For a sustainable citrus supply chain

They serve as fragrant fertilizer, basis for vegan meat substitutes and even raw material for sustainable fashion: the peels and fruit fibers left over from pressing orange juice. They are already being recycled – but not by default. The “ImPUlSe” project, led by the University Duisburg-Essen (UDE, Germany), wants to change that and also aims to render the entire suppy chain for citrus fruits in the Mediterranean region more sustainable. A total of € 1.3 million in funding will be provided^*, € 530,000 from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research will go to the UDE. Kick-off is on September 9.

“Innovation in the by-product supply chain of citrus in the Mediterranean area”, or ImPUlSe for short, is coordinated by the Centre for Logistics and Traffic (ZLV) at the UDE. From planting the seeds on the plantations to transporting them to the local supermarkets and recycling the peels and fibers – the international team wants to analyze and improve the processes by following the “triple bottom line” approach: All changes should be sustainable on an ecological, economic and social level.

The four pilot projects are located in Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey. Besides the UDE as coordinator, research institutions and companies from all countries are involved, as well as a research partner from France: “Different disciplines are working hand in hand here. Thus, we will not only improve existing products, but also develop new supply chains for citrus by-products and open up new markets for producers from the Mediterranean region. Eventually, we will publish our results on an online platform and make them available to everyone, especially consumers”, explains spokesperson Dr. Ani Melkonyan-Gottschalk, executive director of the ZLV.

This innovation platform is expected to encourage exchange between all participants – even beyond the duration of ImPUlSe. It is also a basis for researchers to assess the sustainability of the changes they have initiated. “We are developing an evaluation system that simulates different scenarios to facilitate work for decision-makers in agriculture, food processing, trade and politics”, says Melkonyan-Gottschalk.

In the long term, the interdisciplinary project aims to use and reuse resources more efficiently, develop digital solutions and establish more effective market mechanisms. As a result, the employment rate and quality of life in the Mediterranean region are expected to increase.

^*EU funding within “Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area” (PRIMA).

Seed-round, led by iAngels, will propel production and technology to reduce sugars in fruit juice

Better Juice, Ltd., the first company to reduce all sugars from natural juices, announces it has raised US$8M in seed-round investment. This new influx of support was led by iAngels, Israel and includes investors: Maverick Ventures, Israel; Food Tech Lab TFTL, Spain; The Kitchen Hub, Israel, as part of the Strauss Group and IIA; NEOME, Israel; Schestowitz Group, Israel; and Semillero, Puerto Rico.

The start-up’s enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules. Reducing up to 80 % of all sugars, Better Juice’s non-GMO technology is designed to target orange juice’s specific sugar composition to naturally create a low-calorie, reduced-sugar product with a delicate sweetness. Better Juice opened a pilot plant in January 2021, an important milestone in the startup’s commercial scale-up timeline.

Better Juice will use the investment to build its first full-scale manufacturing plant in Israel to serve the growing demand. The high-tech plant will increase production capacity by 40-fold while generating up to US$50M sales annually. The company will use the funds to expand the sales and marketing teams to support its commercialization stage.

“We are excited to complete this investment round with the support of leading venture capital and CPG companies from around the globe,” says Eran Blachinsky, PhD, founder and CEO of Better Juice. “This investment will enable us to accelerate our growth and expand into other product lines, such as ice cream, soft drinks, and jam.”

About Better Juice
Better Juice was founded in 2018 by Eran Blachinsky, PhD, in collaboration with the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. The company was incubated in The Kitchen Hub – Strauss Group’s foodtech and IIA incubator, and received early funding from Maverick Ventures, Israel and other global partners.