Nutritious Kids’ Beverages

Photo: Dairy Management Inc.™

When the food industry looks back on this decade, the emphasis on health and wellness likely will be a hallmark of the period. At the heart is concern about childhood obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of overweight children ages 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years. High-calorie, low-nutrient beverages are among the bullies on the playground.

In the best of circumstances, beverage development for products aimed at kids is challenging. For companies that meet these challenges, the payoffs can be well worth the development costs. According to the report, “Kids’ Foods and Beverages,” released in September 2006 by Packaged Facts, New York, sales of kids’ foods and beverages are estimated to exceed $15.1 billion in 2006. Currently, beverages account for 28.5% of 2006 sales, at slightly more than $4.3 billion.

“We know kids will drink more milk if it’s flavored,” says Gail Barnes, vice president business development-fluid innovation, Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI), Rosemont, IL. “A survey of kids 8 to13 has, for example, shown that 39% would drink more milk if it was chocolate. Forty-five percent agreed they would drink more milk if more flavors were offered.”

Chocolate milk has evolved from a local dairy product packaged in generic plastic jugs to high-flavor milk in single-serve bottles with bold graphics. The key ingredient in chocolate milk is, of course, cocoa. “Whether you are selecting cocoa powder for an adult beverage or a child’s beverage, it comes down to the end color and flavor profile you are looking to achieve,” says Katy Cole, technical sales and services manager, Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, Lititz, PA. “Lightly alkalized cocoa powders give more of a milk-chocolate profile. Since kids tend to like the sweeter milk-chocolate profiles over dark chocolates, I would suggest formulating with lightly alkalized powders. More highly alkalized powders give more of a dark-chocolate profile. Cocoa powders in the neutral pH range give the best flavor in milk-based products.”

In addition to flavor, presentation is important, according to Barnes. Kids prefer icy cold drinks packaged in single-serve, easy-to-open, and easy-to-drink-from containers. DMI research shows that kids’ dairy beverages are ready to move beyond the school and the home. “Kids are open to milk beverages during home mealtimes and school lunch about 55% of the time,” says Barnes. “We’ve also found that at times when kids might reach for a carbonated soft drink—for example, when they are hanging out with friends—they are open to a dairy drink about one-third of the time. That is not necessarily an opportunity that is always being exploited.”

With kids’ natural receptivity to dairy, opportunities exist to boost the nutritional package. An 8-oz. serving of 1% low-fat milk has 290 mg of calcium. The World Health Organization’s recommended daily allowance for calcium is 500 mg per day for ages 1 to 3; 800 mg per day for ages 4 to 8; and 1,300 mg per day for ages 9 to 18. A new high-calcium milk protein concentrate from Kerry Ingredients, for example, can help boost calcium levels. According to Terry Gieseke, business development director, Kerry Ingredients –Proteins & Nutritionals, Waukesha, WI: “A 5% inclusion in a 250 ml beverage delivers 100% plus of the daily calcium requirement for kids 8 and under.” The product is retort and UHT stable.

Companies are also adding omega-3 fatty acids, which are linked to good brain development in children. Danone Canada, Boucherville, Quebec, fortifies its Danino product with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). “Milk products from Omega Farms supply 75 mg of omega-3s in one serving,” according to Barnes. Milk and dairy beverages with omega-3s are common in Europe and Asia.

Probiotic addition is also more prevalent outside the United States. “Here, one might get a facing of four or six products,” Barnes says. “In the biggest Wal-Mart in Mexico City, I would say 30-ft. of shelf space in length, with five or six shelves along that 30-ft. length, would be a host of probiotic products.”

Research shows probiotics improve gut health, enhance absorption of nutrients and enhance the immune system. “Drinkable yogurts with live and active cultures, and more products aimed at children, are incorporating these healthy bacteria,” Barnes says.

