Taura Natural Ingredients has launched an innovative range of ingredients that combines - for the first time - ancient grains and Ultra Rapid Concentrated® (URC®) fruit and vegetables.

The new range, which is called URC® Inclusions^TM, will allow manufacturers to fill a gap in the market by creating products that contain customized blends of ancient grains such as quinoa, amaranth and chia with 100% pure concentrated fruit and vegetables for applications in the snack, bakery, breakfast cereal and confectionery categories.

Ancient grains are rapidly gaining a very positive reputation among consumers for their great taste and superior nutritional content.

The number of new product launches incorporating them is rising fast.

Data from Mintel's Global New Product Database (GNPD) shows that there were 241 new product launches in Europe containing ancient grains in 2010, a significant increase over the 200 launched in 2009 and the 169 introduced in 2008.

However, intriguingly, the GNPD has also picked up that there have been no European launches of products that combine both ancient grains and 100% fruit or vegetable ingredients.

This indicates that Taura's URC® Inclusions^TM range constitutes a genuinely pioneering and unique ingredients concept.