Lycored’s Lumenato Emulsion brings ingestible beauty to F&B industry

04 Jun 2024 --- The ingestible beauty market continues to expand as consumers frequently seek out holistic solutions that offer multifunctional benefits in convenient formats. To meet the demand, Lycored has unveiled its latest delivery format solution, Lumenato Emulsion, to provide customers with a versatile solution that can be utilized in the food and beverage (F&B) and supplement industries.

Lumenato Emulsion provides the same phytonutrients, such as carotenoids, phytofluene and phytoene, along with essential fatty acids, as is present in its other Lumenato offerings, with a nine-month shelf life and no visible particles.

“The value of holistic self-care and self-love is a global trend that continues to drive innovation in the wellness and beauty industry,” Caroline Schroeder, the global head of marketing at Lycored, tells Nutrition Insight. “Nourishing our bodies with high-performing ingredients like Lumenato makes us feel and look good from the inside out, and this can translate to better mental well-being too.”

“It’s a cycle of holistic self-care. Moreover, modern consumers are looking for ways to fulfill these self-care desires with on-the-go options that fit their active lifestyles. Lumenato Emulsion is ideal for functional beverages, such as ready-to-drink beverages and wellness shots, making it an easy, convenient and impactful beauty and wellness solution.”

Schroeder further reveals that the company will be debuting a new solution at SupplySide West in Las Vegas, Nevada, US (October 30 – 31).

“At Lycored, we believe all people have a right to wellness,” she details. “Our focus is creating and sharing ingredients to help customers connect with a wide consumer base through inclusivity, creating beautiful opportunities for people of all ages, races, genders and skin types.”

“From skin care to vision to general health and wellness, Lycored empowers brands to create innovative food, beverage and nutraceutical products, with particular relevance in plant-based and clean label offerings, so that consumers can experience beauty from the inside out.”

Versatility and functionality
According to Schroeder, Lumenato is designed to work in synergy with other collagen and ceramides ingredients. This synergy helps to support skin structure while offering holistic skin support and anti-aging effects. The solution also protects collagen’s structure, preserving its benefits, nourishing the skin and boosting its natural resilience.

“The carotenoids in Lumenato create the perfect microenvironment for collagen to thrive, with a protective mechanism that inhibits collagen degrading enzymes,” Schroeder explains. “Lumenato acts as a biological buffer to control inflammation and oxidative stress and support the production and structure of the intracellular matrix parts, including collagen and ceramides.”

“Plus, when carotenoids in Lumenato are combined with fatty acids, they may provide an anti-inflammatory effect, helping to mitigate environmental stressors that enhance free radical formation in the body, such as pollution and UV radiation. Overall, Lumenato is a powerful ingredient that belongs in a holistic beauty routine.”

Protecting the skin
Schroeder highlights that the new offering can benefit people of all ages as it slows the visible signs of aging and can even improve skin structure and appearance over time. Schroeder explains that, when people are younger, the body produces high levels of collagen and ceramides on its own. These nutrients make the skin firm and elastic.The new solution gives F&B customers the ability to infuse products with ingestible beauty benefits.

However, production of the nutrients begins to decrease in the mid-to-late 20s and early 30s. Furthermore, collagen levels are also affected by external factors, such as nutrition, pollution and exposure to the sun.

“Lumenato combats this by increasing carotenoid levels to build a foundation for skin health and reveal its glow,” she reveals. “Between ages 18 and 35 years, Lumenato successfully works to balance inflammation, protect against environmental challenges and build antioxidant and nutrient reservoirs.”

“At ages 35 and older, in addition to the benefits already provided, Lumenato helps improve collagen levels and ceramides, supports skin structure, minimizes lines and wrinkles and increases skin firmness. When used regularly, Lumenato helps build strong skin structure from the inside out, resulting in a more youthful skin appearance, helping individuals look and feel better as they age timelessly.”

Overcoming challenges
Lumenato comes in two other formulations as well. Lumenato Starch Beadlets can be used for gummies, capsules and dry or powdered beverages.

Lumenato Extract can be utilized in soft gels, chocolates, nutritional bars and even ice cream to infuse products with ingestible beauty benefits. However, Schroeder reveals that creating an emulsion for F&B applications was no easy task.

“As a proprietary ingredient from Lycored’s one-of-a-kind golden tomato, there was no previous knowledge of how to produce the Lumenato Emulsion, so naturally, a few challenges arose,” she concludes. “The biggest challenge was that the unique, naturally occurring carotenoids in Lumenato are highly sensitive to light and temperatures.”

“Because of these sensitivities and the fact that in this emulsion process temperatures reach very high levels, we needed to develop a production process that would both protect carotenoid stability and maintain an effective ingredient for our customers, which we have achieved for the Lumenato Emulsion.”

By William Bradford Nichols