The global leader that put supplemental lycopene on the world stage has opened a new technologically sophisticated and sustainable facility in New Jersey.
For more than 25 years, beginning with standardized tomato extract Lycomato®, Lycored has been combining nature's potential with cutting-edge science. It is now a global leader in carotenoids, vitamins and minerals, and real-food ingredients.
Unprecedented demand for nutritional products, notably in beauty-from-within and natural colorants, necessitated Lycored’s team to design and build a new production facility in Branchburg, New Jersey.
To give a tour to visitors worldwide, Lycored has produced an entertaining and educational video teaming with motion expert Adam Rubin and creative director Matt Bierce. It’s part of a grand opening taking place virtually rather than in-person due to the pandemic.
“Sometimes, a ground-breaking innovation, such as our new facility, calls for a groundbreaking of its own,” remarked Zev Ziegler, Head of Global Brand & Marketing, Health for Lycored. “This is why we are inviting industry members to a one-of-a-kind, virtual grand opening party and VIP tour to celebrate the launch of Lycored’s newest production facility.”
Representing nearly three decades of carotenoid research and innovation, Lycored’s Branchburg plant is not a culmination but a beginning of a new chapter serving the ever-evolving dietary supplement industry. “The new facility brings together everything we’ve learned from 25 years of passion for our work, insights, ideas and investigations into the ways science can elevate the powerful wellness found in nature,” commented Ziegler. “From extraction to encapsulation, we’re always pushing for the next big idea to help make sure our carotenoid, vitamin and food products are as pure and potent as possible.”
With this expansion, Lycored expects its new site to play a key role in doubling lycopene production.
The Great Incubator
Ideas in – fully realized products out: Lycored’s new facility represents a significant investment to create a vertically integrated system. “The system is designed to carefully control the entire journey from seed to supplement for our key products which allows us to maximize wellness and efficacy, minimize waste and take care of the earth along the way,” Ziegler described.
Lycored’s new production facility is allergen-free, with strict temperature and humidity-controlled environments, and features innovative and advanced capabilities such as milling, blending, drying and custom coating. The plant was intentionally designed to maximize the purity, efficacy, and shelf-stability of Lycored’s vast offerings of vitamins, supplements and food and beverage ingredients while also exponentially increasing its output capacity, including microencapsulation, blending and packaging capabilities.
The Branchburg facility boasts formidable milling and blending proficiency with state-of-the-art machinery, including:
- Air mill for micronizing and grinding material
- Pk100 blender with 100 cubic feet and 2.5 metric ton batch capacity
- Pk60 blender with 1.6 metric ton capacity
- PK blenders with 18 and 20 cubic feet capacity for smaller blends and industrial trials
- Fluid-bed blender
- High-shear mixer
Lycored’s FDA-registered, cGMP-complaint and NSF-certified facility has been designed and built for innovative customization of its wide-ranging products. Lycored’s teams provide leadership in vitamin, supplement and food and beverage R&D, as well as support for Kosher, Halal and vegetarian certifications.
“Our new site also boasts a new application lab and production line supporting color and taste application development,” Ziegler elaborated. Lycored developed a plant-based range of resolute reds, oranges, yellows and golds that are constantly being refined and rigorously tested to maintain their hue in the particular product formulation they appear outperforming many natural and synthetic options in a variety of food and beverage applications, including carbonate and juice-based beverages, UHT dairy, meat alternatives, bakery and many more.
With so much activity in production, Lycored is committed to ensuring environmental protection. Measures to dramatically reduce waste and preserve resources have been integrated into the new plant. For example, Lycored’s single-solvent tomato oleoresin extraction reduces water use, and it has a reduced reliance on energy and transportation.
Beyond these technologically sophisticated features, Lycored also gives back to its new community, bringing its venerable program, Heart + Soil, to Branchburg. “Heart + Soil Day is more than a celebration of the natural world, it’s also a time for enriching the bonds with our local communities,” emphasized Ziegler. “This year for example, our New Jersey team went big. Our US team worked with Together We Rise to assemble gift cases packed with teddy bears, blankets and notes of nourishment for foster children.”
The expansion hallmarked by the new state-of-the-art facility epitomizes what the Lycored team believes: “When you prioritize quality in every step of the journey all health breaks loose.”