PLT Health Solutions Heads to IFT First 2026 with Six Sampling Beverages and a Beverage Energy Showcase

Six beverages. Four health categories. One booth. PLT Health Solutions brings its full functional drink lineup to IFT First 2026 at Booth #3042 in Chicago, and you can taste all of it for free.

PLT Health Solutions is back at IFT First, once again in Chicago with a booth full of incredible things to drink. At Booth #3042, the Morristown, NJ ingredient supplier will sample six custom-built functional beverages spanning four categories (energy, sports nutrition, weight management, and stress/mood), and Steve Fink, PLT's Vice President of Marketing, will present a session on the future of beverage energy on July 14th.

PricePlow has been tracking PLT Health's build-out for years, most recently through our Episode #146 deep dive with Steve Fink and Dr. Jeremy Appleton, the SupplySide Global 2025 recap, and the Expo West 2026 preview from earlier this spring.

PLT Health markets more than a dozen water-dispersible and water-soluble ingredient solutions for food and beverage applications. The "feel the science" positioning the company has leaned into at IFT is grounded in a real technical property: most of these ingredients are fast-acting enough that consumers notice effects within minutes or hours, which is precisely what makes them beverage-friendly in the first place.

As Fink put it in the company's IFT pre-show announcement:^[1]

"Efficacy will always be the foundation when it comes to science-backed ingredients."^[1]

-- Steve Fink, VP Marketing, PLT Health Solutions

Getting that efficacy into a stable, great-tasting beverage is where PLT has spent the better part of a decade. IFT is where you can taste the result.

Six "Made for the Show" Functional Beverages

PLT is sampling six beverages built specifically for the show, each featuring a different ingredient in its portfolio.

PLT Health showed up at Expo West Booth #3005 with a clinically studied joint ingredient debuting on the show floor. Between that, Zynamite S cognitive energy data, and a full sampling Experience Zone, it was a booth worth the stop.

• Tropical Island - Zembrin®

  The coconut-based Tropical Island beverage showcases Zembrin®, PLT's patented Sceletium tortuosum extract. Zembrin is the only standardized, clinically-studied kanna extract on the market, with data showing reduced stress and enhanced mood in under two hours. If you want to see how the ingredient is landing across finished product formats right now, our recent piece on Zembrin® across seven delivery formats covers the RTD, gummy, and capsule landscape, and notes that PLT will have both RTD and gummy samples of Zembrin at this show specifically.

• Mango Tango - Zynamite® S

  Zynamite® S is PLT's water-soluble Mangifera indica (mango leaf) extract, standardized to ≥60% mangiferin. PLT unveiled its second clinical study for the ingredient at SupplySide Global 2025: a single 100mg dose produced faster processing speed, better complex task handling, improved mood, and reduced fatigue, with some benefits measurable within 30 minutes. Non-stim cognitive lift in a functional beverage is still a hard problem to solve, and Zynamite® S is one of the cleaner answers to it.

• Summer Berry - Rhodiolife®

  Rhodiolife® Rhodiola rosea is PLT's entry in the adaptogen category. The Summer Berry beverage puts the adaptogenic stress relief and balance data directly in attendee hands, which is about as direct a demonstration as a trade show gets.

• Watermelon - cellflo6®

  

  Chris Lobb, retired 10th Special Forces Group Green Beret, and Brett Bernier, Director of Sports and Active Nutrition at PLT Health Solutions, dig into tactical nutrition, CellFlo6®, and zümXR® on Episode #212 of the PricePlow Podcast.

  cellflo6®, PLT's green tea catechin extract, targets blood flow, endurance, recovery, and energy. The ingredient is already appearing in commercial energy drink formulas including 7-ELEVEN's 7-Select Fusion Energy. For a deeper look at what cellflo6 brings to the performance side, Episode #212 with Brett Bernier and retired Special Forces operator Chris Lobb is the right starting point.

• Isn't Life Grape - MegaNatural-BP®

  MegaNatural-BP® is PLT's California grape seed extract with cardiometabolic and cardiovascular support data. This RTD puts the ingredient front and center for attendees exploring next-generation cardiovascular applications in beverage format.

• Protein-Infused RTD - Supresa® Crave Control

  The sixth beverage is a protein-infused RTD featuring Supresa®, PLT's clinically studied appetite control ingredient. The positioning targets healthy eating behaviors and weight management adjacent to the GLP-1 category. The full story on Supresa and PLT's broader weight management strategy is in our Beyond the Burner article.

Four Health & Wellness Categories on Display

The six beverages map to a broader portfolio organized around four categories.

New clinical data on Zynamite S shows cognitive and mood benefits within 30 minutes, lasting 3-5 hours. PLT Health Solutions presented research at SupplySide Global 2025 and featured it in CREATEA Mighty Mango. Water-soluble, non-stimulant mental energy.

• Energy

  PLT covers both stimulant and non-stim energy applications: zumXR® Extended Release Caffeine for smoother, prolonged stimulant delivery, and Zynamite® S for the growing segment that's moved off high-caffeine products. cellflo6® rounds out the stack for physical energy and endurance.

• Sports Nutrition

  The sports portfolio centers on MegaNatural-BP® and cellflo6® for blood flow and endurance, plus RipFACTOR® Muscle Accelerator, which carries clinical data on improved muscle strength and endurance. PLT's newest joint ingredient also fits here: Kinexa®, the whole-joint longevity complex that debuted at Expo West earlier this year, is the most comprehensively clinically-studied joint supplement ingredient we've covered at PricePlow, with MRI-validated improvements across five distinct joint structures in a single study.

• Weight Management

  Slendacor® Weight Management Complex handles the thermogenic and body composition angle, with clinical data supporting fast-acting, non-stimulant calorie burning and body shaping. Supresa® addresses the craving side. Both carry cardiometabolic data alongside MegaNatural-BP, giving formulators multiple angles on the same consumer goal.

• Stress/Mood

  Rhodiolife® leads the adaptogen story, and Zembrin® brings one of the deepest clinical benches in the botanical mood and stress category. Our Episode #146 with Dr. Jeremy Appleton remains the best primer on PLT's cognitive portfolio for anyone who wants the science before walking the booth floor.

Steve Fink's Presentation: New Horizons in Energy Beverages

Dive into PLT Health's cognitive platform with Steve Fink and Dr. Jeremy Appleton, exploring Zynamite, Zembrin, and Vanizem's impact on brain health in Episode #146 of the PricePlow Podcast

On Tuesday, July 14th at 2:30pm CDT, Steve Fink will present New Horizons in Energy Beverages: Formulating for the Moment as part of PLT's "Taste of Science" series. The session covers emerging opportunities in the functional beverage market with PLT's energy ingredient portfolio as the lens. Fink has been the primary voice on PLT's beverage strategy for years, including the CREATEA Mighty Mango collaboration and PLT's role as the official performance beverage sponsor at SupplySide Global 2025, so this presentation is likely to get into real formulator territory.

Head to Booth #3042 at IFT First 2026

PLT Health has been one of the most consistently active ingredient suppliers in PricePlow's coverage over the past two years, and IFT is where that portfolio is easiest to actually experience. If you're in Chicago, Booth #3042 is worth the stop -- and the drinks are free.

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