Givaudan and Manus Bio launch clean label citrus ingredient BioNootkatone

30 Jun 2022 --- Givaudan and Manus Bio, a bio manufacturer of natural products, have unveiled BioNootkatone, an ingredient pegged to make waves in the citrus flavors space. According to the companies, BioNootkatone answers the market demand for environmentally sustainable, natural, clean label citrus flavor.

The launch comes at a time when industry is seeing cost and supply volatility of traditional citrus extracts. 

In addition to these benefits, BioNootkatone offers a refreshing, natural citrus taste that can be used in various food and beverage applications. 

BioNootkatone is the result of Givaudan’s analytical, flavor, and processing expertise combined with the successful application of Manus Bio’s BioAssemblyLine Cell Factory engineering platform. 

Cost-effective and natural 
BioNootkatone uses a non-GMO sugar source as the starting material and is made without using citrus ingredients. According to Givaudan and Manus Bio, it is the most cost-effective and environmentally sustainable natural nootkatone available on the market.

According to Dr. Ajikumar Parayil, CEO of Manus Bio, climate effects and agricultural diseases such as citrus greening have established a clear need for natural and sustainable citrus ingredients that are not reliant on agricultural citrus extracts. 

“The launch of BioNootkatone is a major achievement in our long-standing collaboration with Givaudan,” he says.

Good for the environment
With a proprietary biomanufacturing and downstream process, Manus Bio and Givaudan can deliver a consistently high-quality product. 

Furthermore, the companies state that BioNootkatone is less impactful for climate change than nootkatone derived from citrus because it is a comparatively lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emission ingredient. 

Nootkatone is a widely used ingredient in many citrus flavors and products globally.

Givaudan’s BioNootkatone has a “superior taste profile and offers signature woody, citrus, and peely notes,” without any of the off-notes often found in other nootkatones currently available on the market, the company underscores. 

BioNootkatone will become an important component of Givaudan’s extensive Taste product portfolio, supporting its strategy to enable consumers to co-create food experiences. 

Givaudan is exclusively commercializing BioNootkatone globally, with Manus Bio retaining all manufacturing rights. 

Developing citrus partnerships
The companies plan to continue their partnership, deploying Manus Bio’s powerful BioAssemblyLine Cell Factory engineering platform to bring other natural and sustainable ingredients to market.

In similar industry developments, Givaudan and US-based company Fiberstar recently entered a deal allowing Givaudan to commercialize and use Fiberstar’s natural, plant-based texturizing ingredient Citri-Fi, upcycled from the citrus fiber. 

The collaboration will support the expansion of Givaudan’s Taste & Wellbeing portfolio while extending Fiberstar’s geographic footprint and R&D opportunities.

Givaudan will also use Citri-Fi in its development work as it co-creates formulations with its customers. In the future, Givaudan intends to offer Citri-Fi as an ingredient across all global markets.

Meanwhile, Univar Solutions previously touted citrus fiber as “one of the latest clean label alternatives to traditional emulsifiers.”

Edited by Elizabeth Green