A yogurt drink is generally made in the same manner as stirred yogurt, with the addition of homogenization to reduce particle size. FDA requires that yogurt contain Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus cultures. Other probiotic bacteria such as Lactobocillus casei or Bifidobacterium longum may be added. FDA defines yogurt as having a titratible acidity of 0.9 lactic acid. The pH of a drinkable yogurt is 4.0 to 4.5.

Savor the flavor 

A feast for the eyes and taste buds, a creamy shake of soymilk, bananas, peanut butter and a swirl of chocolate offers nutritional benefits as well as kid appeal. Photo: United Soybean Board

According to Mary-Ellen Callahan, youth market analyst, IFF, New York: “Kids today want to be older than they truly are. This trend is being labeled the Kids Growing Older Younger, or KGOY. In relation to flavor preferences, kids aspire to older-sounding flavors, but still it must be something that appeals to their palate. In general, flavors must taste good and be fun. Specific to beverages, blended flavors and fantasy offer kids a more sophisticated flavor experience.”

Given the growing Hispanic population in the United States, it might be worth looking to the south for flavor influences. In Mexico, strawberry is the strongest selling flavored milk. “Berry mango is very popular in South America,” says Barnes. “Exotic fruit mixes could be interesting for consumers in this market.”

Jeff Page, beverage category manager, Cargill, Minneapolis, notes that, by 2010, multicultural kids will account for approximately 48% of the 3- to 12-year age group. “It will be continually important to create healthy beverages that are meaningful and relevant to an increasingly diverse population,” he says.

However, sometimes it’s hard to predict what kids will prefer. “Intuitively, you’d think that the sweeter the product is the more children would like it,” says Krautheim. “We’ve found through our research that, amongst elementary school age children, sweeter does not necessarily mean that children like it better. There has actually been some lower-sugar flavored milk that kids preferred to the high-sugar comparisons. There are several lower-calorie flavored milk products on the market that are very well accepted by children.”

When flavored milk is developed, natural sugars are usually used for the children’s products, Krautheim continues. “We’ve done research with moms and health professionals, as well as school nutrition directors, and they indicate they prefer natural sugar in flavored milk rather than a sugar substitute,” she says. “The Dietary Guidelines that were released in 2005 did say that small amounts of sugar added to nutrient-rich foods, such as reduced-fat milk products, may help increase a person’s intake of such foods by enhancing the palatability of these products, thus improving nutrient intake without contributing excessive calories.”

In the case of 100% juice, FDA mandates specific Brix solids for each type of juice. Apple juice, for example, must have a Brix solids of 11.5 ºBrix, cranberry is 7.5º Brix and orange juice is 11.8 ºBrix. When concentrates are reconstituted, they must contain these solids levels to be labeled juice with an accompanying “juice from concentrate” statement.

Product designers can meet FDA requirement for 100% juice and still include other ingredients in the formula. Non-juice ingredients may be used if the beverage contains 100% juice and if they do not result in diminution of the juice soluble solids. Added vitamins are an appealing option. Bill Haddad, vice president technical services, American Fruit Processors, Pacoima, CA, suggests adding vitamins at fairly low levels of 10% to 25% RDI per serving to 100% juices. “100% juices with added vitamins can be made to taste good with an added touch of flavors. Typical juices that work for kids are the basic apple, grape, cherry, fruit punch, mixed fruit blends and berry blends,” he says, but cautions against using too much of the acidic fruits, such as berries, and recommends blending them with apple, grape or pear. “These fruits typically provide a fairly bland, sweet starting base and allow the formulators to achieve the desired flavor profile without adding too much flavor,” he continues. “This also helps to keep the cost down.”

A low level of protein in juice can add a nutritional bonus, but they require “a lot of care when adding any protein source,” Haddad says. “This can and will cause many formulation and production problems for both formulators and manufacturers with regard to microbial growth and stability.” The low pH of most fruit juices will cause precipitation of many proteins. Whey protein concentrate is generally more acid-tolerant than other milk or soy proteins.

