Clean label ingredients supplier Ulrick & Short targets healthy beverages
Known as delyte 12, the ingredient replaces the functional properties of fat in beverages, such as body, texture and mouthfeel.
Delyte 12 would allow manufacturers to produce items such as breakfast drinks, milkshakes, sports nutrition products and meal replacements with an ‘indulgent mouthfeel’, while reducing fat and calorie content, the firm claimed.
As well as not masking flavours or impact flavour profiles, the ingredient is non-GM, allergen-free and vegan, making it suitable for a number of applications, including the non-dairy sector.
Health and indulgence
Ulrick & Short research and development manager Danielle Schroeter said the development of delyte 12 was a response to growing consumer demands for healthier indulgent products, either through the addition of functional ingredients like proteins and fibres, or by reducing fats and sugars.
“We’ve seen growth in gut health claims, high-protein claims, breakfast smoothies, free-from claims and ‘better-for-you’ formulations,” she added.
“With this shift, delyte 12 provides a great way for manufacturers to improve the indulgence of their products, while also being able to reformulate to make these health claims consumers are demanding.”
Ulrick & Short recently capitalised on the growing demand for non-meat alternatives with the development of a new plant-based ingredient for flexitarian meat products.
The latest addition to its protein range, Complex T16 has been designed specifically to improve the texture of vegan or flexitarian meat analogues.
Meaty bite and mouthfeel
It said this would provide a more “meaty” bite and mouthfeel to products, allowing manufacturers to mimic the eating quality of meats.
Ulrick & Short supplies clean label ingredients to some of the biggest names in food and drink manufacturing for use in sectors including bakery, meat, dairy, soups and sauces.
The company is AA BRC-accredited and has a team of dedicated food technologists based in the UK and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the growth in vegan and vegetarian diets is set to be mirrored by a rise in the demand for flour made from legumes and vegetables, a West Yorkshire-based ingredients supplier has claimed.
Eurostar Commodities also predicted that the gluten-free market would “step up” on the quality front. “Until now, people have had to put up with second-rate products that don’t taste as good as their glutinous alternative,” said Eurostar Commodities managing director Philip Bull.
