Avebe targets top confectionery with new potato starch
Etenia NT is the latest addition to Avebe’s well-established Etenia range, developed in 2007, which comprises potato-based specialty starches designed for use in everything from spreadable products and milk-based beverages to ice cream and cakes.
December 2008 saw Avebe launch Etenia 568 aimed specifically at the confectionery market, where it can be used as a gelling agent to manufacture starch-only and vegan wine gums without use of animal protein gelatine, which is manufactured from collagen.
More elastic structure
Philip Schippers, Avebe market development manager, told FoodNavigator.com what made the firm's new product for confectionery, Etenia NT, different: “568 had a shorter structure – suitable for products such as Turkish Delight – and this has a longer, more elastic structure that is better-suited for applications such as gummy sweets and wine gums.”
The wider Etenia range is marketed as the world’s first thermo-reversible gelling and texturising starch, and Schippers explained that this means: “You can heat it, cool it, heat it again without breaking-down its structure, whereas during the same process gelatine loses its elasticity, becomes gradually less strong and finally breaks down completely.”
A greater shelf life compared with gelatin-based products, is another advantage of Etenia NT, said Schippers, revealing that Avebe stored an Etenia product in a cupboard for 1.5 years with no apparent degradation; a wine gum made with gelatine formed a slight skin over the same period, with some sugar crystallisation, while its gelling stability was less.
Vegan market appeal
Asked about prices for Etenia-based products as against gelatine, Schippers said: "One of the main benefits of our potato starches is that they are relatively price stable compared to the more volatile priced gelatin. Etenia therefore is a very attractive and stable alternative, but is mainly targeted at the clean label and vegetarian market."
“Western Europe is a big market for us, with great opportunities for vegetarian confectionery," Schippers added. One example of a company active in this premium sector is German firm Katjes, which produces products such as gelatine-free yogurt gums.
Avebe said it also targeting demand for Kosher and Halal confectionery with the product, while it claims other benefits for Etenia NT such as a positive (neutral) taste profile – resulting in greater consumer acceptance – excellent texture and bite.
