Aged black garlic flavour invades gummies space

Pharmactive Biotech Products said the science-backed ingredient delivers wellness benefits and won’t stimulate reflux the way fresh garlic can.

Grown from a special variety of garlic, and cultivated just two hours from Pharmactive’s facility, it is gently processed using green technology. This method generates very low waste and significantly reduces the environmental impact, according to the company.

This advanced aged black garlic ingredient comes at a perfect time: Upcoming regulations of the EFSA and European Commission will reduce the amount of red yeast rice allowed in existing formulations to just 3mg, therefore losing EFSA-approved claims for monacolin K.

Aged black garlic has long been regarded as a culinary delicacy and integral component of the Asian diet, as well as a tool to maintain health.

Traditionally, it is produced by ageing whole bulbs of a selected Spanish species of fresh garlic at high humidity and low temperatures for several weeks. ABG+ is produced using the company’s proprietary ABG Cool-TechTM ageing technique.

“Aged black garlic develops a distinctive sweet flavour during ageing while losing its typical garlic flavour and aroma due to allicin degradation​,” said Daniel Gonzalez-Hedström, Senior Scientific Researcher for Pharmactive. “This allows it to be easily included in various formulations, easily masking with fruit or other flavours any slight garlic notes that might remain.”​

The growth of gummies

Innova Market Insights reports that over the first eight months of 2021, one-quarter of vitamin and mineral launches were gummies. Gummies have experienced double-digit growth in launches, represented by a CAGR of 16% from 2016 to 2020. Meanwhile, tablets and soft gels declined by a CAGR of 8% and 12%, respectively.

According to Innova’s 2019 trends survey (conducted in the UK, Spain, France, and Germany), younger generations prefer gummies and functional foods and beverages to traditional supplement formats.

“Response for this ingredient has been amazing due to its demonstrated capacity to help reduce cardiovascular risk factors, per a recent clinical study​,” said Gonzalez-Hedström. “Consumers are determined to get more benefits from foods instead of pills. ABG+ is a ‘two-in-one’ ingredient that can help achieve this goal through innovative and preferred delivery systems, such as functional gummies. It is highly suitable for either gelatin- or pectin-based formats​.”

The company said it recommends blending its ingredients with fruits flavours such as blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries.