Stable and soluble: Glanbia’s “patent pending” creatine supplement to hit market

07 Nov 2019 --- Glanbia Nutritionals has developed a beverage solution coined CreaBev for performance drinks in European markets. Although creatine monohydrate has been an ongoing staple in the sports nutrition sector, the solution features a patent pending encapsulation technology that facilitates a more soluble and stable creatine monohydrate. Glanbia will be showcasing CreaBev at Food ingredients Europe (FiE), held in Paris, France from December 3 to 5 this year. 

“In sports nutrition, creatine monohydrate has well-known benefits that have led to an established market for creatine supplementation. Based on our research, we have established that consumers are interested and already understand the benefits of creatine. By launching CreaBev, we want to provide them with a more efficacious way to consume creatine supplements,” Meilissa Hosen, Product Strategy Manager at Glanbia, tells NutritionInsight.

She states that Glanbia conducted social listening research, an online market research method, and found that there were 2,700 social mentions on creatine with 86 percent having a positive sentiment on consuming it. Combined with its high market value, creatine monohydrate was the clear choice for the key ingredient to incorporate in CreaBev, she says.

CreaBev does not crystalize when exposed to Ultra Heat Treatment but standard sources of creatine monohydrate do. Research parameters
Based on research, Glanbia found that the benefit of creatine in sports nutrition is well-known to consumers. “For CreaBev specifically, it is important for consumers to know that this ingredient provides a source of creatine monohydrate that performs very well in both ready-to-mix (RTM) and ready-to-drink (RTD) applications,” Hosen explains. 

Many current creatine monohydrates lack stability in water and the ability to withstand high heat processing conditions, causing less creatine to stay intact. Glanbia’s CreaBev now offers improved RTM and RTD formulations specially designed for improved beverage performance. 

CreaBev’s neutral pH makes for a stable RTD beverage, states a company report. Glanbia researchers found that CreaBev does not clump in water when exposed to Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT) but standard sources of creatine monohydrate do. Moreover, their research revealed that 70 percent of creatine monohydrate in CreaBev remained stable, with only 30 percent degradation to creatinine after 12 months. This is especially significant given that standard sources of creatine monohydrate are not stable in water after two months.

In terms of stability, 98 percent of creatine monohydrate from CreaBev was still present in water after five minutes of submersion, showing its high-level stability. Standard sources of creatine monohydrate are not stable in water, with 11 percent converted to creatinine after the same period of time.

The organic compound is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, as plant-based and clean label ingredients continue to engulf the sports nutrition sector. Preclinical studies have also demonstrated CreaBev’s ability to obtain similar plasma creatine levels to creatine monohydrate while using 35.5 percent less creatine, Hosen notes.

Neither does CreaBev fall out of solution compared to standard forms of creatine monohydrate. Source: Glanbia Nutritional.Showcasing at FiE 2019
CreaBev will be commercially available by December in Europe with its official launch at FiE 2019, says Hosen. CreaBev launched in the US in July this year with great observed success. Soon, it will also be available in the Asia Pacific region. 

In addition to CreaBev, Glanbia will be showcasing two snack bars, BarFlex and BarPro, at the event. With 20 g of high-quality protein per bar from its Crunchie Milk Protein Crisps, BarPro is made from whey protein. Meanwhile, BarFlex uses partially hydrolysed whey protein isolate. The added crunchy texture, clean flavor from the protein crisps, as well as the bars’ high fiber content tap into the trends for clean label and nutritious snacking. 

Despite some moves away from supplements in the sports nutrition sector, the healthy snacking market has been increasingly growing in the past five years, no more so than in the bar market, according to Innova Market Insights. There has been a 22 percent CAGR between 2013 and 2017 in launch claims for ‘healthy snacking bars’. 

Also featuring creatine in their sports nutritional offers, both Lonza and SynTech have incorporated the organic compound into their ingredients to help consumers develop lean muscle mass and burning fat, as well as support overall sports performance. 

By Anni Schleicher