What Are Examples of Concentrates in Different Industries?

January 2, 2026 •

4 min read

Over 60% of total concentrate feed resources utilized globally consist of cereals, indicating the widespread application of concentrated products across multiple sectors. Concentrates are common in everything from the food we eat to the products used to nourish our livestock, and even recreational products.

Quick Summary

This article explains what concentrates are and provides a comprehensive overview of examples from the food and beverage industry, animal feed, and the booming cannabis market, detailing their creation and uses.

Key Points

Food Concentrates: Products like frozen juice, tomato paste, and syrups are made by removing water to intensify flavor and extend shelf life.
Animal Feed Concentrates: Nutrient-dense feeds like grains, oilseed meals, and mineral mixes are used to provide concentrated energy or protein to livestock.
Cannabis Concentrates: Highly potent extractions of cannabinoids and terpenes come in forms such as wax, shatter, and oil.
Diverse Production Methods: Concentrates are created using various methods, including water evaporation, milling, solvent-based extraction, and solventless techniques like heat and pressure.
Efficiency and Potency: The primary benefits of concentrates are increased potency, higher nutrient density, reduced bulk for storage and transport, and extended shelf life.
Solventless Concentrates: Products like rosin and hash are made using mechanical separation methods involving heat, pressure, ice, and water, appealing to those who prefer avoiding chemical solvents.

A concentrate is a form of a product that has had a significant portion of its solvent, most commonly water, removed. This process leaves behind a product with a much higher density of nutrients, active compounds, or flavor, making it more potent or easier to store and transport. The nature of the active components being intensified determines the concentrate's final form and application. This guide explores several examples across different industries to illustrate the breadth of this manufacturing technique.

Food and Beverage Concentrates

One of the most familiar types of concentrates can be found in the food and beverage industry, where removing water intensifies flavor and extends shelf life.

Fruit Juice Concentrates

Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate: Perhaps the most classic example, where water is evaporated from fresh orange juice and the concentrate is frozen for storage. Consumers add water to reconstitute it before drinking.
Passion Fruit and Mango Concentrate: Used extensively in beverages, syrups, and desserts to provide a strong, consistent fruit flavor without the bulk of fresh fruit.
Tomato Concentrate: A thick, flavorful paste used as a base for sauces, soups, and other dishes, created by simmering and straining tomatoes to reduce their water content.

Other Food-Related Concentrates

Soup Concentrates: Many canned and packaged soups are condensed, requiring the consumer to add water or milk during preparation.
Flavoring Extracts: High-intensity flavorings like vanilla extract are a form of concentrate, created by infusing a solvent with the flavor components of a source material.
Dairy Concentrates: Products like sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk are examples of milk concentrates used in baking and confections.

Animal Feed Concentrates

In agriculture, concentrates are essential for providing balanced nutrition to livestock. They are distinguished from roughages by their high nutrient density and low fiber content.

Types of Feed Concentrates

Energy Concentrates: These are rich in carbohydrates and are used to boost energy levels, promoting fast growth and high milk production. Examples include maize, barley, and wheat bran.
Protein Concentrates: High in protein (often over 20%), these are crucial for muscle development, fertility, and milk yield. Common examples include soybean meal, cottonseed cake, and fish meal.
Mineral and Vitamin Concentrates: These are premixes formulated to supplement specific nutritional deficiencies in an animal's diet that forage alone cannot provide.

Cannabis Concentrates

For medical and recreational use, cannabis concentrates are extracts with significantly higher levels of cannabinoids (like THC and CBD) and terpenes compared to raw flower. Their potency and diverse textures make them a popular choice among consumers.

Examples of Cannabis Concentrates

Wax and Budder: These have a soft, sticky, or creamy consistency, often resulting from whipping the extract during processing.
Shatter: A translucent, glass-like concentrate known for its brittle texture and high purity.
Rosin: A solventless concentrate made by applying heat and pressure to cannabis flower or hash, popular for its natural extraction method.
Live Resin: Made from fresh-frozen cannabis, this preserves more of the plant's volatile terpenes, resulting in a product with a richer flavor profile.
Distillate: A highly refined oil with extremely high purity, often used in vape cartridges and edibles.

