Production processes at Kräuter Mix
Kräuter Mix offers air-dried herbs, vegetables and spices not only as individual ingredients, but also in blends, in particular fruit teas, herbal teas, spice mixtures, herb and flower blends, medicinal teas and animal feed products. To maintain the ingredients’ premium quality, the company has a rigorous industrial blending process in place which respects the original ingredients on a number of different levels.
Three different blending techniques
The top priority is to ensure that the product, which consists of several raw material components, must not be damaged or altered in any other way during the homogenization; fine particles and dust should be avoided. Key quality markers include size, structure, flowability, purity, color, appearance, taste and, if applicable, aroma. These are all met better if the blends are prepared within process-reliable systems. After all, the goal is an end product that looks, smells and tastes the same, no matter the specific batch.
Kräuter Mix utilizes eight high-performance production facilities to gently and effectively produce homogeneous blends from plant-based raw materials. The blending machines are designed for different requirements and can process coarse cuts (2 to 15 mm), fine cuts (0.3 to 2 mm) and powders (< 0.3 mm) as well as granulates (2 to 4 mm) in both large and small batches. To this end, Kräuter Mix applies three different blending techniques: flatbed mixers, cone mixers and powder mixers. These machines can blend different components as well as homogenize different batches of the same raw material.
Coarse cut, fine cut and powder
The choice of blending technique depends on the size and nature of the individual raw materials for the desired blend. The three flatbed mixers are used for blends with chunky ingredients, especially coarse cuts. During the blending process, it is important that brittle components are not broken up and the product structures are retained. The different raw materials are layered on top of each other in several blending steps without mechanical load.
The two conical mixers are ideal for homogenizing non-brittle fine cuts. The cone-shaped container is equipped with a rotating mixing screw attached to a swivel arm that moves along the wall of the conical container. The components to be blended are fed into the container from above. The rotating screw moves the material upwards along the container wall, while at the same time it continues to fall downwards into the bottom of the container. This continuous cycle ensures thorough blending.
Homogenization of juniper berries
As the name suggests, a powder mixer blends powdered raw materials by homogenizing the components with two horizontal shafts. Kräuter Mix also has a processing line specifically designed for juniper berries, as none of the other blending techniques are suitable for this product. This particular mixer, which consists of four hoppers and screw conveyors, is used to homogenize different batches to generate specific product properties, for example with regard to the desired essential oil content.
To make flavored fruit and herbal teas, and depending on the nature of the tea ingredients, liquid flavoring can be added via injection nozzles on specific blending technique facilities. Alternatively, flavor granules can be used.
GMP production
At Kräuter Mix, two blending facilities operate in accordance with the certified GMP standard, which represents the highest hygiene and safety requirements, ensuring the production of plant-based active ingredients and medicinal products in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines. They furthermore stipulate specific requirements such as validated processes, comprehensive manufacturing and test documentation as well as GMP-trained staff. In addition to standard products, it is possible to produce blends that comply with organic, kosher and halal regulations.
To make sure the best-possible blend is achieved, the duration of the blending process across all blending techniques also matters: it depends on product properties, blending accuracy and batch size.
Flyer on the production process
Process description with flow charts of the blending systems
