What You Need To Know About Stabilizing Instant Protein Beverages
19 Aug 2019 | TIC Gums
Whether you need to reduce astringency, enhance mouthfeel or minimize the awareness of particulates, TIC Gums has the solution for you to address your unique beverage formulating challenges and ensure successful instant beverage development.
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Due to health and wellness trends, consumer demand for non-GMO instant beverages has been continuing to increase over the last several years.
When formulating instant protein drinks, there are questions that most formulators are left wondering.
As a gum guru, I'm here to make formulating simple for you.
The first question we have is, why am I detecting grittiness in my instant protein beverage?
There is protein in the beverage that is insoluble and detectable on the tongue upon drinking.
When you add hydrocolloids like gums, you can mask this grit by coating the tongue and decreasing the awareness of particulates.
This next question is one of our more popular ones.
What should I use to enhance suspension in my instant?
Protein sports powders.
Xanthan is the only cold water soluble gum that can suspend particulates, which is great because gums in instant protein beverages must be able to activate without heat.
It hydrates relatively quickly and reaches its full potential faster than other gums.
This is important because it means consumers don't have to wait to enjoy the beverage, and the consistency will stay the same even after sitting for periods of time.
When formulating your instant protein beverage, you want to be aware of suspension, but also viscosity and texture.
Often we could ask, is there something I can use in my instant protein sports powdered beverage to enhance viscosity and texture.
Like we discussed, you can use xanthan to contribute to viscosity and texture.
Depending on the mouthfeel you're trying to achieve, you could also use guar, cellulose, and carrageenan.
With the addition of acacia, you can also enhance overall mouthfeel.
If you're already working with gums, you may ask, how does the usage rate of the gums change my product?
It should be noted that the usage rates for gums are low, which means they are very functional ingredients to add to your product.
When adding guar, cellulose, carrageenan, or xanthan, it can take trial and error to find the perfect usage rate for your ideal mouthfeel, viscosity, and texture.
That's why we recommend calling a gum guru because we can make recommendations to pinpoint the perfect usage rate to add to your product.
You might also be wondering if you should use a shaker bottle or a blender for evaluation of instant protein beverages.
Either works perfectly fine, but consumers would most likely be using a shaker bottle like this one when using your product.
So keep in mind how consumers may be using them once they're available.
If you're working on formulating products to meet consumer demand, that's not a problem.
Since the increasing consumer awareness of non-GMO label claims, most formulators are asking, can I use gums in my instant powdered protein drink and have non-GMO label claims?
Yes, TIC gums has gums and gum systems that meet non-GMO claims, but also provides gums that are non-GMO project verified and organic compliant.
Have other questions that we didn't get to, don't worry, we're here to help.
Call or chat with a gum guru like me to learn more about formulating your instant protein beverage.
