NURA

Many food and beverage (F&B) companies are accelerating sustainability efforts and transforming their business models in response to consumer demands for transparency into the health, environmental, and ethical considerations of the products they purchase.

Committed to supplying naturally sourced, sustainably produced ingredients designed to support a healthy, well-balanced life, NURA emerges as a go-to supplier helping F&B businesses make a difference to the consumer and the planet.

Its portfolio includes a wide range of products, like vegan proteins, various collagens, herbal extracts, natural sweeteners, prebiotics, and probiotics. The company also provides many Organic-certified, Non-GMO project-verified, and Glyphosate residue-free natural ingredients.

Adding to the list are NURA’s Upcycled certified offerings, which include collagen and yeast protein. “We recognize that upcycled ingredients are gaining in awareness and interest in the marketplace; we go through the Upcycled^™ Food Association for our upcycled ingredient offerings, ensuring the quality of our products through their rigorous approval process,” says Vanessa Hodges, Director of Strategic Partnerships at NURA.

NURA works with vendors that use traditional waste materials in a recyclable or circular economic model. For example, it can upcycle cowhide for collagen, using different parts to make different grades of collagen for diverse consumer needs. This reduces the amount of cowhide ending up in landfills, resulting in a unique ingredient offering particularly interesting for pet applications.

Furthermore, NURA’s latest Upcycled ingredient is “YESTEIN^™ Fermented Yeast Protein.” YESTEIN^™ is a vegan-friendly, nutritious, yeast-sourced protein with an 80% protein content, complete amino acid profile, 21% BCAA’s, and PDCAAS of 1.0. With a good supply of B vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, YESTEIN^™ is a unique, complete protein alternative that can be used for nearly any application, like high-protein snacks, beverages, meat analogs, and non-dairy products. Using an upcycle-based reuse methodology to comply with emerging sustainability standards, YESTEIN^™ is a first choice to meet growing consumer demands.

Above all, the company leverages a combined expertise of over 100 years in the dietary supplement and F&B industries to give clients the best ingredients possible while emphasizing sustainability and innovation.

Exemplifying the company’s customer-centric innovation is its ability to give them first-hand access to the latest ingredients, sometimes even before it enters the market, enabling them to develop new applications and produce impactful products. At the heart of this competency is the vast array of suppliers in its vendor rolodex, which allows it to source different ingredients without experiencing delays or sudden price hikes.

Another feature that sets NURA apart is its emphasis on quality. Before building new partnerships, it evaluates a prospective vendor’s sustainability plans and carbon footprints whenever possible. Beyond this, the company’s production facilities comply with good manufacturing practices (GMP). They are National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)-verified, ensuring that the appropriate equipment, methodologies, and safety checks are consistently maintained, performed, and conducted.

NURA’s team recognizes the importance of understanding the manufacturing site when producing F&B products. This mindset helps the company and its clients determine whether partner manufacturers have adequate environmental control measures and use renewable energy to reduce pollution and support sustainable production. It also assesses if they use high-quality natural and organic intermediate ingredients necessary to manufacture the highest quality products. This competency informs customers why some products cost more to produce and represents the transparency and value that NURA offers.

“We try to learn from our partners as much as possible and share detailed information about the production process with our customers so they can understand the value we bring and the value they are creating for the environment,” says Hodges.

These capabilities are backed by a hands-on team of experts ready to support the customers in innovation and technical formulation through prompt and expert communication. They possess strong cross-departmental perspectives, collaborating with manufacturers and F&B brands to facilitate better communication and effectively inform both parties and relevant stakeholders on fulfilling their environmental goals.

“Our team is mindful of how they may affect their partners’ sustainability objectives. This is why they prioritize minimizing carbon footprints while ensuring that the produced ingredients also provide value to the market,” says Caydie Carrizosa, Marketing Manager.

Driven by the proficiency of its partners and scientific experts, NURA is expanding its business portfolio. In pursuit of this, it recently agreed to an exclusive partnership with an Italian company, New Flavours, whose natural and organic business model complements NURA quite nicely. This is an excellent opportunity for the company to introduce its natural flavors to the North American market while also displaying its offerings to new clientele, who can then drive the creation of specialized ingredients for their specific needs.

The global F&B sector is transitioning to greener operations, with plans to reach carbon neutrality and attain food sustainability by the year 2050. They are making attempts to increase the carbon neutrality of packaging, optimize logistical processes, and lower emissions. However, while these factors are in their control, finding a way to get all suppliers to support them in achieving that goal can become challenging.

Fortunately, NURA is perfectly poised to become a supplier that assists them in realizing their zero-emission carbon neutrality goals through its naturally sourced, sustainably produced ingredients.