Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Stevia is Alive!

During NuBev's recent visit to the Natural Product Expo in Anaheim, I couldn't help but notice the influx in beverages utilizing Reb-A (Stevia). The goal is simple... add sweetness without calories, naturally. Easier said than done, right? Although I was not impressed with many of the Stevia sweetened beverages it was exciting to see companies experimenting with natural sweeteners or sweetener blends.

In the ingredient supply hall, there were many new companies showcasing their Stevia sources and touting the benefits/differences to their competition. Who has the best? Fortunately for NuBev, we have put many of the Reb-A sources through the ringer. We understand which source works best in a particular application, which blends well with other sweeteners, which has the least aftertaste, and which has the lowest cost contribution to our customer's formulas. Unfortunately, like many of NuBev's formulation knowledge, we like to keep this secret for our clientele. Call us to learn more and to see if NuBev can help with your beverage.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Exotic Taste of Central America

Earlier this week, NuBev too a short jaunt down to Central America. The Goal: To explore new exotic fruits and ingredients for beverages.
Not only was it exciting to taste fresh exotic fruit not typically found in the States, it was interesting to find reputable sources of concentrates, purees and in some cases powdered extracts. We now hope to explore the health benefits of these fruits and the ability to deliver functionality in a beverage application. Some fruits included Guanabana which is very subtle and mild tasting and Portugal, an acidic tangerine like citrus. We also had the opportunity to work with some fancy new fruits that are so exciting we prefer to keep to ourselves for now!!!
Just a little bit more due diligence before we open the treasure chest...
We also had success finding fabulous tasting passionfruit, pineapple and mango.

NEXT STOP: Carribean (March) FRANCE (April)

For more info, feel free to call NuBev to discuss your new exotic beverage project.