Online Exclusive: Building Better Nutritional Beverages

Delivering both flavor and nutrition is a challenge in todays discriminating marketplace, especially when it comes to nutraceuticals and functional beverages. Many products in these categories are designed to be creamy and smooth, simulating an indulgent milkshake, or smoothie-type system. From meal replacements to sports supplements to condition-specific medical beverages, these products address a targeted health concern. However, in many cases, their purpose complicates product development and narrows the range of acceptable ingredients. Nutritional beverages need to provide beneficial components, a healthy composition and a clean label while delivering excellent flavor, texture and stability.

Non-dairy creamers have been available for many years and are a relatively mature ingredient category. What has changed in recent years is the technology available to design creamers that address evolving market needs and formulation challenges. Creamers are no longer just economical coffee whiteners, they have become a virtuous base ingredient for a variety of nourishing foods. Many modern powdered creamer systems are highly versatile, complex, functional delivery systems tailored to address specific problems faced by food and beverage formulators.

Todays powdered creamers are a unique combination of art and science, combining fat, protein, carbohydrates and other functional ingredients into a co-processed spray-dried emulsion. By choosing the appropriate mix of ingredients along with specialized processing, a wide range of products with varying functional and nutritional properties can be created. Emulsions, in simple terms, are stable mixtures of two immiscible liquids, such as the oil and water mixture in salad dressings or mayonnaise. Emulsions can assist in the proper and effective delivery of difficult-to-absorb ingredients by facilitating the bodys breakdown of fats in the digestive tract. Powdered creamers are often used to deliver the functional components of nutritional beverages as part of a convenient, stable and easyto- digest emulsion. These creamer systems can also impart superior flavor, body, texture, opacity and appearance to a variety of end-use products, including beverages.

The following list shows some of the components that can be used to design a powdered emulsion to make an effective creamer base:

While the actual range of potential ingredients available in creamers is large, formulation of nutritional beverages using an emulsified powder base can tackle multiple problems, as illustrated below.

Case Study #1:

Company X produces a successful ready-to-drink beverage for hydration and electrolyte replacement. Looking to expand their product line, Company X is considering development of a creamed version of their product that contains protein and remains low in saturated and trans fat. What are Company Xs options? Creamers are available that deliver concentrated milk protein fractions while remaining low in total fat, saturated fat and trans fat. These creamers could target customers with soy allergies, those who have difficulty digesting soy, or those who dislike soy flavor. Creamers can help create a beverage with luxurious mouthfeel without adding unnecessary fat, calories or carbohydrates, promoting a heart healthy lifestyle.

Case Study #2: Company Y is creating a geriatric nutritional drink mix using a specific proprietary blend of herbals and vitamins shown to ease digestive concerns. What could a powdered creamer add? Company Y may wish to consider a flavored beta-glucan creamer made with coconut oil. Beta-glucan derived from oats provides soluble fiber, shown to boost the integrity and functionality of the gastrointestinal system. Coconut oil has also been cited as highly digestible and promoting of digestive health, a major consideration when designing beverages targeting the elderly. Unpleasant flavors that may be inherent in the proprietary herbal/vitamin blend may be hidden with a suitable flavoring or masking agent.

With flexibility in the design and manipulation of the modern emulsified creamer, many enhancements can be brought to nutritional products. Consider the following solutions powdered creamers can provide to nutritional beverages:

Enhanced palatability: The aroma, flavor, texture, viscosity and perceived creaminess of beverages can be modified by using the appropriate creamer base.

Improved appearance: Addition of creamer provides a range of opacity options to beverages, allowing formulation of beverages with flexible visual effects based on creamers ability to scatter light.

Added stability: Powdered creamers can typically extend the shelf life of finished beverages when compared to options such as milk.

Improved digestion, gut tolerance and bioavailability: Emulsions can be designed to release active ingredients or fat quickly or more slowly in the digestive system than if delivered in raw form.

Increased convenience: Creamers in powdered form have long shelf lives, do not require refrigeration, are easier to store and handle, and can mix more quickly than typical liquid ingredients used by the beverage industry, leading to cost savings in production and warehousing.

Modern creamers are based on emulsions designed to solve a range of problems encountered in the nutritional beverage industry, including flavor, digestibility, nutrition, ingredient delivery and reliability. The power of these systems lies in their ability to be tailored to specific needs and challenges faced by drink developers and demanded by informed consumers. Powdered emulsions are powerful tools when creating innovative nutritional beverages.

Dennis Reid has a food science and a biology degree from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from Syracuse University. Mr. Reid has over 20 years of technical sales and marketing experience in the food industry. He joined the SensoryEffects food ingredient business at its inception in early 2006. He is now responsible for marketing and business development. Reach him at [email protected].

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