According to Gieseke, Kerry’s kid-friendly beverage technology combines high-protein (77%) soy powder with real fruit juice. “Now you can develop beverages that contain 10%, even 25% juice, and a good source of protein, or even heart health claim levels of soy protein. These are light and refreshing beverages in which the protein stays suspended,” she says.

It is important to know the target age for a juice product. Children younger than 6 prefer basic, low-flavor, sweet beverages, Haddad says. For ages 6 to 12 he suggests flavors with more character and variety, packaged with cool names and graphics. For them, “we would need to create beverages which are more trendy. Blends do better in this age group than single-fruit type flavors,” he says.

Creating a product that efficiently delivers more nutrition with fewer calories can be accomplished in a number of ways, says Mitch Kanter, research fellow, North America director of health and nutrition, Cargill. His suggestions include: using low-sugar, sugar-free, and/or high-intensity sweetener options; combining caloric sweeteners with high-intensity sweeteners; using fruit juices; and including lower-GI sweetener options.

Anne Mollerus, global product line manager, Cargill Sweetness Solutions, suggests using sucromalt, a natural sweetener of oligoglucose combined with unique linkages of fructose and leucrose, to replace added sucrose or high fructose corn syrup in beverages. “Sucromalt will reduce the sugar content on the nutritional panel and the prominence of sugars in the ingredient deck but, more importantly, it is more slowly released in the body. This prevents the blood sugar spikes and crashes and the associated energy bursts and meltdowns,” she says.

“Erythritol, a non-caloric polyol (maximum 0.2 kcal per gram) also stands out as an option in reducing calories,” says John Sweeney, beverage applications team leader, Cargill. This natural, noncaloric sweetener works well with sucrose, high fructose corn syrup or sucromalt to reduce a beverage’s caloric content.

Simms recommends using crystalline fructose. “It’s not a high-intensity sweetener per se, but it’s got higher intensity on its own than sucrose,” she says. “If you combine it with sucrose, it’s got a synergy. We’ve combined it in chocolate milk drinks. We used crystalline fructose and sucrose and made a chocolate milk which reduced the added sugar by 25%.” For that product, crystalline fructose and sucrose were combined 50:50 and used at about 4.5% in the formula. Fructose is largely viewed as a fruit sugar, as it’s found abundantly in fruits. “It has a very good synergy with chocolate flavor,” says Simms, mainly because “sweetness comes on very early in the sweetening profile and it disappears more rapidly than sucrose. It allows the flavor of chocolate to come out a little bit later. The same is true with fruit flavors.” She says they are also looking at fructose in flavored water.

Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sucrose. Tate & Lyle makes a blend of liquid fructose and sucralose that is three times sweeter than sucrose. “Sucralose is so sweet it’s hard to deliver that small amount reliably and reproducibly,” Simms says. “We find that if we have a delivery system, it’s much easier for processors to use and get a nice representative amount of sucralose time after time. We have another sweetener that is 60 times sweeter than sucrose. It’s a system with maltodextrin and sucralose. This can be used in a dry mix beverage.” She describes no-sugar lemonade made with the blend at a level of “20% of the dry mix with the rest being flavors, acidulants and color.”

Sucralose provides zero calories. “Our bodies don’t metabolize it as a caloric entity and it’s used at such a small amount,” Simms says. “Manufacturers can formulate to either a reduced-sugar system or sugar-free. Sucralose is very stable for processing compared to other high-intensity sweeteners,” making it a good choice for pasteurized products. “Some of the other high- intensity sweeteners have a bitter, off-flavor due to the nature of the sweetener itself,” she continues. “Sucralose has a very nice, well rounded sweetness more similar to sugar.”

The sweetness sucralose imparts is longer lasting than sugar. Simms describes it as a broad sweetness intensity. “That prolonged sweetness helps round out the bitterness that can come from vitamins or minerals. We’re finding some really good application of sucralose in vitamin or mineral enhanced beverages.”

