Entering the Next Phase of Clean Label Formulation

Speaking from the show floor at SupplySide Connect New Jersey, Alicia Kasch, vice president of RIBUS Inc., outlined how the company is tackling one of the supplement industry’s growing formulation challenges: replacing traditional excipients like microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) with clean label alternatives that do not compromise performance.

Kasch emphasized that clean label is not a new initiative for RIBUS, but rather the foundation of its business for more than three decades. This long-standing focus has informed the development of Nu-FILL, the company’s latest plant-based excipient designed to deliver both bulk density and improved flowability—two attributes that are often difficult to achieve simultaneously with conventional fillers. While MCC provides bulk, it typically requires additional flow agents, creating complexity in formulations. In contrast, Nu-FILL is engineered to streamline this process, offering strong flow characteristics alongside functional performance.

Early market response suggests strong demand. According to Kasch, Nu-FILL has seen one of the fastest adoption rates in the company’s history, reaching multiple purchase orders within just six months—far ahead of typical commercialization timelines. This, she noted, reflects both market readiness for clean label solutions and customer trust in the RIBUS brand.

Kasch also highlighted the importance of operational integrity and transparency, pointing to certifications such as current good manufacturing practice (cGMP), organic, Halal, and Kosher as essential components of building credibility. For RIBUS, delivering not just an ingredient but a reliable partnership is central to its value proposition.

Looking ahead, she suggested that the definition of “clean label” will continue to evolve, much like terms such as “natural” and “sustainable.” In this environment, she stressed that successful innovation will depend less on marketing claims and more on real-world performance—particularly for formulators and operators who ultimately determine whether an ingredient succeeds in production.

A transcript of Kasch’s conversation can be found below.

Nicholas Saraceno: Ladies and gentlemen, reporting live from SupplySide Connect New Jersey. I'm Nico Saraceno, senior editor of Nutritional Outlook magazine. I'm joined today on the show floor. She is Alicia Kasch, VP of RIBUS, Inc. Alicia, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me, I really appreciate it.

Alicia Kasch: Thanks for having me, this is great.

Saraceno: A lot to get to today, so let’s just dive right in. As you know, in this industry, there's an increasing pressure when it comes to meeting those clean label and organic standards. I'm curious, how is Nu-FILL designed to address the limitations of traditional excipients—which can include MCC—and what differentiates it in terms of flexibility in the formulation and functionality?

Kasch: Everything RIBUS does is clean label. There're so many companies here on the floor that are touting clean label, or they're talking about it, or it's a new division, but that's who and what we are. We've done it for 34 years almost, in both the food and dietary supplement space.

We know clean label. We are clean label. Nu-FILL is our newest product, but it's no exception. Comparing it to MCC specifically, MCC is really good at being a filler. It's taking up that physical space. It's adding bulk density, but it's horrible from a flow perspective. If people are using MCC, now they also need a flow agent. Where Nu-FILL really shines is it's adding the bulk density and it's increasing flow, so we are good to excellent range on all of the flowability standards, really low angle of repose, low Hausner ratio and Carr index. Getting a little bit technical, but to the people, the formulators, that does mean something. We're definitely thinking about the formulators and the operators when we develop new products, like Nu-FILL.

Saraceno: Wow, thank you for that breakdown. Very succinct as well. That was great. Our listenership is going to appreciate that, especially in this day of social media things like that.

With early commercial adoption underway and production scaling to meet demand, what sort of feedback have you been receiving, especially from manufacturers so far? And 2B of that, how do you see these plant-based excipients like Nu-FILL influencing the future of formulations?

Kasch: For Nu-FILL specifically, we launched it about six months ago, and this has been the fastest ramp up since introduction. So normally, it would take about a year, year and a half, to see the first commercial sale, once samples go out, and we've already gotten three POS for this product within six months. That tells me the market's ready, the product works, and people know RIBUS. They trust our products. They know what to expect if it has that “new” out front. They know the quality. They know they're going to have the tech support. And we hope that it's the whole package. Yes, it's an excipient, but hopefully, it's easy to work with RIBUS as well.

Saraceno: Yes, I think the keyword there is trust. And of course, with RIBUS being a family business as well, I think that also helps with the credibility too.

Kasch: I hope so. And that's really my focus within the company, is making sure that we are operating so effectively internally and with customers, that we are a trusted resource. We have products that help them solve a problem, but also, it's that integrity piece. We're doing the right thing. We're using trusted ingredients. We're doing all the cGMPs. We have all of the organic, Halal, Kosher. We're very buttoned up, so we're actually adding strength to their formulation, instead of adding liability or risk.

Saraceno: People value that. Consumer confidence is very important in this industry, and you're not going to go very far without it.

Kasch: You get one opportunity to do the right thing, and we try to do that.

Saraceno: So how would you say RIBUS has evolved in terms of when it comes to growing industry demand for transparency, and I know you started getting into it, but where do you see that next phase of clean label innovation evolving, looking ahead into the future?

Kasch: I think clean label, because it's never been defined, is going to go rogue, the same way natural did, sustainable did, depending on who you talk to. Hundreds, thousands of people here, everyone's going to have a slightly different answer. We define clean label as do you know the source? Can you pronounce it? And do you feel good about eating it or consuming it, or giving it to your kids or your pet?

From that standpoint, until it's defined, I don’t know. RIBUS is going to continue to develop products that, like I said, add strength to formulations. So marketing, sales brand, they normally come up with this. They want to tell you it's working on that first plant-based, great, but it's really the operators and the formulators that have to trust it, and know that it's going to work, and if it doesn't work, it's not going to go.

So our focus (we love marketing, we love sales, that's great) is really on the formulators. Because if it doesn't work, you have one opportunity to have it work for them and make their life easier, and that's really our focus.