NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Layn Corp., a global company involved in the vertically integrated production of plant-based sweeteners and extracts, has set up four business units, including Plantae, its new functional botanicals unit. The other three units are plant-based sweeteners, cannabidiol (C.B.D.) and other hemp extracts, and animal nutrition.

“Layn has decades of experience in natural extracts and sweeteners,” said Elaine Yu, president of Newport Beach-based Layn USA. “The new business segments will help strengthen our portfolio and better serve our customers in a wide range of unique industries, including food, beverage, flavor, fragrance, sports nutrition, nutraceutical and animal nutrition.”

The sweeteners unit consists of Layn’s sweetener portfolio, including stevia, monk fruit, sweet blackberry leaf and NHDC (neohesperidin dihydrochalcone).

Through its C.B.D. and hemp extracts unit Layn offers oils and powders and a water-soluble C.B.D. for a range of applications.  The food industry is waiting to see how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will regulate hemp. The F.D.A. has approved Epidiolex, which contains C.B.D. extracted from hemp, as a drug. The F.D.A. thus concluded dietary supplements and/or foods with C.B.D. cannot be sold because C.B.D. is an active ingredient in a drug product. The F.D.A. is exploring potential pathways that would allow dietary supplements and/or conventional foods containing C.B.D. to be marketed lawfully.

Layn’s Plantae business unit is divided into three divisions. Plantae Antioxidant consists of two lines of natural antioxidants that target both personal health applications and the preservation of flavors and shelf life in food and beverage products. Plantae Performance is a sports nutrition line offering plant-based systems across several categories, including weight management, natural energy, sports recovery, healthy aging and improved cognitive function. Plantae Sense consists of Layn’s flavor modulation technology that addresses demands for sugar and salt reduction. The ingredients enhance sweetness, mask bitterness and increase salt, sour or umami flavors.

TruGro animal nutrition, the fourth business unit, will roll out a line of botanical extracts, including polyphenol-rich extracts, citrus bioflavonoids, natural sweeteners and other natural extracts. The ingredients support key areas of animal nutrition such as palatability, natural antioxidation and gut health.