Divi’s Nutraceuticals to unveil sustainable astaxanthin beads at Vitafoods

29 Apr 2024 --- US-based Divi’s Nutraceuticals will launch AstaBead featuring highly concentrated beadlets of sustainable natural astaxanthin developed in collaboration with Algalif at Vitafoods 2024, Switzerland. The launch will take place on the second day of the trade show, Wednesday, May 15.

“The first type of AstaBead beadlets is directly compressible without oil extrusion and discoloration of tablets, whereas the other beadlet type enhances the cold-water dispersion of fortified powders,” Denise Catini, head of R&D at Divi’s Nutraceuticals, tells Nutrition Insight.

“In an astaxanthin supplement market largely dominated by soft-gelatin capsules, our high-concentrated beadlets allow new and innovative applications for astaxanthin supplements like gummies, powders, tablets, and hard-shell capsules. They can also be used to fortify beverages as well as food products such as nutritional bars.”

AstaBead comprises easy-to-handle beadlets with 5% astaxanthin, one of the highest concentrations on the market. The product performs well in nutrition bars and fortified powder drinks and can be formulated in smaller tablets or hard-shell capsules. 

Iceland-based Algalif produces the premium astaxanthin oleoresin naturally sourced from microalgae using renewable energy.

Myriad forms of beta-carotene
Divi’s Nutraceuticals is a global manufacturer of carotenoids and vitamins with a state-of-the-art factory in Germany. The company is set to introduce additions at Vitafoods that can be used in supplements to fortify or color various liquids, dry foods, and beverages.

“Our beta-carotene spray-dried powders, beadlets, solutions, suspensions and emulsions meet the requirements of every application, from supplements to beverages, dairy, gummies, cereal products, margarine, and ice cream, among others. Our beta-carotene range includes speciality forms that offer innovative solutions for technical challenges, such as CaroClear, CaroQuik and MiniBeads,” Catini explains.

CaroClear is a spray-dried powder used to color transparent beverages, like flavored waters and soft drinks, as well as energy and sports drinks. The result is a bright, transparent color that makes beverages very appealing to consumers. The company’s CaroQuik beadlets are designed to enhance rapid, cold-water dispersion of fortified powder beverages.

“They provide coloration and fortification features for increasingly popular stick packs, dispersion caps and powder cans. For application in fine powders such as premixes, where uniformity is a key performance parameter, we offer MiniBeads which are about 30% finer than our regular beadlets, thanks to an exclusive micro-encapsulation process,” says Catini.

The company’s products are free of synthetic antioxidants, palm oil and added sugar and maintain good stability and texture.

The company will also introduce a potent spray-dried Vitamin D3 500 SD powder with 500,000 international units (IU) per gram. The manufacturing technology ensures constant particle size distribution and optimized concentration, facilitating content uniformity in applications such as premixes.

Divi’s Nutraceuticals has a substantial portfolio of fat-soluble vitamins, including A, E, D2 and D3 in different concentrations and forms, which can be developed into liquid and dry applications, including food supplements — tablets, effervescent tablets, capsules, softgels, powders, sachets — fortified foods — milk, cereals, bread — or beverages such as juices, soft drinks. 

Clean label demands
The products in Divi’s Nutraceuticals portfolio contain fewer additives to meet consumer demand for clean label offerings. With considerable expertise in chemical synthesis and formulation, the company can produce silicon dioxide-free spray-dried nutraceuticals and vitamins that perform on the same level as conventional spray-dried products with nanoparticle-free ingredients. 

“Spray-drying is a gentle process that preserves both the integrity and the nutritional value of the product. During this process, vitamin D3 is emulsified into very small particles, leading to an easy-to-handle powder. The final product exhibits excellent flowability and does not generate any dust during use,” Catini notes.

Vitamin D3 500 SD shows good tableting performance and is suitable for direct compression of chewable and coated tablets. It can also be used to fortify foods and drinks, as it is fully dispersible in water, fruit juices, milk and other liquids.

By Inga de Jong