Bartek Ingredients’ Uplift Taste Modification Technology allows manufacturers of confectionery and mineral, vitamin and supplement gummies to enhance and modulate taste, create authentic fruit flavor and sour profiles, enhance juicy, tart notes and extend these throughout chew time. The company will showcase the innovation at Vitafoods Europe next week. 

“Our goal for Uplift is to show formulators that creative buffers like Uplift can enhance fruit flavor and sour onset, peak and linger in finished products compared to more conventional options like sodium nitrate,” Mohammad Emami, director of marketing and business development at Bartek Ingredients, tells NutritionInsight. 

“The intensified juicy and tart notes, coupled with their prolonged presence throughout the chewing process, delivers an unparalleled eating experience, resonating strongly with the consumer.” 

Bartek Ingredients’ objective is to develop “sophisticated sour profiles” that strongly appeal to consumers in various industries, continues Emami. “To achieve this, we are investigating various methods of utilizing combinations of acidulants and buffers to deliver authentic fruit flavors and distinctive sour profiles.”

Innova Market Insights reported that gummy supplement launches from October 2017 to September 2022 grew by 54%. 

“True-to-the-fruit” flavor 
There are many taste enhancement technologies in the industry, says Emami, including combinations of buffers and acidulants that can mimic a true-to-the-fruit flavor profile across many applications. 

“Sodium citrate has historically been the buffer most used in gummies, so consumers are familiar with its flavor profiles,” he adds. “Formulators often experiment with acids to achieve new profiles, but alternative buffers offer untapped opportunity.” 

“We’ve spent the past several years exploring the vast possibilities that come from our core ingredients, malic and fumaric acid, and that’s resulted in a consistently growing portfolio of ingredient technologies.”

“Gummies made with Uplift SM – sodium hydrogen malate – and UpliftPM – potassium hydrogen malate – show distinctly different flavor profiles than those made with sodium citrate. Additionally, gummies made with Uplift PM deliver longer-lasting flavor for an extended taste experience.” 

Bartek will also showcase its Pecmate Pectin Enhancer at their Vitafoods booth F284, a buffer developed for brand owners and contract manufacturers producing vegan gummies and other pectin products. The ingredient addresses the challenges of working with pectin, which can be difficult as it requires a specific pH balance to set properly. 

Future applications include sports drinks 

Although the company focuses on gummies and jellies using either pectin or gelatin, the new ingredient can be used across different industries, notes Emami. 

“We are also investigating the potential of Uplift Taste Modification Technology in beverage categories, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, carbonated and sport ready-to-drink beverages.” 

“We have observed that sour flavors are becoming increasingly popular in the beverage industry. Recognizing that a unique sweet-sour taste profile can significantly enhance the consumer experience, this sector has embraced this trend.” 

In the future, Bartek Ingredients will continue to address challenges faced by food, beverage and supplement manufacturers, concludes Emami. 

“For example, novel products to improve the taste and streamline the production and processing of both existing and emerging plant-protein beverages. Furthermore, we are exploring functional and fortification malic/fumaric-based salts that can unlock specific benefits. We will unveil additional brands and technologies in the year’s second half.”