LycoRed solves vitamin solubility for Neviot

Neviot claims to be a leader in Israel's mineral water market and has just launched Neviot+, described as a flavoured 'near water' that is fortified with a vitamin B complex.

The product was formulated by LycoRed, which said that the project posed a few technical challenges.

"We had to develop a means to fortify mineral water without affecting the taste, clarity or colour,"​ said LycoRed marketing director Udi Alroy. "This challenge required a special formulation that improved the solubility of the vitamins."​

Alroy told NutraIngredients.com that LycoRed came up with a premix solution to meet the client's sporty target market.

In addition to providing taste-free fortification, LycoRed can also provide a natural colourant in the form of lycopene. This gives companies a clean label option, where previously they may have had to work with an artificial colouring.

Alroy told NutraIngredients.com that this is the first near-water product LycoRed has worked on to come to market. t is currently working on some solutions for dairy products.

Fortification of water and dairy is a relatively new trend, he said, and B vitamins are popular for sporty products, as they can provide 10, 15 or 20 per cent of a person's recommended dose. Modern eating habits mean that many people are consuming less B vitamins, and may benefit from new sources.

The bottle water market has been tipped by analysts as posing a major threat to carbonated soft drinks in the coming years, as consumers plump for products with a healthier edge.

Zenith International predicted in January that global consumption of bottled waters would pass 173bn litres this year. The market grew 4.7 per cent in 2004 to reach a volume of 163bn litres.

On a global scale, Nestle, Danone and PepsiCo are said to be leading the water charge.