After 30 years of research and development in probiotics, bioscience leader Chr. Hansen has innovated to enable the world’s most-documented probiotic, the LGG® strain, to be applied to the harsh environment of fruit juices. Now Chr. Hansen has two probiotic offerings for a range of juices – the LGG® and L. CASEI 431® strains – and both are backed by scientific evidence demonstrating their ability to support immune health.
Innovation opportunity
With immune health at the top of the list of priorities for many consumers, products that can offer enhanced health benefits are gaining traction. A recent proprietary survey conducted in 2021 by Chr. Hansen in markets around the world found growing consumer interest in foods containing probiotics beyond the more traditional options found in the dairy aisle. Fruit juice, already rich in nutrients, provides an ideal platform onto which producers can add functional ingredients such as probiotics. In the meantime, probiotic juice beverages still remain an untapped category. The number of new product launches in this space in recent years suggests that probiotics have not been widely used as functional ingredients. That said, the LGG® and L. CASEI 431® strains can add immune support in addition to the nutrient content in juices, thus helping to increase their appeal to health-conscious consumers who may not currently purchase juice products.
It’s what’s inside that counts
“We are proud to announce that our NU-TRISH® culture range of probiotics has now been expanded to include an array of juice applications, giving consumers additional options for incorporating immunity-supporting strains into their daily routines and their overall diets,” says Anne-Claire Baiquis, Commercial Development Manager in Fermented Beverages. “Our NU-TRISH® LGG® Juice and NU-TRISH® L. CASEI 431® Juice cultures have been adapted to achieve excellent performance in chilled juice beverages, maintaining an optimal pH and cell count stability throughout the product’s shelf life. With NU-TRISH® probiotic cultures, we like to say that it’s what’s inside that counts,” Anne-Claire Baiquis continues.
“Probiotic juice may look just like other juices on the shelf, but when analyzed up close, it offers a world of difference when it comes to live bacteria counts and the potential to support overall health – in ways that are backed by clinical trials. Our customers can deliver and differentiate these probiotic offerings in a few ways. They can choose proven strains for their recipes, such as the LGG® or L. CASEI 431® strains and place the strain’s logo on the label. Our customers may also receive application support from the Chr. Hansen team to help them ensure sufficient probiotic cell counts for the duration of the juice’s shelf life. They can also get support in communicating the benefits of probiotics to their consumers.
In 2021, Chr. Hansen launched a fact-based platform on probiotics, called The Probiotics Institute™, that helps to explain to industry professionals exactly why what is inside a product does make all the difference.”
What the LGG® or L. CASEI 431® strains can add to your product
Both the world’s most-documented probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus, LGG® and the well-documented probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. casei, L. CASEI 431® support immune health and are backed by clinical evidence. The recommended daily intake for either strain is one billion live cells, which can be achieved in 100 ml of juice, making it easy to consume enough with just one glass.
Customers who collaborate with us in bringing NU-TRISH® probiotics to the marketplace can enjoy the following additional benefits from the Chr. Hansen team:
Inspiration and innovation sessions, we host to share our industry experience and proprietary consumer insights, making it easier for you to spot new opportunities and translate market demands into innovative consumer offerings.
Application support to ensure that our products, the world’s best-documented probiotics, deliver in line with the definition of a true probiotic.
Branding tools that help you build trust within the market and communicate the probiotics message, such as strain-specific logos and The Probiotics Institute™, our fact-based based platform on probiotics.
