Better Juice partners with GEA and US juice maker to commercialise reduced-sugar juices.

FoodTech start-up Better Juice, Ltd. sealed its first commercial deal to bring reduced-sugar juices one step closer to supermarket beverage aisles. The company inked an agreement with a major US fruit juice manufacturer for commercial installment of its sugar-reduction technology.

This is Better Juice’s first official commercial venture in its long-term collaboration with GEA Group, AG, Germany, a world leader in process engineering for the food and beverage sectors. The two companies joined forces in a strategic move to scale up and promote the sugar-reduction technology throughout the global beverage market.

Start-up receives patent and a self-affirmed GRAS approval

Better Juice was granted a patent for its sugar-reduction enzymatic process in Europe. Armed with recent self-affirmed GRAS status, the company is out to market its innovative system to food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. “These achievements, together with GEA’s knowhow and cutting-edge technology, will open doors to work more closely with food and beverage companies,” explains Eran Blachinsky, PhD, co-founder and co-CEO of Better Juice.

Better-Juice’s patented enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose sugars into prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers. The juice passes through a continuous flow bio-reactor housing non-GMO microorganism that transform the unwanted sugars into beneficial, non-digestible molecules. It boasts capabilities to reduce sugar loads by up to 80 %, while preserving the full complement of vitamins and other nutrients inherent in the fruit. The process moderates the sweetness of the juice, while intensifying the fruit flavour.

Sugar-reduced juices will line the shelves next year

Under the new venture, GEA will design, manufacture, and install the bioreactor that reduces sugars, and offer follow-up technical support. Better Juice will produce the microorganisms for the enzymatic process. According to the first commercial order, the fruit drinks manufacturer will produce natural juices with a minimum sugar reduction of 30 %, and anticipates the product to arrive in supermarkets by spring 2022.

“This new agreement marks an exciting milestone in our mission to get our sugar-reduction technology off the ground, to penetrate the US market, and to expand our global footprint,” enthuses Blachinsky. “We’ve officially launched our drive to help consumers enjoy reduce sugar in their favourite fruit juice.”

“Scaling up is always a challenge,” confesses Gali Yarom, co-founder and co-CEO of Better Juice. “But when your partner is GEA, with its vast industrial food processing capabilities and global presence, the acceleration of the Better Juice commercialisation is much faster and brings added value to the supply chain. Imagine—in just a few months, affordable, reduced-sugar fruit juice will be a ready option for American consumers.”

The equipment has been tested in GEA’s quality assurance facility in Germany and can be easily integrated into existing juice production lines, providing product at a capacity of up to 200 liter per hour. Total production capacity of reduced-sugar juices can be adjusted to the manufacturer’s needs.

“Better Juice has incredible potential to transform the global juice industry,” notes Colm O’Gorman, Head of Sales Management for GEA’s Global Technology Center for Non-Alcoholic Beverages. “As consumer demand for lowered-sugar beverages continues to surge, we are eager to join Better Juice on this momentous journey. We look forward to delivering products that address one of the top consumer needs of reducing their sugar intake, especially in daily beverages.”

• Gerald McDonald Ltd wins Japanese deal selling £500,000 worth of organic juices
• The Department for International Trade helped the company attend trade shows in Japan where it acquired new customers
• The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement concluding earlier this month means 99 % of UK goods exported to Japan will be tariff-free

An Essex-based drink supplier that was founded over a century ago has secured a £500,000 deal to sell its organic fruit juices to Japanese businesses through to April 2021.

Founded by spice trader Gerald McDonald in 1917, the self-named business is now managed by his grandson Gerald and great-grandson Maxim. From its headquarters in Basildon, the juices are exported to over 20 countries, with international sales accounting for 20 % of Gerald McDonald’s £27 million average turnover.

This latest Japanese deal was secured after the Department for International Trade (DIT) assisted the company to attend trade shows and meetings in Japan, where it met new customers. In 2016, Gerald McDonald opened an office in Kobe and DIT is currently providing advice on trademark registration in the country.

Marketing Director at Gerald McDonald, Maxim McDonald: “We are proud to be a British family business and to keep the legacy of my great-grandfather going. Japan has been our biggest exporting step; it is an exciting market and our future focus. It is going to be big for our business and we are in the process of developing our website for future online sales in Japan.”

Gerald McDonald also exports its popular Japanese Yuzu juice outside of Japan and creates bespoke juice mixes at its headquartered blending facility.

On 11 September, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced an agreement in principle of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the UK’s first free trade agreement since leaving the EU.

East of England exporters of food and drink, which were worth over £33 million to Japan last year stand to benefit from reductions in tariffs and red tape as part of this deal.

Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss: “The trade deal we signed with Japan was a historic moment and will offer tariff-free trade on 99 % of UK exports to Japan, creating new opportunities for people in the East of England and helping level up the whole country. It will help businesses like Gerald McDonald sell more of their fantastic produce to the world’s third largest economy and encourage more of our small companies do the same. More trade and investment is crucial to overcoming the economic challenges of Coronavirus and supporting UK jobs.”

The UK also plans to become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will open up 11 key pacific markets for UK exporters, reducing tariffs for UK business (95 % of goods traded between members are tariff-free).

Europe’s drinks industry saw a rise of 73.9 % in overall deal activity during Q2 2019, when compared to the four-quarter average, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

A total of 40 deals worth $76.18m were announced for the region during Q2 2019, against the last four-quarter average of 23 deals.

Of all the deal types, merger and acquisition (M&A) saw the most activity in Q2 2019 with 24, representing a 60 % share for the region.

In second place was venture financing with ten deals, followed by private equity deals with six transactions, respectively capturing a 25 % and 15 % share of the overall deal activity for the quarter.

In terms of value of deals, M&A was the leading category in Europe’s drinks industry with $55.98m, while venture financing deals totaled $20.2m.

Europe drinks industry deals in Q2 2019: Top deals

The top five drinks deals accounted for 80.9 % of the overall value during Q2 2019.

The combined value of the top five drinks deals stood at $61.65m, against the overall value of $76.18m recorded for the quarter. The top announced drinks deal tracked by GlobalData in Q2 2019 was Cafento Coffee Factory S.L’s $33.58m acquisition of Java Republic.

In second place was the $20.39m asset transaction with The Glenturret by Lalique Group and in third place was Five Seasons Ventures and New Ground Ventures’ $4.73m venture financing of YFood Labs.

The $1.68m venture financing of Champagne EPC by Cedric Sellin, Cedric Sire and Kima Ventures and AG Barr’s stake acquisition of Elegantly Spirited for $1.27m held fourth and fifth positions, respectively.