Duralife Omega 3, which uses microencapsulation technology to overcome stability issues of working with the fish-based ingredient, is the first innovation to come out of the firm's newly formed nutrition and health unit.
The move underlines the growing interconnectedness between different ingredient sectors, and shows how expertise can be transferred from one sector to another.
Indeed, the Swiss-based company aim is to apply its existing expertise in the microencapsulated flavours arena to functional ingredients especially those with inherent instability, intrinsic off-flavours or reactivity within food matrices.
And that is exactly what it has done with Duralife Omega 3; the ingredient uses the same technology as Firmenich's Durarome flavours, which are protected from oxidation by the proprietary encapsulation technology.
"Client reaction has been good," Firmenich innovation marketing manager Pauline Baumgartner told FoodNavigator in Geneva.
"They trust the brand and the technology is very well known. It has been quite a challenge, but we saw an opportunity because functional food is still perceived as being healthy, but not tasting good.
"Our core business is taste, so we thought we could bring something here."
Microcapsules are tiny particles that contain an active agent or core material surrounded by a shell or coating, and are now increasingly being used in food ingredients preparation. The technology can be used to deliver a host of ingredients - flavours, oils, peptides, amino acids, enzymes, acidulants, colours and sweeteners - in a range of food formulations, from functional foods to ice cream.
The technology is attracted growing interest because it can also decrease costs for food makers, particularly those using sensitive ingredients like probiotics, and by reducing the need for preservatives.
"The demand for encapsulation technologies is estimated to be increasing at around 10 per cent annually, with new markets and opportunities opening up every year," said Frost & Sullivan analyst Kathy Brownlie recently.
"The sector is continuously innovating, and challenges associated with different food systems call for the use of different microencapsulation technologies."
The technology that underlies Duralife Omega 3 and Durarome consists of droplets of fish oil dispersed within a carbohydrate matrix. Unlike with spray-dried oils, both these approaches mean that no oil is actually exposed on the surface.
Firmenich has said that its technology will be suitable for use in dry and dehydrated beverage applications (sweet and savoury, hot and cold), instant hot cereals, compressed tablets, fat fillings and powder mixes for cakes and deserts, baby food, soups and ready meals.
Firmenich is by no means the first company to find a way around this using the principle of microencapsulation although the underlying technology may differ in each case.
For instance, Ocean Nutrition Canada recently revealed that its Powder-loc technology uses a double shell matrix that is, the oil is enclosed within small shells, which are themselves enclosed within a larger shell. This gives an extra layer of protection should either the inner or the outer shells rupture.