Consumers appreciate convenience. Therefore dry food powders have gained a permanently increasing market share because of their advantage of separating production from the location of consumption, to reduce transportation cost and to keep the products bacteriological stable.

These products are very convenient for the end user, provided the reconstitution into water, milk or juice is without problems. Reconstitution means wetting, sinking and dispersing of the powdered food product. In cases where the fat content (esp. free surface fat) is too high or the particle structure is too fine then the addition of lecithin as a problem solver can be extremely helpful.

Instant products should be free flowing, rapidly soluble, easily wettable and quick to disperse when adding water or other liquids. Typical instant powders include dried milk products, cocoa and chocolate drinks, soups and sauces, as well as protein powders. Common instantizing challenges are either poor wetting due to particle structure or presence of fat or rapid gelling at the particle surface, which coats the particle with an impermeable surface and prevents the powder from sinking.

The specific surface-active properties of lecithin improve the wettability characteristics of these powders significantly when coated with lecithin (dosage 0.1 – 2%). Lecithin also maintains the stability of the instantizing properties over long periods of time under a variety of storage conditions.