Amp up your nutrition bar with a positive charge!

Coconut Water Concentrate: Flexible and Functional Beyond Beverages

Amp up your nutrition bar with a positive charge. Coconut water concentrate (CWC) is full of electrolytes, nutrients and binding properties, making it easy to see why we at iTi Tropicals have identified this as a new application.

The properties of CWC including viscosity, BRIX, and ability to bind are very similar to what we see with binders currently used in granola bars. This new binder application can reduce the amount of sugar added to traditional nutrition bars and works well in combination with other binders like tapioca, honey, and agave. It effectively binds the particulates commonly found in granola bars while providing a unique sweet and salty flavor profile.

Aside from providing texture at parity with current binders, CWC also increases the functional and nutritional properties of your bar by providing electrolytes, Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium, and Phosphorus.

Within the past few years, the granola bar market has grown exponentially in three categories: Nutrition, Breakfast and Granola, all of which had positive sales in 2015. As more consumers look to bars for satiety and meal-replacement options, savory bars are on the rise.

The key to moving forward into savory flavors is finding a way to meld flavors together with something sweet. Coconut Water Concentrate provides the perfect balance of the two. Consumers are looking for functional ingredients, but also want bars to have “cleaner,” simpler labels.

There are now 116 million adults who have consumed at least one healthy-ingredient snack in the last 30 days—51% of the adult population as of 2013 (Packaged Facts, 2013). This is a prime opportunity for CWC to be introduced to the bar category as a functional, clean label binder ingredient.
Check out the video to watch the CWC in action.

Base Recipe for Granola Bar with Coconut Water Concentrate

Toasted Coconut 16.6%
Toasted Almond Slices 16.6%
Toasted Almond Slivers 5.6%
Puffed Rice Cereal 5.66%
Flax Meal 5.66%
Coconut Water Concentrate 44.33%
Evaporated Cane Juice 1.56%
Vanilla Extract 1.56%

Mix Dry ingredients together. Add CWC, evaporated cane juice and vanilla extract to a pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook syrup to 240 F. Once temperature is reached, remove from heat and add to dry ingredients, stir gently to combine and lay out into a frame onto a cold table. Let sit until cool and cut to desired bar dimensions.

Drizzle with chocolate or add dried fruits for a custom creation.