Starches

Enhance your products with Ingredion's innovative starch solutions

Starches are essential ingredients in practically all types of food and beverage formulation. Used in sauces, desserts, frozen meals and more, starches provide a number of helpful benefits, including improved texture, thickening capabilities and freeze/thaw stability, among others. Plus, starches are often listed as a clean and simple ingredient on labels. 

Derived from a variety of sources such as corn, waxy corn, tapioca, potato and rice, Ingredion starches can fit the bill for cost savings reformulations, clean label claims, and a variety of functional needs so you can maintain premium texture and taste while still addressing consumer preferences for price, ingredient labels and eating experiences.

Types of starches

Starches can be further classified by their distinctive properties and functionality. These include functional native starches, modified starches and Ingredion's specialty starches that help manufacturers meet brand nutrition goals such as gluten-free or plant-based products. Explore Ingredion's wide selection of functional, modified and specialty starches that create the perfect formulation for your brands in unique ways.

Benefits of starches

Ingredion's starch solutions come with a number of benefits within a diverse range of applications. 

1. Thickening and binding

Starch acts as a thickening agent that provides viscosity and structure to shelf-stable products like sauces, soups and desserts. At the same time, it enhances texture and consistency, improving mouthfeel and product stability.

2. Freeze/thaw stability

Ready meals and desserts are the highest-selling categories within the frozen food section of grocery stores. Starch is a fundamental ingredient in stabilizing these products by reducing syneresis (water separation) during the thaw process. As a result, the product's texture and appearance are perfectly maintained.

3. Margin management

As a cost-effective ingredient, starch helps optimize production costs. Its versatility keeps brands from needing to invest in multiple specialized ingredients for different product lines. Ultimately, this helps improve margins for the company. 

4. Improved food texture

Starch is a food texturant that enhances creaminess, chewiness and smoothness in various products. It improves the product's overall sensory attributes and makes the food more appealing to consumers.

5. Clean and simple labels

Many of Ingredion's starches are minimally processed with recognizable ingredients. That means brands with clean label initiatives can find the right ingredients to proudly display on their ingredient labels. We also carry non-GMO and gluten-free options that appeal to health-conscious consumers.

6. Better nutrition

Using healthy ingredients is important to consumers, and starches can contribute to better nutrition labels. All starches add to higher dietary fiber content in formulations. On top of that, starch is a low-calorie thickening option, allowing brands to create healthier product formulations.

Applications of starches

With so many texture and nutritional benefits, it's no surprise that there is a wealth of starch applications in food and beverage production

• Frozen meals: Starch keeps ingredients fresh while stabilizing the freeze/thaw process 

• Baked goods: Used in desserts and breads, starch improves moisture retention while extending the product's shelf life

• Sauces and salad dressings: Starch improves the consistency, viscosity and texture

• Dairy products: Starch stabilizes refrigerated products like yogurts and dairy drinks to improve mouthfeel and enhance shine 

• Low-fat food: Some fats can be replaced with starch to decrease calorie and fat consumption 

In addition to brands using starch in food, there are also many applications for industrial starches, including paper, construction materials, herbicides, ceramics, tile grout and more.