Product design is a sophisticated art beyond actives and functional ingredients formulation. Indeed, besides the development of effective and stable solutions for specific targets, a sustainable approach and the attention to environment are the final piece to square the circle! In ROELMI HPC , the puzzle is completed through Formula Development.
First of all, raw materials are derived from natural origin, respecting biodiversity and reducing environmental footprint, and are processed using innovative and gentle technologies. SelectSIEVE® Line is the standard-bearer of sustainability in ROELMI HPC nutraceutical portfolio. We believe that “less is more” and that a clean label, without that terrible “E” numbers can fully grant performances of standard excipients.
Indeed, color agents, preservatives, flavors and other additives, as rheological modifiers and humectants, can be obtained from nature’s richness, allowing to show off “ethical, green and sustainable” claims on packaging, referring to animal respect or indicating specific features of supply chains, such as “organic” nature or the support to local agriculture. We are attending to a vegetal revolution: many ingredients can be replaced by vegetal sources (e.g. vegetal proteins, omega 3 from algae, aminoacids from bio-fermentations) and “All natural product” claim starts being widely used in nutraceutical market, completing the “clean label” claim.
Furthermore, another appreciated claim in the nutraceutical world is “sustainable ingredient”, recalling transparency, ethics and traceability, thanks to regulatory requirements which allow to track and trust food supply chains (e.g. additives as colors and gliding agents from by- products, vegetable extracts and fibers from sustainable and organic agriculture).
Packaging can be sustainable too, pushing the usage of recyclable materials (as glass or aluminum) or recycled ones (as plastic or paper), so to decrease wastes by reusing them and minimize Environmental pollution.
Delivery forms can nowadays be perfectly fitted to customers’ needs, in order to match dynamic trends and being planet friendly. Indeed, capsules made of vegan polymers and fully colored with natural dyes have been launched, increasing the appealing character of products too. Vegetal-based soft-gel capsules, avoiding the use of animal gelatin, are only one example of cellulose versatility, whose potential can be expressed in innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.
Which are the challenges for future steps in formula development inspired by sustainability? An example is represented by bio-sourced polymers with biodegradable behavior for innovative packaging. This way, one more claim, as “environmentally friendly” could be added to the pool of NIP® milestones and sustainability goals.