Wanted dead or alive: Probiotics!
There’s a steady drum beat of research showing the various benefits of probiotic bacteria with things like gut health, weight management, immunity and cognition getting most of the attention. And we get bombarded with numbers talking about how many gazillion bacteria are in various supplements. But to be able to deliver an effective amount of these beneficial bacteria in a probiotic supplement, a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes of probiotic product design.
Probiotic Product Design at Vitaquest
Vitaquest’s product development specialist Terry Coyle knows all too well how much hard work is required. Terry has been collaborating with customers to develop probiotic supplements for over 20 years and has played a key role in guiding Vitaquest’s investments in equipment and technology to ensure those supplements meet Vitaquest’s customers’ demanding specifications. Terry has been instrumental in making sure Vitaquest has the proper refrigeration and humidity control condition to manage the archenemies of probiotics: heat and humidity. And Terry’s encyclopedic knowledge of formulation ingredients including everything from excipients to finished supplement packaging enables him to guide customers to success. Terry also knows the unexpected dangers that can lurk in processing operations like tablet presses where heat can harm probiotics if the full product formulation isn’t properly balanced.
According to Terry, the most productive collaborations start with robust planning. He definitely believes in the “measure twice, cut once” philosophy of designing a new product. And the key variable to work through from the outset is probiotic strain selection. Happily, Vitaquest’s reputation for innovation makes them a preferred partner of probiotic vendors so Terry and his team have access to and deep knowledge about the full spectrum of strains. Vitaquest is also an active member of the International Probiotics Association where the latest scientific and regulatory developments are reviewed and discussed. With that expertise, the product design planning effort becomes streamlined as the team can quickly work through the various tradeoffs that will be needed to match each customer’s specifications.
So, if you’ve got an idea for a probiotic supplement and want a collaborative partner to work with you throughout the product design process, contact Terry to discuss how Vitaquest can put their expertise to work for you.
