Using Honey as a Vehicle for Functional…

For the savvy consumer, everyday functional ingredients carry household names that appear in medicine cabinets. Magnesium. Zinc. Vitamins A-Z. Capsules and tablets deliver nutrients in their dehydrated form, but a functional vehicle like honey can sweeten the experience (pun intended). This blog will explore the potential for the implications of blending honey with functional ingredients, using its liquid form and familiarity as a channel for these functional components to food.

Functional Honey Product Examples

Food brands hold an advantage in functional ingredient infusions with honey. They have the brand and the ability to educate curious consumers and encourage them to purchase trusted products. We see this already with these honeys infused with functional ingredients that are on the market:

These early entrants have opened the doors to larger scale products in a honey infusion market that holds enormous potential.

Consumer Trends Pave Way for Brand Success

Functional ingredients in honey are becoming a newsworthy concept. A recent story from Verywell Health dove into the concept of mixing shilajit and honey as a means of combining two ingestibles that hold properties with similar objectives. Usually found in the Himalayas, shilajit holds the potential to assist in cognitive function and immune system support, among other claims. Shilajit serves as a common energy-boosting source, as a material made of fulvic rock that holds court in the wellness space as a functional ingredient.

Shilajit is only one of several other functional ingredients that can use honey as a vehicle to deliver flavor and nutrients. Additional components that manufacturers can add to honey include:

• Ashwagandha: Used to treat stress and anxiety, products made with ashwagandha are often derived from extracts pulled from the roots and leaves.
• Lion’s mane: Also referred to as a fungus or Hericium erinaceus, humans usually consume the lion’s mane mushroom as a means of fighting stress.
• Reishi: This mushroom fights fatigue, and clinical trials using reishi have been conducted to mediate select conditions.
• Cordyceps: Another mushroom found in Himalayan regions, cordyceps hold a reputation for therapeutic applications in Chinese medicine and differ from the other fungi for its attention to chronic disease prevention.

Functional Benefits of Honey Are a Natural Fit

Brands choosing to work with shilajit and other functional ingredients can find the materials to have earthy, intense qualities that give off bitter notes. To increase the taste factor and attractiveness to consumers, product developers can use honey to mitigate these flavors as:

• A tool for flavor masking: Honey’s unique carbohydrate composition and flavor can counteract any strong earthy or “mushroom” flavors that certain functional ingredients present during processing.
• A binding agent: The viscosity and fluidity of honey makes for a flexible vehicle for dry or powdered ingredients, eliminating the need to use gums or gel agents.
• A shelf life extender: Honey does not actively increase the sell-by date for added compounds, but its own qualities (such as high sugar concentration and acid levels) make it impervious to spoilage. Plus, its low moisture content and pH levels act as a mold inhibitor, protecting external applications from unstable environments.

Honey doesn’t just provide a vehicle for these functional ingredients. Its standalone properties also contribute structural and functional components that make it a unique food to choose when formulating products.

Pairing honey with functional ingredients holds more potential than just sweetening mushrooms. People use honey as a functional ingredient on its own, just not in the formal sense. Many honey varieties contain prebiotic elements known as oligosaccharides, which are non-digestible carbohydrates that selectively feed probiotic bacteria strains.

Trusting Food Manufacturers With Functional Foods

Honey infusions can come in single-serving honey sticks, jarred products, powders or even gummies. The possibilities for products go far beyond the simple honey jar format, meaning that manufacturers can flex their creativity to deliver honey to consumers in ways that will resonate.

Do you have a functional food idea that honey can complete? Email [email protected] to discuss the delicious options.