Natural Flavored Functional Beverage: Formulation of Prebiotic Drink
client
Probiotic Drink
Our Role
We redefined fast-casual loyalty
Today’s Task
What We did Today?
Event: Clean -Label Carbonated Functional Beverage – Formulation and Product Development of Flavoured Prebiotic Drink
Today’s task involved formulating a clean-label, carbonated functional beverage enriched with prebiotic compounds from natural root and plant-based sources. The formulation aimed to balance functional health benefits (gut microbiota modulation, dietary fibre enrichment) with sensory acceptance (flavor balance, sweetness, mouthfeel, carbonation perception). By integrating natural fruit concentrates, botanical extracts, dietary fibres, and natural sweeteners, the product was designed to deliver a refreshing, palatable, and gut health–promoting prebiotic drink.
How I Felt Before Starting – Formulating and Developing Flavoured
🧪 What We Did Today
Product Development Plan
We planned to develop a Prebiotic Drink in three key phases:
- To develop a prebiotic base formulation by preparing, homogenizing, and filtering root and herbal extracts into a stable functional base.
- To develop and optimize four prebiotic flavors by blending the base with fruit concentrates, natural sweeteners, fibers, and stabilizers to create palatable prototypes.
- To optimize processing conditions and sensory profile by adjusting stabilizers, homogenization, and carbonation to balance taste, clarity, and texture.
Key Steps Followed Today:
- Raw Materials: Prebiotic extract powders (inulin, chicory root, kudzu root, resistant starch).
- Extraction & Hydration: Powders dispersed in preheated water (40–80 °C) to enhance solubility and release of bioactive components.
- Homogenization: High-shear mixing to reduce particle aggregation and ensure uniform suspension.
- Process: Filtration through fine-grade cellulose membranes to remove insoluble matter and obtain a clarified extract.
- Rationale: Critical for preventing sedimentation, turbidity, and phase separation in the carbonated matrix.
- Core Components: Clarified prebiotic extract blended with fruit concentrates (citrus, tropical, berry variants), dietary fibres, and clean-label sweeteners (stevia, erythritol, FOS).
- Stabilizer Integration: Prehydrated natural stabilizers (pectin, gum acacia) and modified starch to regulate viscosity, prevent flocculation, and improve storage stability.
- Natural Flavors: Fruit and spice essences integrated to enhance palatability and mask bitterness.
- Natural Colorants: Anthocyanins, carotenoids, and chlorophyll derivatives used for visual appeal and antioxidant synergy.
- Homogenization: Performed to ensure consistent flavor release, visual uniformity, and mouthfeel consistency.
- Carbonation Parameters: CO₂ infused at controlled pressure to enhance effervescence, aroma release, and mouthfeel.
- Conditioning: Refrigerated storage (4 °C) to stabilize gas solubility and minimize oxidative degradation.
- Sensory Profiling: Evaluated for clarity, carbonation retention, sweetness–bitterness balance, flavor persistence, and aftertaste.
📚 What I Learned?
- Sensory Optimization: A blend of two to three natural sweeteners effectively masked the inherent bitterness of chicory/kudzu, improving consumer acceptability.
- Stabilizer Interaction: Combination of natural hydrocolloids and modified starch significantly improved viscosity, colloidal stability, and suspension of bioactives.
- Carbonation Effect: Enhanced flavor release, refreshing mouthfeel, and perceived sweetness intensity due to CO₂ effervescence.
Outcome
Developed a carbonated prebiotic beverage with:
- Balanced sweetness and acidity,
- Noticeable gut health–promoting properties from root extracts,
- Improved mouthfeel due to carbonation.
Some prototypes exhibited sedimentation and residual aftertaste, requiring further optimization of extract concentration, homogenization pressure, and flavor masking strategies.
✅ What Went Well?
- Functional Ingredient Integration: Successfully incorporated multiple prebiotic root extracts without compromising carbonation stability.
- Flavor Pairing: Most fruit–root combinations demonstrated synergistic flavor balance, improving overall sensory perception.
⚠️ What Could I Have Done Better
- Optimization of Root Extract Ratios: Adjusting concentration could reduce bitterness intensity and aftertaste.
- Alternative Extract Formats: Testing liquid extracts vs. powders may improve clarity and texture stability.
- Advanced Processing Trials: High-pressure homogenization and microfiltration could enhance sediment stability and shelf life.
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