FRANKFORT, IL – SoluBlend Technologies, LLC, has received the 2011 North American Technology Innovation Award in the Functional Foods & Beverages market for its development of a novel technology that allows oil-based functional ingredients to be converted into water-soluble compounds while retaining their nutritive value for inclusion in beverages and other liquid consumables.
Up until the availability of SoluBlend’s technology, encapsulation and emulsification were the primary technologies used to increase the water solubility of functional ingredients, carrying several distinct disadvantages, notably prohibitive costs and limited applicability for functional beverages. Further, the limitations of those conventional technologies include pH-dependency and temperature sensitivity. In a statement, Frost & Sullivan asserted it firmly believes that the water soluble-conversion technology developed by SoluBlend successfully overcomes the aforementioned challenges.
SoluBlend’s award-winning, exclusive water-soluble technology ensures stability and clarity of fat-based functional ingredients including fish, algae and plant-based omega3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA, ALA), CoQ10, resveratrol, fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E, and K as well as seed and fruit oils including chia and cranberry oil. SoluBlend’s patented technology allows each converted ingredient to fully dissolve in an aqueous medium producing clear and transparent products that can be used in a wide range of functional food and beverage consumables. Additionally, the technology has been further developed to reduce the rate of oxidation resulting in a longer shelf-life for functional food & beverages.
For the Technology Innovation Award, the following criteria were used to benchmark SoluBlend performance against key competitors: Uniqueness of Technology, Impact on New Products/Applications, Impact on Functionality, Impact on Customer Value, and Relevance of Innovation to Industry.
Sujatha Vijayan, Ph.D., Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst, summarizes why SoluBlend Technologies, LLC, was selected to receive its prestigious award: “Acceptance of functional ingredients in the foods sector depends on water-solubility, flavor and bioavailability. Solublend’s novel water-soluble conversion technology platform is unique in addressing all of these criteria and is significant in providing products previously not available at a significantly lower cost to consumers. Hence, this technology is slated to have good potential for growth in several application markets like nutraceutical, foods, beverages, personal care and pharmaceuticals.”
“The research and development team of SoluBlend Technologies held fast to the vision of being able to convert fat soluble actives to water-soluble ingredients while simultaneously maintaining integrity of their biological actions upon ingestion,” says Richard Staack, Ph.D., CEO, SoluBlend Technologies. The Frost & Sullivan award has recognized that our exclusive technology now enables the use of functional fatty actives to be integrated into the functional food & beverage market in juices, teas, gummy vites, energy water and more“
Since its inception in 2009, SoluBlend Technologies continued to develop its groundbreaking technology.
In 2010, it expanded its capabilities to provide three proprietary levels of fatty acid stability techniques: the first level provides clarity and solubility; the second level adds a functional component that provides a higher degree of overall fatty acid stability: the latest tertiary level is based on a breakthrough discovery related to the oxidation of fatty acids by altering a pathway of free radical formation, thereby increasing shelf life endurance of the finished product. The three levels of technology afford effective doses of functional fatty acids to be incorporated into clear and transparent functional beverages that are shelf-stable, cost effective and have no impact on tastes, texture or appearance. As a result of the innovative technology, several main stream functional beverage products have successfully gone to market.
For more information, visit solublend.com.
About SoluBlend Technologies LLC
SoluBlend Technologies LLC is the patent holder and manufacturer of a breakthrough proprietary technology that allows popular nutraceuticals such as Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), Omega 3 fatty acids, resveratrol, Coenzyme Q10, Natural Chia and Cranberry oil to be incorporated into a variety of consumables as water-soluble lipids, opening up opportunities to provide shelf-stable, value-added functional foods and beverages. For further information, please visit SoluBlend at the IFT show, booth 5663 or visit www.SoluBlend.com
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. Frost & Sullivan is in its 50th year in business with a global research organization of 1,800 analysts and consultants who monitor more than 300 industries and 250,000 companies. The company’s research philosophy originates with the CEO’s 360 Degree Perspective™, which serves as the foundation of its TEAM Research™ methodology. This unique approach enables us to determine how best-in-class companies worldwide manage growth, innovation and leadership.