The development of food products during the last 10 years showed that the increasing competition between food industry companies and the consumers’ needs became important factors aiming the differentiation of the food sector. Among the several consumers’ needs and demands, the creation of food products with new and different textures, flavors, aromas and colors while maintaining or increasing their shelf life are one of the most important.
Improveat aims to disrupt the market of food ingredients by providing a novel product with unseen features in the food industry. It is expected to be the new paradigm of flavored food products – a very thin, edible, impermeable, pasteurized and tasteless capsule that contains a pure ingredient, which is added to the food product during its production and it only releases its content when consumed. Impearl could have a high potential for application in various food products such as: yogurts, cheeses, ice creams, enabling the creation of innovative products in these sectors, since it allows the combination of different flavors in the same product, without mixing them until the moment of consumption. It can also be used to encapsulate sauces and seasonings, which will allow to consume sauces together with food in a practical and different way.
We have identified as main market barriers the difficulty to scale-up the production process and the need to validate impearl at industrial environment (proof of concept). In line with this, the main objective of Phase 1 were: a) to study the scale-up of the production, b) to make the market assessment, c) to evaluate the best business model and d) to assess the IP strategy.
