It looks like sweetener, but FAU's packet is for your health - Sun Sentinel

Steven Sponder (Mark Randall, Mark Randall,…)

June 26, 2012|By Scott Travis and Ed Komenda, Sun Sentinel

Next to the familiar pink, blue and yellow sweeteners at Florida Atlantic University's coffee shops sits a new green assortment with a surprising message: taste free.

What's sweet about Vplenish, a product invented on campus, is not the taste, but the health benefits, according to its founder, Steven Sponder, 49, of Boca Raton, and some student samplers.

Vplenish is a liquid-dissolving vitamin boost, featuring a blend of C, B6, B12, and D, as well as zinc, antioxidants and electrolytes. It provides 20 percent of a person's recommended daily vitamins, said Spondor, who came up with the idea in 2008 after he was tired of taking large vitamin pills.

"I was at Starbucks and forgot to take my nasty pill, when I had an epiphany. Everyone was tearing open sweetener packets," he said.

He hired scientists who found a way to use a micro-encapsulated coating to remove any undesirable taste.

The packets are now available at every eatery at FAU, as well as the gym and at catered events.

FAU senior Damien Stevens, 24, of Coral Springs, spreads Vplenish on his corn flakes and mixes it with orange juice and coffee.

"You can put it on any food or drink, and it doesn't taste like anything," Stevens said. "I've never seen a vitamin like that."

Juan Montoya, 23, sprinkled a packet of Vplenish on his chicken sandwich at his Boca Raton home.

"I used to take a multi-vitamin pill, but I'd always forget," Montoya said. "This is much easier."

Vplenish has been inspected by the Food and Drug Administration and meets all regulations, Sponder said. It's also been certified as kosher.

A few Boca Raton restaurants off campus are making it available and people can buy a pack of 2,000 for $19.95 at Amazon.com. It should be available at retail stores and wholesale clubs next year, Sponder said.

His next step will be to target other Florida universities, Sponder said.

"We're hoping this will be the next Gatorade," he said

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