a beadlet. Divi’s microencapsulation technology provides AstaBead beadlets that are very stable during manufacturing and storage of the final product while delivering the active when needed.

AstaBead high-concentrated beadlets are available in two formulations for use in a variety of applications. The first form allows the manufacture of tablets by direct compression without oil extrusion or discoloration. It can also be used in hard gelatin capsules and nutritional bars. The second form is a cold-water fast-dispersing astaxanthin benefiting from Divi’s innovative CaroQuik beadlet formulation.

Growing demand for fortified powders from athletes and fitness enthusiasts is expected to boost the market in the coming years. Powdered supplements and beverages – whether presented in bulk or in sachets – are convenient, readily available and offer a variety of tastes. The active ingredients remain stable, and powders can be stored for a relatively long time. The technical requirements of fortified powders include the quick and complete dissolution to release the full benefit of the ingredients. The final beverage should look appealing in terms of color, aspect and taste. Divi’s unique CaroQuik AstaBead beadlets are designed to enhance the rapid, cold-water dispersion of fortified powders. Due to their innovative formulation, these specialty astaxanthin beadlets improve powder dissolution times. They offer fortification features for application in today’s popular stick packs, dispersion caps and powder canister packaging.The company’s Vitamin D3 500 SD can be used to fortify foods and beverages. (Image Credit: Divi’s Nutraceuticals)

The CaroQuik technology is also available for other carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lutein, that offer a wide range of colors associated with nutritional benefits, helping powdered drink and supplement producers meet growing consumer demand for healthy, clean-label beverage solutions with added functional benefits. Divi's uses a similar process for vitamins – VitaQuik – allowing for example a rapid and complete dissolution of vitamin E in water.

Can you provide more information on the manufacturing technology used to produce Vitamin D3 500 SD?
Niggli: Divi’s high potency vitamin D3 – Vitamin D3 500 SD – is a spray-dried powder providing 500,000 IU per gram. Spray-drying is a gentle process that preserves both the integrity and the nutritional value of the product. During this process, vitamin D3 is micronized into very small particles, leading to an easy-to-handle powder. The final product exhibits flowability and does not generate any dust during use. Divi’s technology ensures constant particle size distribution and an optimized concentration, resulting in content uniformity in applications such as premixes. Vitamin D3 500 SD benefits from a reliable supply thanks to stable, scalable production at a plant in Germany.

Divi’s Vitamin D3 500 SD shows performance in a variety of applications. Thanks to its high potency, only small amounts are sufficient to strengthen end products, resulting, for example, in smaller tablets and capsules. In addition, since Vitamin D3 500 SD is very stable in applications, there is no need to add high overdosage to guarantee the label claim. Vitamin D3 500 SD shows good tableting performance and is, therefore, suitable for direct compression of chewable and coated tablets. It can also be used to fortify foods and drinks, as it is dispersible in water, fruit juices, milk and other liquids.

Divi’s is constantly expanding its ingredient portfolio to adapt to market demand. The “free-from” range will develop in the future with new carotenoid and vitamin forms. Divi’s will soon expand its Novel Application portfolio with a new beta-carotene form for use as a yellow-orange coloring agent in beverages, food and supplements, and a new vitamin D3 form for fortification of foods and beverages and use in tablets and liquid supplements.

By William Bradford Nichols