GENU® Pectin from CP Kelco: Solving Market & Customer Needs for 75 Years
Did you know that the P in CP Kelco stands for Pectin? As the world’s leading producer of pectin, we are proud to serve the food, beverage and personal care industries. GENU® Pectin was the nature-based ingredient that started it all for us almost 75 years ago.
With increasing demands for easily recognizable and sustainably sourced, clean label products, pectin is even more relevant today. Our pectin can be found in everything from functional gummies to jams and jellies, dairy products, plant-based alternatives and skincare.
Our sustainability story
We take a circular approach to ingredient development by starting with what Mother Nature gives us. GENU® Pectin is upcycled from citrus peels, an abundant and sustainably sourced byproduct of the juice industry. We use as little freshwater as possible in processing.
Whatever is left over from our production process is turned into beneficial side products, such as fertigation (fertilizer + irrigation) for nearby crops and our patented, nutritious BRASPOLPA® animal feed for local farms. Even surplus heat from our production process at the Skensved, Denmark plant is repurposed for use in 2,200 neighboring homes, reducing both water usage and carbon emissions.
From fruit tree to fertilizer, watch our short video to see how GENU® Pectin is sustainably sourced and upcycled.
What's new?
You know pectin is a great
product when formulators keep finding more and more uses for it. Led by its popularity with younger generations, sales of functional gummies have risen by 67% (CAGR 2017 – 2021), according to Innova Market Insights 2022 Lifestyle & Attitudes Survey. Pectin can act as an animal-free alternative to gelatin in functional gummies, allowing it to be marketed with a vegan claim.
Pectin provides a pleasing texture and taste, is tolerant to calcium and minerals, and enables sugar-free formulations. The other exciting benefit is that functional gummies made with pectin have better heat stability compared to gelatin. So, heat waves and unrefrigerated transportation or storage will not have a harmful effect on product outcome.
If pectin can help gummies stand up to heat, they gain another advantage over gelatin: online sales possibilities. Since the pandemic, e-commerce has become the “most powerful player in the supplements space,” which includes functional gummies, according to a recent article by Natural Products Insider. Citing supporting data from Nutrition Business Journal, e-commerce comprised almost 25% of total sales in 2022 because it allows for “infinite shelf space.”
As a plant-based ingredient, pectin has great compatibility with plant-based yogurt alternatives. It helps to protect and stabilize protein, while adding creamy texture with a very pleasant mouthfeel. GENU® Explorer Pectin can also act as a starch alternative in plant-based drinking and spoonable yogurt alternatives, helping to eliminate a step for potential cost savings and allow for one less ingredient on the label.
Pectin can also help
formulators in the fast-growing plant-based burger alternatives segment by adding juiciness and providing a chewy, meat-like eating experience.
