LILLE, France (April 15, 2011) - Announced March 30 at the 2011 InnoBev Beverages Summit held in Washington DC, United States, the 2011 Beverage Innovation functionaldrinks Awards honored the market’s best innovations chosen from more than 150 entries from 22 countries. The prize for the year’s “best new functional ingredient concept” went to Tate & Lyle for its Quince apple Enrich™ drink developed for the European market.

With Quince apple Enrich™, Tate & Lyle demonstrates its unique formulation expertise in creating a drink giving consumers a great taste while helping them manage their weight and maintain healthy intestinal functions. Recent surveys conducted by Tate & Lyle show that fibre tops the list of nutrients that European consumers believe they lack the most and that half are actively looking for food and drinks that are lower in sugar/calories. Tate & Lyle developed for its customers a Quince apple concept drink with these findings in mind.

“We are very honored to win this award. It is a great recognition of our ingredient and formulation expertise in the field of health and wellness; it also shows how we are always looking at innovating and developing new prototypes for our customers, and how we are able to partner with them to respond rapidly to consumers’ ever-changing needs.” says Isabelle Routier, Applications Manager Europe, Speciality Food Ingredients.

The Quince apple Enrich™ drink has 40% fewer calories than regular full-sugar juice drinks, and delivers a « high in fibre » claim with 7.5 grams of fibre per 250 ml serving, without altering the taste. Importantly the STA-LITE® Polydextrose fibre used is well-suited to a wide range of functional beverages, thanks to its health benefits and versatility and the fact it is soluble. With clean-tasting polydextrose, clear in solution and only 1 kcal/gram, beverages can be low in calories and high in fibre but still taste and look great. Finally, the combination of SPLENDA^® Sucralose and FRUCTOPURE™ Fructose gives it a high quality and delicious fruit taste.

Tate & Lyle was also a finalist in the “best natural ingredient for functional drink” category with its PROMITOR™ Soluble Corn Fiber 85, the company’s newest fibre offering that is ideal for use in sugar-free and no-sugar-added products. This ingredient was presented in an All Natural Acerola Flavored Blueberry Juice containing only five ingredients and developed for the US market. The liquid version of PROMITOR™ Soluble Corn Fiber 85 was blended into the juice to provide a clean-tasting drink with an excellent source of fiber claim (at least 5 grams of fiber per serving).