Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the food industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups developing innovative beverage ingredients.
Out of 256, the Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Startups developing Innovative Beverage Ingredients
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 256 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 beverage startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 251 novel beverage ingredients solutions, get in touch.
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Winecrush develops Low-Sodium Ingredients
Canned beverages contain high levels of sodium, which is used as a preservative to increase shelf life. However, high sodium intake increases the risk of high blood pressure and stroke in humans. Using natural ingredients to produce clean label solutions increases the health benefits of such beverages. Therefore, startups are developing plant-based low-sodium formulations to make canned drinks healthier.
Canadian startup Winecrush transforms wine derivatives into polyphenolic ingredients. The startup uses a biochemical process to transform wine derivatives, such as skins and seeds, into a puree. The ingredient contains nutritious polyphenolic substances like quercetin and resveratrol. The ingredient also lowers sodium content, when blended with plant-based protein formulations, and is a natural preservative. This provides beverage manufacturers with a low sodium alternative that is also a clean label ingredient.
Eevia Health produces Bioactive Extracts
With increasing health consciousness, people are consuming more bioactive compounds beyond usual nutrients. However, there is a limited choice of natural bioactive compounds, leading to an increase in the use of synthetic alternatives. The chemical synthesis of these compounds is costly since it requires multi-step isolation and purification processes. Therefore, startups are producing natural bioactive compounds that are suitable in beverages.
Finnish startup Eevia Health produces bioactive extracts for beverages. The startup’s solutions use organic natural extracts from plants, such as lingonberry, bilberry, mushroom, and pine bark. The ingredients are hand-picked and processed into standardized extracts. The plant extracts also contain high and standardized amounts of active nutrients, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidants, and beta-glucans. The ingredients find use in dietary supplements, functional beverages, and superfoods.
Brookside provides Clean Label Extracts
Presently, adding flavor-active aroma compounds to beverages is difficult due to problems of solubility. As a result, adding artificial flavors, especially in alcoholic beverages, is prevalent in the industry. To reduce excessive use of synthetic chemicals in beverages, startups are developing natural beverage formulations that enable high solubility of flavor or aroma compounds.
Brookside is a US-based startup that provides clean label extracts for beverages. The startup produces organic and natural flavor profiles for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage formulation. The flavor profiles include spices, citrus, floral, and sweet flavors as well as water-soluble flavors for spirits and ready-to-drink beverages. This provides beverage manufacturers clean label extracts that improve the taste and texture of the beverages.
Aliga Microalgae offers Microalgae Extracts
Animal proteins like meat, dairy, and eggs contain all the essential amino acids. On the contrary, plant-based proteins from foods like beans, grains, nuts, and soy lack some essential amino acids. Thus, it is difficult for vegans and vegetarians to meet all their protein needs. To promote plant-based beverage consumption, startups develop alternative protein-rich solutions for enhancing the nutrient contents of beverages.
Danish Aliga Microalgae produces protein-rich microalgae products for the beverage and dietary supplement industries. The startup’s solution, Aliga Aqtive, uses Chlorella biomass to produce fresh concentrates for juice and smoothie applications. The extract contains high levels of protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This provides beverage manufacturers a protein-rich, natural, and functional ingredient for clean label and vegan use cases.
Ecogen produces Cannabinoid-based Ingredients
Medical cannabis is known to reduce anxiety and offer other health benefits. To capitalize on the growing trend of medical cannabis, startups now offer a range of cannabis-based beverages. However, the cannabinoid ingredients have poor bioavailability. Thus, startups are developing purified cannabinoid ingredients to provide beverage producers with safe extracts that increase the bioavailability of cannabis.
US-based startup Beyond Hemp produces cannabinoid-based ingredients. The startup extracts and purifies cannabidiol (CBD), eliminating tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and chlorophyll from the plant. The ingredients contain non-psychoactive phytocannabinoids and synergistic compound terpene. This provides beverage manufacturers a CBD-rich ingredient to blend with beverages.
Discover more Food Tech Startups
Bevtech startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on plant-based extracts, clean label solutions, and natural ingredients. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the food & beverage industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more beverage technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free FoodTech Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
