Balchem, a leading global manufacturer of specialty ingredients for human nutrition and health, returns to IFT FIRST to showcase better-for-you food and beverage concepts and share expert insights on elevating formulation. At booth #1407, visitors can sample delicious new functional beverages and high-protein snack prototypes powered by Balchem’s range of food and beverage solutions, including its new Milk Protein Z-Crisps^®. The portfolio includes customisable beverage systems, advanced microencapsulated ingredients and functional powders designed to meet growing demand for products that support a healthy and balanced lifestyle, without compromising taste. Balchem’s experts will also host two presentations demonstrating exciting ways to formulate better-for-you products.

“Current market trends are driving demand for convenient, on-the-go options that support wellness while still delivering the flavours and textures consumers expect,” comments Andrew Hart, Director of Strategic Marketing & Business Development at Balchem. “Healthy snacking has become a daily ritual for most Americans, with 70 % actively seeking more protein¹, while functional beverages are redefining the drinks category as brands race to deliver products that go beyond hydration. At IFT, we’re excited to showcase prototypes and concepts that demonstrate how our ingredient technologies can help brands meet these evolving demands for convenient options with real health benefits and standout sensory appeal.”

Unlocking solutions for better-for-you innovations

Visitors at the booth can connect with Balchem’s experts to discover how MeatShure^®, an advanced microencapsulation technology, enables efficient, high-capacity production of premium meat snack sticks. MeatShure^® eliminates fermentation times and added sugars for cleaner, protein-rich products. In beverages, Balchem will present its INjoy^™ beverage systems, designed to deliver tailored functionality and consistent sensory appeal across applications like functional waters, RTD beverages and energy drinks. Rounding out the portfolio, VitalBlend^™ offers fully customisable lipid-based powders enhanced with macro and micronutrients, supporting application-specific nutrition needs.

Spotlighting formulation expertise

Balchem’s portfolio will be brought to life through mouthwatering product concepts, including Dubai chocolate-inspired clusters featuring Milk Protein Z-Crisps^®. Designed to optimise mouthfeel and flavour, this high protein concept demonstrates how Balchem can help brands create nutrient-dense products without sacrificing taste and texture.

Balchem’s experts will also host two presentations at the Taste of Science Stage, demonstrating the company’s formulation capabilities across high-protein, high-fiber functional food and beverage applications. In the first, “Formulating Better-for-You Indulgence in High Protein, High Fiber Applications”, attendees will discover how spray-dried lipid powders can enhance taste, texture and functionality. The following day, “Simplifying Beverage Innovation: Beverage Systems Built for Fast-Moving Markets” turns the focus to how systems-based formulation can reduce development complexity while delivering consistent sensory performance.

¹International Food Information Council (IFIC), 2025 Food & Health Survey

Prinova will highlight a new range of beverage concepts targeting key consumer health and nutrition trends at Fi Europe (2nd to 4th December in Paris).

The leading provider of bespoke premixes and blends will showcase three new “Inner Power” functional beverage concepts. With a “feeling good from the inside out” theme, the ready-to-drink range is designed to inspire innovation and drive category growth:

• Inner Glow Citrus and Maracuya – a vibrant orange drink containing beauty-from-within ingredients, including lemon balm extract, chamomile extract, and marine collagen. Prinova’s trends insights have highlighted growing consumer awareness of the relationship between nutrition, beauty, and personal care.¹
• Inner Balance Lime Cucumber and Mint – a soothing green beverage supporting gut health, with ginger root extract, apple cider vinegar powder, and passion flower extract. Gut/digestive health is an established megatrend1, with Prinova research identifying it as the primary health concern for 85 % of consumers.²
• Inner Focus Mixed Berries Blush – a rich red drink targeted at cognitive wellbeing, which Prinova’s functional health trends research has identified as a megatrend.1 Consumers are increasingly focused on proactive, convenient nutrition strategies for cognition, with 80% citing brain health/mood as the most important health issue.2 Mixed Berries Blush features a B vitamin blend to support cognition claims, alongside coenzyme Q10 and functional ingredients from natural sources, including the branded Aronia Melanocarpa berry extract BrainBerry^®.

Visitors to the Prinova stand will also be able to sample its game-changing pre-workout ingredient, CITRAPEAK^®. The clinically backed product is the first 100 % soluble form of hesperidin, delivering fast-acting vasodilatory and pump benefits. Naturally derived from orange peels, it is clean, effective, and virtually flavourless, making it ideal for performance-driven solutions.

¹Functional Health Trends, 2024
²Research conducted online between May and June 2024