Natural Caffeine Gains Momentum as Clean-Label Demand Reshapes Energy Formulations

Speaking at SupplySide Connect, Jim Roza, chief scientific officer at Layn Natural Ingredients, outlined how its subsidiary BioVivo Science is leveraging US-based sourcing and manufacturing to strengthen quality, traceability, and supply chain resilience in botanical extracts. Operating from Jeffersonville, IN, BioVivo is strategically positioned near key agricultural regions, enabling direct access to domestically grown biomass such as American ginseng, broccoli seed, and cranberry.

Roza emphasized that proximity to raw material sources allows for hands-on oversight, stronger relationships with growers, and faster response to potential issues. Unlike globally sourced ingredients, domestic sourcing enables frequent field visits and deeper collaboration with farmers, fostering transparency and long-term supply stability. These partnerships are mutually beneficial, helping farmers scale production while ensuring BioVivo has reliable access to high-quality inputs.

The conversation also highlighted BioVivo’s approach to standardization and consistency, particularly for scientifically backed ingredients like broccoli seed extract and American ginseng. For broccoli seed, BioVivo works with a major Kentucky-based seed developer producing proprietary hybrids with elevated glucoraphanin levels, the precursor to sulforaphane. This targeted sourcing ensures a more potent starting material, improving extraction efficiency and final product quality.

Similarly, BioVivo sources American ginseng primarily from Wisconsin, a leading cultivation region. Given that ginseng requires up to seven years to mature, Roza stressed the importance of working with experienced growers who can nurture optimal levels of bioactive compounds like ginsenosides. By securing high-quality raw materials upfront, BioVivo enhances both purity and consistency in its extracts.

Overall, Roza positioned domestic sourcing as a strategic advantage, enabling BioVivo to deliver reliable, clinically relevant botanical ingredients while supporting a more transparent and resilient supply chain.

A transcript of his conversation can be found below.

Nicholas Saraceno: Of course, nowadays there’s been an increasing demand for clean label, plant-based solutions, which is huge. So how are ingredients like your green tea-derived, natural caffeine, being positioned to meet that evolving consumer preference when it comes to functional beverages and energy products?

Jim Roza: A couple of our key ingredients at BioVivo are naturally sourced caffeine from green coffee bean and also green tea. One of the things that we focus upon is extracting its juices using water and ethanol, no methanol, no harsh solvents. We do use a little alcohol, a little ethanol in the process, but again, in the finished product, it's only there at parts per million level. We have a nice, very clean product.

Natural caffeine actually has a different effect on the body than in hydrous or synthetic caffeine. So really, it lends itself to these functional foods that are designed to improve energy and also create alertness. We feel we have an advantage. It's priced a little higher, but it does have a pedigree that an anhydrous form doesn't have. What we're finding is that there is a lot of interest in our natural caffeine. Plus, at the moment, there's actually a shortage of caffeine, and many companies are looking to move away from that, have a cleaner label product, one that really has more subtle effect, rather than that very harsh that you find with an anhydrous form.