Suppliers Show Off at Engredea, Nutracon

Feeding off the energy surrounding Expo West, Nutracon and Engredea posted record attendance last week in Anaheim. Engredea is the trade show section for supplier companies at Expo West, while Nutracon is the conference event for supplier companies that occurs during the two days before the trade show.  Nutracon and Engredea drew over 220 exhibitors and 7,500 attendees.

One of the exciting ingredient technologies BevNET found at Engredea came in the form of the raw powders available for tasting at Food for Health International’s booth. The company has a process by which they turn fruit juices into fine powders without ever taking them over 106 degrees Fahrenheit. The resulting powders, when mixed in water, retain remarkable freshness. We found similar such powders at the booth of PowderPure and NP Nutra.

One ingredient that we are also seeing a little more of is Baobab. Recognizable to many as the “lion king tree”, Baobab produces a fruit that has a rich combination of antioxidants, fiber, electrolytes and minerals. The supply is entirely wild harvested in Africa and was on display at several booths, including Tiger Botanicals and Baobest.

Monk fruit continues to make headway as an all-natural, zero-calorie alternative to stevia. Tate & Lyle representatives were sampling their company’s PureFruit brand, and Amax Nutrasource introduced the Perfecta monk fruit sweetener. Another interesting new sweetener found at the show was OatSweet from Oat Tech. Functionally similar to brown rice syrup, OatSweet will certainly have bigger role as a food sweetener, but beverage applications are possible.

On the ingredients side, we were introduced to an ingredient called utirose at the Naturex booth. Containing a compound extracted from the hibiscus flower, utirose is marketed as supporting urinary tract health. Another great ingredient we found was a AIDP’s enVantec. This product microencapsulates fat-soluble ingredients such as vitamin A, DHA and beta-carotene. The advantage for beverages is that it allows them to remain clear,  rather than producing the cloud effect visible with traditional emulsifiers.

  For look at the various companies we visited at Engredea 2012, please visit our photo gallery.

 For photos of the wide variety of beverage companies at Expo West, please visit our Expo West 2012 photo gallery.