| BERICAP and BioGaia have just signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement with the aim to promote probiotics in beverages and a plastic closure system under the name of Lifetop® Cap to dispense at time of drinking the beverages health-enhancing powder recipes based on BioGaia’s proprietary probiotic strains (such as Lactobacillus reuteri or Reuteri) but also on other probiotics and ingredients (minerals, vitamins, flavours, colours, trace elements). |
This collaboration with BioGaia follows several years of search by BERICAP of the best compromise between an efficient system of protection of the ingredients against humidity and a simple and cost effective solution, that is easy to fill and to apply on the bottles without significant changes of the capping lines at Bottlers, and that is easy to understand and to use by consumers: those are the basic performances of LifeTop® Cap ingredient dispensing closure system.
LifeTop® Cap, initially developed and patented in one format by BioGaia, will be further developed by BERICAP to cover all the needs of the beverage industry in term of sizes and functionalities and it will be industrialised with the expertise of BERICAP to be commercially available to Brand Owners very soon to support them in creating new functional and health-enhancing drinks.
Such concept of ingredient dispensing closure comprises:
- a plastic screw closure to be used on standard neck finishes (30/25, 38 mm, etc…)
- an aluminium barrier blister containing the ingredients up to 200 µl in liquid form or 200 mg in powder is sealed inside the plastic closure and offering an unique solution against humidity, which is supporting a long shelf life of the sensitive ingredients.
- a flexible dome, protected by an hinged overcap, that is used to press on the blister, to tear off the lower part of the blister and to deliver the ingredients into the liquid in the bottle
Such delivery of ingredients at the time of consumption changes simple beverages such as water, juice or milk into a wide variety of functional beverages according to the selection of the ingredients that can be:
- vitamins: A, niacin, B6, B12, folic, C, D and E
- minerals: those needed in small quantities per day (e.g. copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc).
- colouring agents, aromas, trace elements, carrier
- freeze-dried probiotics, at a correct daily dosage that can be not only Lactobacillus reuteri (Reuteri) from BioGaia, but also Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis from other sources of such probiotics, that are intended to assist the body’s naturally occurring gut flora to re-establish themselves and to strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, stress, exposure to toxic substances and other diseases.
Such Strategic Alliance with BioGaia shows the willingness of BERICAP to help the Brand Owners of the Beverage Industry to diversify into high value added health enhancing drinks and its commitment to propose plastic closures that allow such challenge on existing PET containers and with current filling and capping line.
It shows the belief of the two partners in the future of such technology of functional beverages prepared at time of drinking for better efficiency, longer shelf life and easiness to manufacture.
| Dorothea Diehl Manager Communication Tel. +49 (0)6139 29 02 120 Fax +49 (0)6139 29 02 188 dorothea.diehl@bericap.com |
