Across all sectors, many manufacturers are now turning to botanicals and their virtues, both to revamp their existing product ranges and to position themselves in new areas. Let's take a look at how natural products are becoming a booming market opportunity, following the example of Chartreuse, which is focusing its future projects on herbal products from a health and care standpoint. Then discover the expertise of Natural Origins to support you in this trend combining taste and health.

Emerging new products based on botanicals

Aware of the strong impact generated by this approach inspired by botanicals, the major agro-food stakeholders have followed in Chartreuse's footsteps in order to capitalise on the added value of their products based on their health benefits. "There is a real demand for a different way of using botanicals", says Emmanuel Delafon, Chairman of Chartreuse Diffusion (1). 

The brand of ancestral plant elixirs made from 130 botanicals is developing new herbal products (herbal teas and soon phytotherapy), emphasising the health benefits of its botanical ingredients. This stakeholder is now incorporating health-related terms that are gaining in popularity (sleep, stress, digestion, etc.).

In addition to consumers' attraction to naturalness and, in some cases, the organic and ethical aspects of these new products, it is their health benefits that are attracting the most interest, demonstrating the importance of this diversification in terms of taste and quality. Ancestral and medicinal botanicals can also be sourced from French terroirs, adding considerable value to the product. This trend towards botanical extracts is a way of responding to consumers' health and well-being priorities.

In terms of the diversification of companies whose core business was quite different, and as an example:

A major tea and beverages stakeholder has just launched into food supplements (2) with a complete product range responding to many associated health benefits (digestion, slimming, immunity, memory, sleep, relaxation, etc)

A beverage manufacturer is also moving in this direction with shots featuring health claims such as immunity with ginger, orange, mango and turmeric (3). 

Finally, to win over consumers looking for health benefits, a muesli brand is adding freeze-dried strawberries and blackcurrants to its oat flakes and granolas. These are valuable sources of vitamins C and B with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, also supporting natural immunity (4).

Our botanicals promoting taste and health: two adjoining expertises!

The taste and health benefits of each botanical: a Taste BU and a Health BU

In order to respond to the different needs for natural ingredients of agro-food industries, two Business Units (BU) (5) were created:

- The Taste BU: dedicated to the spirits and beverages (teas and infusions, beers) and food markets, it offers a customised approach with appropriate and relevant responses through cut, blended and/or flavoured botanicals, in particular Taste Giving Extracts (TGE). 

"All Taste BU products have a common denominator: a well-researched & qualified supply chain." (6)

This includes:

• specific, dedicated sourcing (search for a particular terroir, origin, complex organoleptic quality, etc.)
• a personalised approach with customised answers from our Botanical Studio® and tasting sessions 
• the creation of specific and confidential product ranges

- The Health BU: to meet the needs of professionals in nutraceuticals, functional foods and beverages, food supplements and sports nutrition, as well as those wishing to diversify into health products. This unit brings together our botanical powders, our Optifine® powders, our Clear Water Soluble extracts (CWS) and beehive products, which refer to phyto-active components, ratio, etc.

"Formulations of botanical ingredients, rich in health actives and sourced from controlled supply chains, for the development of well-being products." (7) 

Our turmeric ingredient, for example, can be classified as 'Health' for its curcumin (2-5%), but also as 'Taste' for its warm, earthy flavour. Each particular turmeric will therefore have a separate product code and technical data sheet depending on its end use, with different standards (the world of food supplements does not have the same quality standards as the world of herbal teas, for example). At Natural Origins, we've thought of simplifying your task by offering you two exclusive solutions for your projects, all stemming from a single company.

Alongside the analyses carried out on each of our batches, the desired taste and the reproduction of the organoleptic profile of each botanical are guaranteed. Glossaries and tasting sheets have also been available since 2022, so that we can classify and evaluate our botanical ingredients when working with a flavourist from our R&D team.

