Emerging ingredients trending at Expo West

ANAHEIM — Food and beverage formulators are differentiating in the crowded health and wellness space by using emerging functional ingredients like postbiotics, paraxanthine and creatine. Applications using those ingredients were on display at Natural Products Expo West, held in early March.

Healthy gut bacteria are often supplemented through the consumption of probiotics, the live microorganisms, most often lactic acid bacteria, which when consumed in adequate amounts, help create a better-balanced microbiome. Probiotics are fermented in the gut, where they create compounds that have health benefits.

Postbiotics eliminate the need to add probiotic cultures to formulations. They are the healthy metabolites that the microbiome produces, the compounds that possess the actual gut health benefit.

Garden of Life, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., introduced three varieties of Organic Kids Gut & Immunity Fruit & Veggie Yogurt Smoothies at Expo West. Whole milk yogurt is the first ingredient; however, with the product being heat treated after culturing, it does not contain live and active cultures. Rather, the company adds beta-glucan postbiotics. The product also contains two prebiotic fibers – fructooligosaccharide and inulin—to function as fuel for the gut’s inherent microbiome.

Product labels for the smoothies read, “Our smoothies contain wholesome ingredients and gut-boosting prebiotics and postbiotics to support the immune system.”

One 3.5-oz pouch contains 80 to 90 calories, 2 to 2.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein and 8 to 9 grams of sugar, none of which are added sugars.

Refrezz is a line of shelf-stable canned postbiotic beverages from Asahi Beverages America Inc., Torrance, Calif. The wellness sodas are intended to help consumers relax and recharge, and they claim to support a good night’s sleep and being good for the immune system. The sodas contain two postbiotics, Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 and Lactobacillus acidophilus L-92, which deliver benefits through inactivated bacterial strains and bioactive compounds, according to the company.

The Cheerpop brand that is owned by L.A. Lucky Import Export, Inc., Bell, Calif., uses a trifecta of biotics in its better-for-you, shelf-stable sodas formulated with 30% to 55% real fruit juice. The probiotic is identified as DE111, a spore-forming strain of Bacillus subtilis. It has a symbiotic relationship with the prebiotics and postbiotics also in the formulation. The beverage helps support digestive balance and gut wellbeing, according to the company.

Then there are “seabiotics,” an ingredient used in OoMee marine plant beverages from Aqua Theon, Torrance, Calif. The beverage debuted less than two years ago. Seabiotics are described as being a blend of four types of nutrient-dense seaweed and algae that support gut health. One of the algae is agar-agar, which is a common ingredient in Japan and is used for weight loss, digestive health, bone health, brain health, glucose and cholesterol regulation, according to the company.

MOSH recently reformulated its bar line and now includes creatine in the formulation.

| Photo: MOSH

While gut health was a prominent trend at Expo West, so was energy. Just Ingredients Inc., Orem, Utah, debuted a line of energy drinks formulated with paraxanthine, the predominant metabolite of caffeine in humans with similar stimulant properties. The company describes paraxanthine as a clean-energy ingredient that is fast acting.

Creatine—a naturally occurring amino acid-based compound in the body that helps produce energy for muscles and the brain—also is available as an ingredient and showed up in several new products at Expo West. San Diego-based Rello used the show to debut protein bars and shakes after a successful nationwide test retail launch at Sprouts Farmers Market last year.

The bars come in chocolate and vanilla flavors, with each bar providing 20 grams of protein from collagen and whey, 1.2 grams of creatine, plus almond butter, chicory root fiber, honey, cocoa butter and beef tallow.

“As interest in strength, recovery and cognitive health expands beyond gym culture, consumers have been missing a clean, convenient way to integrate creatine into daily life,” said Brett Sullivan, co-founder. “Creatine is one of the most clinically validated ingredients in performance nutrition, yet its delivery has stayed stuck in outdated formats.

The shakes will be launched soon in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors. One shake contains 30 grams of complete dairy protein and 5 grams of creatine.

Historically, creatine has lacked stability and was not fully dispersible in ready-to-drink beverages over its shelf life, limiting grab-and-go options. Rello uses a soluble creatine that maintains up to 80% solubility for up to 12 months.

Los Angeles-based MOSH also has added creatine to its protein bar line. The brand debuted in 2023 as a mail order-only product. At the time, the bars contained nutrients to support cognitive health, but a recent reformulation included the addition of creatine.