Scott Mortensen, senior marketing manager global/North America beverages, IFF, New York, offers that, depending on the application, some flavors can help mask fortifying ingredients and increase the perception of sweetness.

When taking sugar or fat out of products, mouthfeel might be affected. Maltodextrins, corn syrup solids and polydextrose can serve as bulking agents that add back texture. Simms recommends using a modified food starch at low levels when opacity is not a factor, in beverages such as milk, a smoothie or a juice with opacity from juice pulp. “A modified starch at low levels can bring back some mouthfeel, especially if you want a lower fat product,” she says.

Sweeney suggests using pectin and xanthan gum to create a texture that’s appealing to kids. “In the case of a reduced-sugar product, the mouthfeel can be much thinner than the full-sugar product,” he says. “Texturants are added to give it a mouthfeel more similar to that of a full sugar beverage.”

Colors are classified two ways: certified, such as FD&C No.40 and Yellow No.5, or exempt from certification, such as annatto and caramel color. Certified colors are commonly referred to as “artificial,” while those that are exempt are often called “natural.”

A common challenge with natural ingredients is achieving batch-to-batch consistency. Often, pH affects natural colors. For example, Owen Parker, vice president R&D, D.D. Williamson, Louisville, KY, notes that, depending on pH, elderberry color changes. “If the pH is very low, it may turn red. If it’s more neutral, like a soy mixture, it might be blue.” Light will also impact natural colors and, depending on the packaging, they may fade over time.

In juice blends or drinks containing juice, “Caramel color is great for standardizing products where color variations occur from other natural ingredients,” says Parker. “The standardization is used in relatively small amounts.” For some applications, addition of caramel can add depth. “Basically, it calms down bright colors,” he says. While this may be highly desired by adults, kids may gravitate toward brighter colors.

Selecting the appropriate caramel color requires more know-how than just the end color desired. If the beverage contains protein, the caramel color must have a similar colloidal charge. “Proteins carry a colloidal charge,” explains Parker. “You want to make it like and like. If you mix positive and negative colloidal charges, they come together and you get a haze, or precipitate in the worst case. If there is a lot of soy protein, you may have to use a positive caramel. If you’re using a milk base, you may want to use a negative caramel.”

FDA regulates bottled water as a food. FDA has established specific regulations for bottled water in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR), including standard of identity regulations (21 CFR 165.110(a)) that define different types of bottled water, such as spring water and mineral water, and standard of quality regulations (21 CFR 165.110(b)) that establish allowable levels for contaminants (chemical, physical, microbial and radiological) in bottled water.

According to the International Bottled Water Association, “some beverages containing certain ingredients or additives may cause that product to be classified as a soft drink, dietary supplement or some other categorization. Soda water, seltzer water and tonic water are not considered bottled waters. They are regulated differently, may contain sugar and calories and are classified as soft drinks.”

“Near water” is a term coined in Heidelberg, Germany in 2001 by Rudolf Wild Gmbh, an affiliate company of Wild Flavors, Inc. Jessica Jones-Dille, industry trend analyst, Wild Flavors, Erlanger, KY, explains: “The category consists of waters with added fruit concentrates, herbal extracts, and vitamins or other functionals, which was new to Europe at the time. Essentially, these products are much the same as the ‘enhanced waters’ in the United States. Trends in enhanced waters in the United States and Europe include utilizing natural lower-calorie sweeteners, tropical exotic fruit blends, and formulating for specific functions such as immunity or relaxation.”

One such product, Wild Waters, is described by a press release from the company as the first vitamin-powered, naturally flavored bottled water made just for kids. Flavors include Rockin’ Red Cherry, Flippin’ Fruit Punch, and Groovin’ Grape.

Clearly, the children’s market is undergoing tidal changes in product development, reformulation, distribution and advertising. Yet those changes can bring new opportunities for savvy companies willing to take the plunge. 

Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at cindyhazen@cs.com.