Hydrocolloids provide solutions for new formulations
As beverage-makers dream up new formulations to address the gamut of consumer requests, such as natural, diet, functional or indulgent products, new recipes often can spur the need for new solutions from ingredient suppliers. In response, hydrocolloid manufacturers have developed portfolios of binding ingredients that are able to perform in new applications. Jane Schulenburg, marketing director for Atlanta-based CP Kelco, summarizes that the removal of ingredients, such as sugar, is an opportunity for hydrocolloids; likewise, so is the addition of ingredients, including vitamins.
Exotic new flavors also can create opportunities for hydrocolloids, Schulenburg says. “The more unique flavors that people are trying to use, like guava and pomegranate and things like that, if they try to put those into certain beverages, they just don’t function,” she explains. “So our products are used as the enablers, really, to get those flavor profiles correct and for the beverage to have a decent drinking experience.”