Indulgence meets health at FiE: Rousselot expands soft gummy and hydrolyzed collagen portfolios

25 Nov 2020 --- Consumer expectations for novel supplement delivery formats are maturing in tandem with their growing awareness of the role that nutrition plays in health and well-being.

Rousselot discusses this with NutritionInsight at Fi Europe Connect, where it is responding to the increasingly popular healthy indulgence trend with two new offerings.

The company is showcasing new soft gelatin-based gummies that “bridge the gap” between refreshing delivery formats and recommended dietary intake (RDI) dosages required for nutraceuticals.

Meanwhile, Rousselot’s ProTake hydrolyzed collagen protein portfolio gained three more variations that deliver on health, taste and texture expectations: ProTake Bars, ProTake Powder and ProTake Foods. 

Easy and fun supplementation
As pill fatigue is inspiring inventive supplement designs, Rousselot’s latest innovation in its SiMoGel range allows brands to develop center-filled soft gummies.

“Center-filled soft gummies can help producers meet the healthy indulgence trend and create strong consumer appeal today and in years to come,” Marit van der Heijden, Rousselot’s global marketing manager, tells NutritionInsight.

The center-filled gummies provide a high nutrient content in the popular chewable format. Nicknamed “gummy caps,” the chewables can offer both younger and older consumers an enjoyable and safe eating experience. 

Older populations often opt for center-filled gummies because their melt-in-mouth texture eliminates the risk of choking. The easy-to-swallow aspect is also important for children’s safety and turns a parent-enforced directive into a flavorful bite. 

Overall, the broad texture scope of center-filled gummies offers brands the opportunity to create visually appealing products that grab consumers’ attention on the retail shelf.

Higher dosages for more nutrients
The gummy caps’ center-filled design allows for much higher dosages per serving. The liquid filling not only permits a higher concentration of nutrients but also separates active ingredients from the gel mass to avoid interference during gelation. 

The lower and managed temperatures in this process also prevent the degradation of nutrients or active pharmaceutical ingredients from enabling more accurate dosing. 

“A multivitamin center-filled SiMoGel gummy meets the RDI of ten vitamins in only one gummy, whereas we would need three regular nutraceutical gummies to achieve the same nutrient content,” explains van der Heijden.

Adding a liquid filling can boost the palate experience and expand dosing possibilities.To this end, Rousselot’s R&D team had to take the interaction between different ingredients, the depositing profile and processing parameters into careful consideration to develop a functioning nutrient-enriched center-filled gummy.

A patent has been filed for SiMoGel center-filled gummies. Rousselot expects them to hit global retail shelves in the next 12 to 24 months.

Repowering hydrolyzed collagen
Outside of the supplements scene, the health-indulgence trend is growing in the functional and fortified foods sector.

Widely falling into the clean label category, the ProTake range allows customers to reformulate applications with increased collagen content, reduced fat and sugar levels, as well as enhanced taste and texture. 

However, creating healthy fortified foods is not a one-way street. For example, sugar reduction and clean label demands don’t always go hand in hand.

“If you want to make something healthier, you always have to replace it with something else,” Dr. Sara De Pelsmaeker, product and business development nutrition for EMEA, tells NutritionInsight.

“If you take sugar out of chocolates, for example, you need to have a bulking agent. Sometimes you will also need to put a sugar replacer or a masking agent inside. That means you need at least three new ingredients.” 

In the R&D phase, Rousselot found several clean label solutions with its collagen. As “more than just protein,” ProTake also allows customers to replace sugar with collagen while providing a texturizing functionality. 

The texture analyzer tests the durability and malleability of ProTake for food, powder and bar applications.Functional foods heading for mainstream
Consumers are increasingly allured by conventional supermarket aisle food products with an added-value nutritional claim – almost up to the point where they have become ubiquitous, notes De Pelsmaeker.

“At standard retailers, it’s sometimes difficult to find normal milk or yogurt. It’s always with an extra vitamin or healthy fats or added protein. It’s this type of added value product that we are targeting with our new portfolio,” she explains.

Rousselot’s ProTake portfolio of hydrolyzed collagen is now suitable for bar, powder and food applications that help brands create a “mix-and-match” of functional, nutritious and sensory-pleasing products. 

One of these three characteristics shouldn’t cancel the other out as consumers increasingly expect a complete portfolio. 

A 2020 Innova Market Insights consumer survey reveals that three in five global consumers are “interested in trying new sensory experiences,” for example aromas, tastes, textures, colors and sensations. 

Notably, the market researcher’s top eighth trend for 2021 “Product Mashups: When Trends Collide” highlights a sustained popularity for hybrid innovation and F&B broadening dimensions of indulgence.

De Pelsmaeker detailed more about how taste, health and sensory properties in food applications must harmonize in a recent video interview.

By Anni Schleicher, with additional reporting by Katherine Durrell