With its eye on serving the Asia Pacific market, Frutarom Health is expanding the regional focus of NovaSOL Curcumin, its turmeric formula. The innovative liquid curcumin formulation suited for beverages and sport nutrition drinks boasts among the highest bioavailability of curcumin ingredients, according to the company.
 
Innova Market Insight reports the number of new product launches tracked with turmeric has increased by 1.5 times over the last five years reaping an annual growth of 9% (CAGR 2013-2017). Hot drinks is the fastest growing market category (+47%, CAGR 2013-2017) for new food and beverage and supplements launches tracked with curcumin, followed by soft drinks (+27%, CAGR 2013-2017).
 
Driving interest in curcumin is a rapidly growing consumer awareness of its multiple health benefits,. Joint health claims are the fastest growing in food and beverage launches tracked with curcumin as an ingredient (CAGR 2013-2017 +82%). Sport recovery and immune health claims are also growing quickly, with +51% and +48% CAGRs (2013-2017) respectively.
 
Because of typically poor bioavailability of standard curcumin extracts, product makers have sought formulations with increased bioavailability.
 
NovaSOL Curcumin aims to open new opportunities in markets such as sport nutrition and functional beverages for creating stable, clear drinks with high curcumin bioavailability. This has become especially important for serving Asian consumers, for whom convenience, taste, and efficacy are in high demand.
 
NovaSOL Curcumin is a liquid formula of solubilized turmeric 185 times more bioavailable than standard curcumin extract. It has become one of the most demanded curcumin ingredients in Europe, according to Frutarom. Developed by the German company, Aquanova AG, NovaSOL Curcumin has been marketed predominantly in Europe by Frutarom since 2013.
 
“Following the success in Europe—more than 50 products containing NovaSOL Curcumin are in the EU food supplement market—Frutarom plans to replicate this success in other regions,” said Wouter Haazen, product manager of Frutarom Health. “We will also simultaneously expand market segments, such as in functional beverages.”
 
Turmeric-containing drinks are gaining significant popularity across certain regions, particularly Asia, but their appearance and flavor are not always very appealing. NovaSOL liquid is completely water- and fat-soluble, allowing formulators to incorporate it into beverages in lower doses for much better finished-product taste.
 
“We went the extra mile, leveraging our expertise in healthy ingredients, attractive natural colors, and appealing flavors,” explained Mr. Haazen. “Frutarom’s experts developed beverage compounds containing NovaSOLCurcumin in a concentrated syrup formula that can easily incorporate into beverage and provide a comprehensive solution of vivid color and great taste.”