How Beverage Formulation is impacted by Sugar Reduction, Replacement Trends

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“Essentially any energy brand could replicate the same ingredients, the same flavor profiles, similar design on pack,” Watson said. “I think what’s important to really drive this category, and especially drive a brand, is a lot more than just the product, and that’s really what we’re looking to do with our brand.”

Celsius’s advantages date back to its founding in 2004. While traditional energy drinks emerged from bars as popular alcohol mixers at the time, Celsius came out of gyms, where it was initially marketed for its calorie-burning properties. The market has since come to Celsius, especially with sugar-free offerings now the rage.

Sixty-seven percent of US adults and 76% of US consumers younger than 18 play video games, according to the Entertainment Software Association, Washington, and many identify as “esport” athletes or gamers. While product developers have long recognized the nutritional needs of those who compete in physical sports differ from the average person, esport players also have unique nutritional needs.

For example, they need to stay focused and energized to enhance performance. Satiation assists with staying online for long periods of time, and proper hydration, along with such nutrients as lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids, keeps eyes healthy.  

Richard Stewart, beverage technical services for Ingredion, and Adams Berzins, senior manager for global sugar reduction product applications and agility team leader for Ingredion, discuss these trends with us, offering deep insights into sugar replacement and the how product developers can best approach determining which replacers work best in their formulations.

For health reasons, more consumers are drinking alcohol less often and looking instead at a wider selection of beverages. Some are close replacements to alcohol (think Guinness 0.0) but other drinks attracting interest purport to offer health benefits from the use of functional ingredients – and nootropics has been one segment gaining attention.

The term ‘nootropic’ was first used in 1972 by psychologist and chemist Corneliu E. Giurgea to describe a category of products said to benefit cognitive function.

DioniLife features a team whose members spearheaded leadership, operations, innovation, finance, sales and distribution at top spirits companies including Diageo, Stoli Group, Guinness and Heineken. In addition to McKinney, formerly Stoli Group's global CEO, the team includes Steve Wilson, global leader of innovation and an industry veteran who was previously Diageo's head of global innovation. 

Effective immediately, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is expanding the areas quarantined for citrus greening (Huanglongbing; HLB), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in California.

Following a tight season of exporting California oranges, there's optimism that the upcoming season will be better. "The market in the transition from Valencia oranges to Navels especially got really tight this season because of the weather. There was a lot of heat which damaged some crops and then there was also a thrip problem causing damage all of which lowered supply."

The findings reveal that K stimulates fruit sugar accumulation by increasing carbon flow from source leaves to fruit in Newhall navel orange.

The results indicated that the extract has a potential application for prevention and control of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

• Navel oranges activate defense responses when the insect Bactrocera minax lays eggs on them

• The oranges produce lignin and increase cell division to physically crush the insect eggs

• Plant hormones like jasmonic acid and salicylic acid are quickly induced to aid in the defense

• These studies provide molecular evidence that host fruits have evolved defense mechanisms against insect eggs and pave the way for future development of insect-resistant citrus varieties.