This is the main reason why, on day one, I was tempted into the Glanbia Nutritionals stand with its Sorbetto kiosk offering four custom-made flavours of sorbet containing undetectable added vitamins K and D.
The idea of this as, Glanbia marketing manager Martin Eisenring pointed out, is to dispel the myth that all functional ingredients make food taste unpalatable. After all, we’re programmed to be wary of anything that tastes odd and unnatural, so this clever formulation with a great-tasting finish is critical to repeat food and beverage purchase, however much good a product is going to be for us. (By the way, I chose lemon.)
This healthy treat was helped by the high-quality mini-cone, which of course leaves no rubbish in the form of tasting cups to dispose of.
“That’s one of the reasons we moved on from our smoothie tasting cups of last year,” said Martin.
I also met Peter Lambrechts on the Kaneka stand, a company known for its CoQ10 (widely advertised in Japan for its ‘beauty from within’ concept). He was keen to point out that it’s been discovered that CoQ10 can also offer benefits for heart health, anti-ageing and brain health (fighting neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s) and is being used in olive oil produced by manufacturers Costa d’Oro.
This patented Olisana line has powerful anti-ageing, antioxidant properties and as olive oil is EFSA approved, it’s of interest to many importers and supermarket chains. Olisana K Young is available in 500ml bottles and also contains vitamins E, D and K2.
The heart is the organ in the body containing the highest amount of CoQ10 and has the dual role of cellular energy production and in defending the body against free radicals. In studies, it has been shown to increase fertility levels.
Another of the company’s products that recently gained Novel Food approval is Glavonoid liquorice extract – a weight control ingredient that is claimed to fight visceral (beer belly) fat. And with men’s health rising up the agenda, this certainly beats the shape wear on offer.
Claire Phoenix is managing editor of Beverage Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.
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