Comparison of Different Concentrates


Feature	Fruit Juice Concentrate	Animal Feed Concentrate	Cannabis Concentrate
Primary Goal	Intensify flavor, extend shelf life, ease transport	Provide dense energy, protein, or nutrients for livestock	Increase potency of cannabinoids and terpenes
Raw Material	Fruits (e.g., oranges, mangoes)	Grains, oilseeds, fishmeal, mineral mixes	Cannabis plant trichomes (flower or hash)
Main Process	Evaporation, freezing, distillation	Milling, blending, fortifying	Solvent-based (butane, CO2), solventless (heat/pressure)
Form/Consistency	Liquid, frozen, powdered	Pellets, meal, powder	Wax, shatter, oil, resin
End Product Use	Reconstituted juice, flavored drinks, syrups	Balanced diet for farm animals, supplements	Vaping, dabbing, edibles, topicals

The Extraction Process for Cannabis Concentrates

The creation of cannabis concentrates highlights the complexity involved in extracting active compounds. Two main methods define the process: solvent-based and solventless. Solvent-based extraction utilizes chemical solvents to strip cannabinoids and terpenes from plant material. The solvent is then purged, leaving behind the concentrated product. For example, butane hash oil (BHO) produces concentrates like shatter and wax, while CO2 extraction yields a purer oil used in cartridges. Conversely, solventless extraction relies on mechanical processes like heat, pressure, or water and ice agitation to separate the potent trichomes from the plant. Rosin is a notable example, produced by pressing the plant material between heated plates. The choice of method affects the concentrate's final texture, flavor, and potency. For more on feeding systems, visit the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Conclusion

From the familiar taste of reconstituted orange juice to the potent experience of cannabis extracts and the balanced nutrition of livestock feed, concentrates are a testament to efficient processing. By removing water and other non-essential materials, manufacturers create products that are more potent, cost-effective to transport, and have a longer shelf life. This concentration technique allows for versatile applications across numerous industries, demonstrating its importance in modern production and consumption.

Frequently Asked Questions

Fresh juice is simply squeezed from the fruit, while juice concentrate is produced by evaporating most of the water from the fresh juice. The concentrate is then frozen or packaged for transport, and water is added back later by the consumer or bottler.

Shatter is typically made using a solvent-based extraction method, such as butane hash oil (BHO) extraction. The process involves passing a solvent through the cannabis material to dissolve cannabinoids and terpenes, which are then collected and purged of the solvent to create a glass-like solid.

Fruit concentrates can retain many of the beneficial nutrients and plant compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, found in fresh fruit. They offer a convenient way to get these nutrients, but the healthiness depends on whether additives like sugar are included.

Farmers use concentrates to supplement the diets of their livestock, providing concentrated sources of energy and protein that are more nutrient-dense than traditional forage. This helps meet the nutritional needs for growth, milk production, and overall health, especially during periods when forage quality is low.

No, not all cannabis concentrates are made with chemical solvents. Solventless extraction methods, which use heat and pressure (rosin) or ice and water (bubble hash), are also widely used and are often preferred by consumers who want to avoid chemicals.

Besides frozen orange juice, common examples include condensed soups, coffee syrups, and vanilla extract. Tomato paste is another widely used concentrate, made by reducing tomato puree.

Consumers might prefer concentrates for their higher potency, efficiency, and variety of textures and formats. The extraction process removes plant matter, resulting in a cleaner vapor when dabbed or vaped. Some also prefer the less intense smell and taste.

Kief consists of the loose, powdery trichomes collected from the cannabis plant. Hash is made by compressing these collected kief trichomes into a solid slab or ball.