Healthy Beverages

“People are saying, ‘I want my food to be food. I want my medicine to be medicine. I don’t want my food to be medicine.’” —Harvey Hartman, The New York Times, August 2007Functional food is a very temperamental food and beverage category. Consumers, in growing numbers, continue to pursue lifestyles centered on health and wellness; and food and beverage manufacturers ...

ERLANGER, Ky.—WILD Flavors Inc. (WildFlavors.com) has created a range of concepts and ingredient solutions to help food and beverage marketers meet the growing consumer need for higher vegetable consumption. Examples of the concepts developed include an Asiago vegetable trail mix, a fruit and veggie chew made with organic ingredients and a raspberry and cream veggie drink. According to the company, ...

MADERA, Calif.—For the third time, Polyphenolics expanded the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of its MegaNatural-BP, MegaNatural Gold Grape Seed Extract and MegaNatural GSKE Grape Pomace Extract. These ingredients were first determined GRAS for use in fruit juices and fruit flavored beverages, and then for use in cereals, food bars, yogurt and yogurt desserts. Now, they carry an increased ...

Weight-loss beverages are an ideal medium for handheld, convenient nutrition. Ten years ago they were, in effect, meal replacements that contained enough sugar to taste really good, enough fat to be creamy and a moderate amount of protein and fiber. Consumers lost weight primarily through calorie reduction. But today, consumers know about macronutrients and are more likely to purchase products ...

According to Beverage Digest, bottled water outsold milk for the first time in history last year, and as consumers change their drinking habits, functional beverages are becoming more mainstream than milk. What does this mean to the natural products industry? It confirms there is a thirst for functional beverages. If you need more evidence of this, consider the recent acquisition ...