Project Background
An increase in health awareness by consumers has led to an increased demand for functional beverages. However, many functional ingredients have challenges (e.g., stability, solubility, taste) in a low pH beverage during its production or over the course of its shelf-life. Typical functional ingredients vary from botanicals to natural colors, etc.
Project Description
PepsiCo is looking for novel encapsulation technologies for various functional (and other) ingredients in a beverage system. Ideally the technology can work across various beverage systems and ingredients though multiple technologies for different systems/ingredients are also acceptable.
We are looking for technology that has strong commercial feasibility with key factors being scale-up, cost, regulation, and whether it can be a platform for many diverse ingredients.
Key Success Criteria
- We are interested in encapsulation technologies for multiple ingredients:
- Hydrophobic or oil-soluble ingredients
- Hydrophilic or water-soluble ingredients
Ingredients of interest can include things like (but not limited to) the following:
- Botanicals
- Natural colorants like anthocyanins
- Vitamins
Must-Have Requirements:
- Safe to consumer and have safety data to understand toxicology effects
- The encapsulant is stable in acidified beverages with a neutral pH trigger
- The encapsulant is stable both in concentrated and diluted system
- Stable at low pH (2.7-3.2) beverage at ambient for 6-9 months (Stable to light, heat, no sedimentation or phase separation).
- Stable after thermal process (approximately 200-205F for 33 seconds)
- Minimal to no sensory impact on final product
- Minimum 6 months ingredient shelf-life
Preferred requirements:
- Ingredient has longer shelf-life (12 months or more)
- Consumer-friendly label (no harsh names)
- Encapsulation should be able to accommodate substrate load of at least 50%
- Should be able to deliver substrate ranging from 150-600ppm in the finished beverage
Approaches Not of Interest:
Technology for research purposes with only lab-scale feasibility
Preferred collaboration Type:
PepsiCo is open to a range of collaboration types.
Resources Available when collaborating with PepsiCo
- Access to PepsiCo expertise – Work directly with PepsiCo’s team of scientists and engineers with deep experience in materials science, packaging and bringing new products to market at massive scale.
- Funding – Proposal-dependent, typically ranges from $25,000 to $100,000 for a proof-of-concept project with the potential for follow-on funding for 1 – 3 years
- Expertise – Work directly with SME with deep experience in beverage.
Submit Ideas!
Related Tech Needs:
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- Pepsico Seeking: Tech to Reduce Salt Perception of Electrolytes
- PepsiCo Seeking: Methodologies to Validate Postbiotics Functional Benefits from Plant-Based Fermentations