FoodTech start-up, Better Juice, in partnership with GEA Group, has completed a series of highly successful pilot trials for reducing simple sugars in natural berry and fruit juices. The trials were held at GEA’s innovation centre in Ahaus, Germany, where the GEA Better Juice Sugar Converter Skid was tested with the help of various juice manufacturers from the EU, USA, Australia, and Brazil. Better Juice’s proprietary sugar-reduction beads are made up of non-GMO microorganisms that naturally convert the juice’s sucrose, glucose, and fructose into prebiotic oligosaccharides and other non-digestible fibres, while retaining essential nutrients.
During the trials, the team was able to reduce the simple sugar content across a range of fruit juices, including strawberry, cherry, and blueberry, while preserving their characteristic flavours and textures. The sugar content was reduced by 30% and 50%, thus now making berry-based juices available for more people to enjoy.
Better Juice’s ‘plug-and-play’ approach is likely to attract many fruit juice companies, and it has already sparked the interest of several major US-based companies. Gali Yarom, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Better Juice, says, “The feedback was most promising, with several companies expressing a strong interest in continuing to work with us to bring these products to market. We are currently in advanced discussions with several major US-based fruit juice companies…Sugar-reduced berry fruit juices will reach the shelves early next year.”
Better Juice’s technology proved successful for both clear NFC (not from concentrate) juices and dense concentrates, as well as pulp-retained juices. Retaining the fruit solids in their products is key for many manufacturers as it preserves the nutritional benefits of the fruit, in addition to delivering the consumers’ desired texture.
“We are excited by the emerging demand for naturally sugar-reduced juices in the marketplace. Some of the participants are major global players who have expressed genuine enthusiasm about our combined solution and the prospect of giving their products a new competitive edge,” says Michael Harenkamp, sales support engineer for non-alcoholic beverages for GEA.
The industry is keenly watching Better Juice’s next move in food manufacturing as their technology is likely to have a transformative impact on fruit juice products, both in terms of health and sales revenue.
