LANXESS will be unveiling its expanded portfolio for the microbiological protection of beverages at the Drinktec trade show in Munich from September 12 to 16, 2022. In addition to the tried-and-tested Velcorin technology, the completely natural preservative Nagardo was approved in July 2022 for EU-wide use in alcohol-free beverages.

Innovations for the existing Velcorin technology will also be presented, with the new generation of Velcorin DT Motion dosing units ensuring reliable, high-precision addition of the cold sterilization agent to the beverage. Also celebrating their premiere will be the new internally coated aluminum bottles specially developed for storing and transporting Velcorin and that will be used all over the world as break-proof and easily recyclable packaging in future. Thanks to a combination of this new packaging and ongoing developments in the production and quality process, the product shelf life has been increased by 50 percent to 18 months.

“Registration in the EU allows us to continue expanding the global footprint of Nagardo. Alongside natural alternatives to artificial sweeteners and colorants, natural preservation is the missing piece in the puzzle for the beverage industry,” says Monika Ebener, Global Marketing Director for Natural Antimicrobials at LANXESS. Nagardo (the product name is derived from the words “natural guardian”) offers reliable, highly efficient preservation of the quality of beverages. The glycolipids, which are obtained from edible mushrooms native to the tropical rainforests of French Guiana, were discovered in a comprehensive screening process encompassing more than 100,000 natural substances. A dose that is as much as 50 times lower compared to commonly used synthetic preservatives is all that is needed. It is the most effective natural preservative currently available on the market for alcohol-free beverages.

“Even the design of our exhibition stand in Munich makes it clear that we have something really special to offer this year,” promises Janmarc Heitmann, who heads up the Beverage Technology business line in the Material Protection Products business unit at LANXESS. “We can’t wait to welcome our visitors to the ‘jungle’ where the mushroom from which our natural preservative Nagardo is obtained actually grows.”

This “natural guardian” allows manufacturers to reshape their portfolio in line with changing consumer awareness and the demand for natural ingredients. A combination of Velcorin and Nagardo provides optimal protection for particularly sensitive beverages. “With our attractive portfolio, we want to participate in the global growth of the beverage market to an even greater degree in the future. Our two top brands Velcorin and Nagardo ensure that we are very well positioned to do so because we can cover virtually all beverage categories and trends,” says Heitmann.

LANXESS will also be unveiling its latest packaging for Velcorin at Drinktec. The internally coated aluminum bottles specially developed for storing and transporting Velcorin will replace the glass bottles used until now. The new aluminum bottles not only increase the shelf life of Velcorin from 12 to 18 months but are also approved for transportation by air – two key benefits in this age of global logistics bottlenecks.

This new packaging, however, was developed primarily in response to the increasingly widespread no-glass policies enforced by customers in their production areas. In addition, customers can feed these lightweight, break-proof containers back into the material cycles, avoiding the need to collect and return them.