Malic acid. It’s the Swiss army knife of beverage formulation; the tool that helps refine, intensify, promote flavor depth, adjust aftertaste, and more to achieve a superior sensory experience in beverages.
Because of these properties, it’s become an essential ingredient within the beverage category – seeing an over 5% CAGR in new beverage product launches for the past five years, rising to almost 16% in categories where flavor is more critical, like sports drinks.
With this in mind, the seasoned beverage manufacturer looking to deliver innovation and variety in their product line is likely familiar with malic acid. More than ever, today’s beverage consumers have options – to quench their thirst, get an energy boost, or simply to enjoy a sweet drink. Malic acid helps make formulating flavor variety simpler, which is especially critical when considering the more than 45% of US consumers who reported to Innova Consumer Insights (2022) that flavor is the top factor of importance in their purchasing decision.
Line extensions might include low-sugar or sugar-free versions of popular favorites, or perhaps a tropical fruit twist on a brand’s core product. It’s these product line extensions that keep beverages exciting to consumers and consume valuable shelf space in retail. But, at the end of the day, beverages need to provide a sensory experience that consumers want to come back to repeatedly – and because of this, more often than not, malic acid is part of the equation.
Throughout the formulation and reformulation process, producers of sports drinks, flavored waters, energy drinks, and more rely on malic acid as the acidulant of choice to modulate and refine the sensory experience of beverages.
As the global leaders in malic acid, Bartek Ingredients knew the time was right to revolutionize this market. That’s why we created EasyAcid™ Malic Solution, a liquid acidulant that makes it easier and more straightforward than ever for beverage manufacturers to formulate with this key ingredient at customized concentration levels.
Fine-tuning the malic acid formulation experience
Blended or used alone, malic acid is useful for taste modulation and imparting sourness, and formulators often turn to the ingredient to finely tune the perception of fruitiness or to mask the lingering aftertaste of high-intensity sweeteners. Frequently paired with fruit flavors for its mellow tartness and smooth finish, malic acid also synergizes with other acidulants, such as citric acid and tartaric acid.
However, formulating with malic acid presents certain challenges for beverage manufacturers. Most malic acid arrives at the loading dock as a finely ground powder, which is then blended with other dry ingredients and used in production. EasyAcid™ greatly simplifies the use of malic acid for beverage development by eliminating the need to dissolve acidulants.
The liquid format eliminates the risk of dust exposure during ingredient blending and greatly reduces the potential for errorneous, improper, or inadequate mixing. By reducing risk and increasing consistency of output, formulating beverage applications with EasyAcid™ not only adds to the sensory experience, but it also makes good economic sense.
Simplify and streamline beverage production with EasyAcid™ Malic Solution
As beverage manufacturers well know, time is money on the production line. Any downtime is costly. And while beverage consumers want more variety, bringing those new flavor experiences to market requires diligent attention to detail to ensure production remains economical, efficient, and scalable.
Beverage manufacturers looking to streamline their processes and improve quality in finished goods should visit Bartek.ca to learn more about how innovations like EasyAcid™ liquid malic acid can benefit large-scale beverage production.
