Licorice connects agriculture with several manufacturing sectors. The same botanical source can be supplied as cleaned root sticks, slices, crushed root, powder, viscous extract, solid blocks or spray-dried extract powder. Each format solves a different processing problem, so the question “Where is licorice used?” is best answered together with “In what form and for what function?”

In industrial practice, licorice may provide flavour, sweetness, taste modification, a recognizable herbal identity or a standardized marker compound. It may also be selected because the finished product belongs to a traditional herbal category. These purposes have different technical and regulatory requirements.

Food manufacturing

Food is one of the broadest application areas for licorice derivatives. The US eCFR provision for licorice and licorice derivatives lists uses in categories including baked goods, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, confectionery and frostings, herbs and seasonings, plant-protein products, snack foods and certain sauces or gravies, subject to stated conditions and good manufacturing practice.

In a food formulation, licorice can contribute:

  • a warm, sweet and herbal base note;
  • flavour enhancement and a longer finish;
  • balancing of bitter or sharp botanical notes;
  • differentiation in products built around recognizable natural flavours.

Licorice is not a neutral replacement for sugar. Its characteristic taste, colour, solubility and interaction with acidity must be evaluated in the actual recipe. A pilot trial is more reliable than selecting an ingredient only from a sweetness figure.

Beverages and botanical drinks

Beverage developers use botanical extracts in herbal infusions, concentrates, syrups, non-alcoholic drinks and selected alcoholic formulations. Licorice can provide body and a lingering sweet impression, but beverage systems raise practical questions: clarity, sediment, pH stability, colour, heat treatment and compatibility with other flavours.

Spray-dried powder is convenient for dry premixes and controlled dosing. A liquid or viscous extract may be easier to introduce into some syrup systems. Root cuts are appropriate when the manufacturer performs extraction or infusion. The best form depends on the production line rather than on a universal ranking.

Confectionery and flavour systems

Licorice has an established connection with confectionery, chewing gum and flavour preparations. Beyond products intentionally sold with a licorice taste, small formulation amounts may be evaluated to round a flavour or manage bitterness. The result varies strongly with cocoa, mint, fruit acids, salt and other botanicals.

Colour and flavour strength should be specified, especially when batch-to-batch visual consistency matters. A standardized extract can simplify dosing, while whole-root material may be preferred when a visible botanical identity is part of the product concept.

Pharmaceutical and herbal medicinal products

Pharmaceutical manufacturers may encounter licorice in two different roles. First, its flavour profile can be evaluated for taste masking in oral preparations. Second, defined licorice preparations can be used in herbal medicinal products where permitted. The European Medicines Agency publishes a Liquiritiae radix monograph describing specific traditional uses and conditions.

A medicinal application requires much more than a food-grade ingredient description. The manufacturer may need pharmacopoeial identity, validated assays, tighter contaminant controls, stability evidence, documentation of the extraction solvent and ratio, and compliance with the medicine rules of the target market. A supplier should never imply that food-grade status automatically qualifies a batch for pharmaceutical use.

Nutraceuticals and dietary supplements

Supplements may use root powder or extracts in capsules, tablets, powders and liquid blends. Here, ingredient identity, marker content and daily intake are central. Conventional glycyrrhizin-containing material and DGL are different ingredients and should be specified separately.

Product claims also depend on jurisdiction. A history of traditional use or an interesting laboratory study does not automatically authorize a health claim. The finished-product company must evaluate evidence, dose, interactions, warnings and legal classification. The NCCIH licorice fact sheet is a useful reminder that high-quality evidence is limited for many promoted health uses and that excessive or prolonged glycyrrhizin exposure can be harmful.

Cosmetics and personal care

Licorice-derived ingredients appear in discussions of skin-care, scalp-care and personal-care formulation. Depending on the ingredient and supplier documentation, formulators may evaluate them for botanical positioning, skin-conditioning concepts, sensory characteristics or researched constituent profiles.

Cosmetic use requires the correct INCI name, safety assessment, impurity profile, microbiological quality and compliance with the destination-market cosmetics framework. The European Commission’s CosIng resources help identify cosmetic ingredient nomenclature and regulatory context, but the Commission notes that database presence is not itself an authorization. Claims such as soothing, brightening or antioxidant need evidence for the finished formula and must comply with local claim rules.

Oral-care and flavour-masking systems

Toothpaste, mouthwash, lozenges and similar products often combine strong mineral, herbal or active tastes. Licorice derivatives may be investigated as part of the flavour system or botanical concept. Whether the finished product is a cosmetic, food, supplement, medical device or medicine changes the applicable quality and claim requirements.

This is a good example of why the same ingredient cannot be sold with one universal document package. Intended use must be disclosed before the supplier and buyer agree the specification.

Selecting the correct commercial format

A practical starting matrix is:

  • cut or crushed root — infusion, extraction and visible botanical applications;
  • root powder — dry blends and products where whole-root composition is intended;
  • spray-dried extract powder — controlled dry dosing, premixes, tablets and capsules;
  • viscous extract — syrup-like systems and further industrial processing;
  • extract blocks — bulk handling and further dissolution or processing;
  • crude glycyrrhizic acid concentrate — specialized processing where an agreed higher marker range is required.

The format alone does not prove suitability. Buyers should request the current specification, sample, CoA, recommended storage and available regulatory statements for their application. Botanic Herbs presents its root and extract portfolio as a starting point for a technical conversation, not as a universal approval for every end use.

Quality questions common to every sector

Across industries, reliable purchasing begins with botanical identity, batch traceability and a signed specification. The test plan then follows the risk: marker assay, moisture or solids, microbiology, heavy metals, pesticide residues, mycotoxins, particle size, viscosity or other application-specific parameters.

Buyers should also agree packaging, labelling, shelf life, transport conditions and change notification. For export business, the product specification and destination-market rules must be reviewed before the commercial shipment.

Conclusion

Licorice is used across industries because one botanical raw material can deliver several functions and be processed into multiple commercial forms. Its versatility is real, but successful use is specific: the correct species, preparation, marker range, quality standard, dosage and regulatory path must match the finished product.

To discuss a particular formulation, send Botanic Herbs the industry, target product, required format, destination market and estimated quantity through the request form.

Sources and regulatory references

Regulatory status and permitted claims vary by product and market. This overview is not legal or medical advice.