Damin International used SupplySide Global 2026 — which closed October 30 in Las Vegas — to introduce a portfolio of 15 specialty functional ingredients to formulation and product development partners worldwide, with tea-derived Natural Caffeine, EGCG, and Theabrownin commanding the most attention at the company's booth.
The Tea-Derived Lineup
Damin International brings 31 years of tea and botanical extract experience to the global supply chain. Its newly debuted Natural Caffeine is extracted from tea leaves using a purely physical process — no organic solvents at any stage — and reaches caffeine concentrations above 20%. For beverage and foodservice developers focused on clean-label ingredient sourcing, that solvent-free profile is a meaningful differentiator in a crowded energy and sports-nutrition market. EGCG, one of tea polyphenols' core catechin compounds, rounds out the company's antioxidant and metabolic-health play, with Damin continuing to refine the ingredient's specifications, stability, and application suitability across dietary supplements and functional beverages.
Theabrownin — an active constituent unique to dark tea — is produced via the same solvent-free physical process, standardized to over 85% theabrownin content. Research cited by the company suggests the compound may support blood glucose regulation, uric acid and cholesterol management, gut microbiota balance, and satiety signaling, though those findings remain subject to applicable FDA structure/function claim requirements for U.S. dietary supplement markets.
Formulation Opportunities for Operators
Beyond tea extracts, Damin showcased CitriFlow™ Glucosyl Hesperidin, a proprietary enzymatic modification of conventional hesperidin with approximately 100,000 times greater water solubility and significantly improved bioavailability and thermal stability. That water-solubility profile makes it notably easier to incorporate into functional beverages — a category that continues to expand across both retail and on-premise hospitality channels — as well as dietary supplements and cosmetic applications.
The company also displayed more than ten standardized botanical extracts rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, including Astragalus Root Extract and Panax Ginseng Extract, alongside application concepts designed to help formulators translate functional ingredients into finished products.
Damin's Shanghai R&D headquarters supports a team of nearly 100 researchers spanning raw material extraction, purification, characterization, and formulation development — a full-industry-chain capability the company leaned on heavily in one-on-one customer conversations throughout the show. As covered by Food & Beverage Magazine, supplier innovation in botanical and functional ingredients is increasingly shaping product development decisions across both packaged goods and foodservice beverage programs.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