Our botanicals and blends with health claims*(8) 

At Natural Origins, our catalogue of raw materials includes more than 400 botanical species and over 2,000 botanical references, 60% of which are organic (including around fifty botanicals dedicated to spirits and beers). We ensure total traceability for each batch of ingredients, some of which are For Life and Fair for Life certified, and all of which have an authentic taste and flavour thanks to our exclusive, customised sourcing from protected areas.

The Natural Origins range is extensive and we keep a permanent stock of over 1,000 tonnes of botanicals, while our total annual stock is over 2,500 tonnes, with a large proportion corresponding to our customers' annual contracts.

Thanks to our wide choice of raw materials, we can offer you a varied range of botanicals, whether raw, cut, in extract or powder form, or even customised blends with health-giving properties:

A health-specific product range: CWS

Characteristics and advantages

Our CWS or Clear Water Soluble extracts are water-soluble botanical extracts that offer a number of advantages, including  "natural extract" specified on the label with a healthcare pledge. Their optimal solubility means that, thanks to their low turbidity, they produce clear drinks. The organoleptic impact of our botanical extracts is also minimised and calibrated. What's more, CWS can be standardised for phytoactives, as required.

Applications and health claims

CWS can be used in spirits, flavoured waters, powdered drinks, effervescent tablets and soft drinks.

By way of example, acerola and ginseng CWS enable an 'energy' claim to be made. A dosage of 25% vitamin C in acerola extract (CWS with 0.8% of this ingredient) authorises the following health claims: "contributes to energy metabolism, to the proper functioning of the immune system to reduce fatigue" (9), Ginseng (CWS with 0.2% of this ingredient) is recognised for fighting fatigue and improving physical and mental capacity (10).

Other botanicals with associated health benefits also offer numerous possibilities for incorporating botanicals into formulations thanks to our CWS:

Based on plant extracts from Natural Origins, a clean label, CWSs are the perfect solution for adding health claims to your products using natural active ingredients.

Add value to your product with 100% French sourcing

You can also opt for "Made in France" design and manufacturing.

These differentiating features, combined with the botanical's emblematic taste and flavour, will contribute to the success and originality of your end product. The 'Made in France' argument is linked to superior quality in the minds of consumers, which Natural Origins associates with eco-responsible production and complete traceability.

When it comes to health and health claims, buying criteria are essentially based on the clear composition of healthy, natural products, sourced and manufactured in France.

Design and support with Botanical Studio® and our specific workshops

At Natural Origins, we create innovative concepts for the natural ingredients market: the Botanical Studio® enables you to develop innovative, customised solutions with authentic flavours. Our botanical experts will support you from the search for ingredients to the personalised design of your product.

Natural Origins puts all its historical expertise at your disposal to guide you as best we can in the creation of your formulations. We also invite you to create and taste your own recipes during exclusive one-day workshops, which will also enable you to discover the full potential of our CWS.

Natural Origins offers you:

• The sharing of our experience and  support close to your project,
• Suggestions and proposals in terms of the scents, aromas and flavours of natural ingredients that will create a strong identity for your brand,
• Specific botanicals according to your specifications: taste, geographical origin, choice of spices, etc.
• Scientific expertise to research and validate ingredients with health claims,
• Enhancing the value of your formulation through the originality of your blend,
• Expertise tailored to each of your unique and confidential taste and botanical projects.
  

Type of development

As an example, here's what we did to support a foreign company specialising in nutraceuticals:

• Design six personalised infusions with claims and intense taste,
• Developed specific collagen product range with a health and taste promise based on our basil and sweet mint TGEs (Taste Giving Extracts) for cardiovascular well-being and beauty,
• Made a project to develop a product range of capsules with verified claims* 

We were able to support this stakeholder in the creation of a complete turnkey product range through our workshops and our Botanical Studio®.

As a result, the company was able to accelerate its development and benefit from undeniable time savings when it came to marketing its products, devoting itself solely to marketing and promoting its products via its distributors.

Please feel free to contact us.

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