The Brazilian exports of Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice (FCOJ) Equivalent have been increasing for three months. Between July and September/19 (2019/20 crop), Brazil shipped 299.7 thousand tons of the product, 27 % more than that exported in the same period last year, according to Secex. Revenue, in turn, rose 17 %, in the same comparison, totaling 520.58 million USD.

The good exports performance is largely linked to the replenishing of European inventories (the European Union is the number one destination for the Brazilian orange juice) – last season, exports to the EU had decreased. Thus, this season, juice shipments to the EU have already reached 230.4 thousand tons, 47 % up compared to the volume exported between July and September last year.

To the United States, however, the Brazilian exports of FCOJ Equivalent have been decreasing (17% between July and September), totaling only 37.1 thousand tons since the beginning of the season, in July/19. This scenario reflects the supply offset in Florida in the 2018/19 crop as well as estimates for a positive scenario in 2019/20.

For the coming months, Brazilian juice exports are expected to keep on the rise, due to the higher orange production in the citrus belt (São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro) and the needs of European bottling plants to replenish inventories. To the USA, in turn, the increase in the demand for the Brazilian orange juice will depend on the orange production in Florida (although greening has been controlled in the American state, local groves still suffer the effects of the disease).

BRAZILIAN MARKET IN OCTOBER – Despite the higher demand for oranges in the Brazilian in natura market in the first fortnight of October, the supply of high quality fruits was low (oranges are wilted and small). Thus, prices for higher quality oranges increased in the Brazilian market in the first half of the month. Between October 1 and 15, pear orange prices averaged 21.38 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, 12.6 % up compared to that in the first fortnight of September.

As regards tahiti lime, quotes increased in São Paulo in the same period – some deals reached 100.00 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested. The scenario was linked to lower supply, since the fruits still on tree had not reached the ideal size and maturation stage to be harvested.

Between October 1 and 15, tahiti lime prices averaged 79.94 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, 68.3 % up compared to that in the first half of September. On the other hand, rains in the first fortnight of October may have favored fruits growth on tree, raising expectations for an increase in supply still in October.

The IFU (International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association) has, once again, awarded one company from the juice industry and one person for his long standing active support of the juice industry: Tetra Pak received the “IFU Award for Innovation” for their production concept solution combining UV and filtration technology, Mr. Hans Jürgen Hofsommer received the “IFU Award for Significant Contribution”. Both awards were presented during this years` Juice Summit Gala Dinner in Antwerp, Belgium.

Mr. Hans Jürgen Hofsommer is the founder of GfL laboratory in Berlin, dedicated to serving the juice industry with expert analysis. He has been a long standing member and supporter of IFU being the Methods of Analysis (MAC) chair in the 1980’s and 1990’s developing the extensive catalogue of IFU methods of analysis. He truly is a dedicated contributor to the juice industry.

Maria Norlin accepted the award on behalf of Tetra Pak and gave the worlds` first presentation on this technology combining UV and filtration at the IFU Technical Workshop in Athens earlier this year.

Maria Norlin has worked at Tetra Pak Processing Systems since 2008 across different areas of expertise, such as technical product management within Mixing, Blending, Dosing, as well as product management within Heating.

Maria is currently leading a team of food technologists and product managers responsible for developing and managing the Tetra Pak JNSD Processing Portfolio and technology expertise. She has a Master of Science in Chemical Biology, with a focus on Bioprocess Engineering from Linköpings University, Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Tetra Pak`s technology utilises sterile filtration in conjunction with heat processing for juice, nectar and still drinks which reduces energy consumption by 2/3rds.

Portuguese food and beverage company Sumol+Compal has launched its premium brand Compal in Tetra Pak’s sleek, fresh new Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic 1000 Edge with Bio-based WingCap™ 30.

The uniquely-designed package will allow Sumol+Compal to bring to market a range of popular juices distinguished by an easy-grip carton, one-step opening and with a smoothly-rounded, slim shape. The new Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic package also helps brands like Sumol+Compal differentiate themselves from competitors, better share information about the brand and its products, and attract new customers.

Diogo Dias, Head of Marketing of Sumol+Compal said: “With a large and smooth-bodied branding surface, the Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic package offers a contemporary look to rejuvenate our brand and add a novelty element to this everyday product, also enhancing on-shelf differentiation. Its lighter weight and FSC™ certification are totally aligned with our vision to contribute to a more environmentally friendly world.”

Now more than ever consumers are looking to buy from brands that share their values, companies today are competing to make product information and company values more accessible, and to connect with consumers wherever they are—whether that’s at home, at work, or on the go. Therefore, in addition to offering customers like Sumol+Compal a sleek, fresh design, Tetra Pak has designed the Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic carton in a way that offers brands a large, continuous surface perfect for branding, storytelling and the nutrition information that today’s consumers demand.

Alejandro Cabal, VP Packaging Solutions, Tetra Pak, said: “In our fast-moving world, communications and marketing are becoming ever more challenging. In order to be able to drive value to consumers, brands need all the tools in the marketing mix, and, as such, packaging becomes a key feature in any desired product. The Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic carton package is a part of a consumer solution that our customers can use to share their story, helping consumers pick products and have a better experience from using them.”

As part of Tetra Pak’s ambition to deliver packages that contribute to a low carbon circular economy, the Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic is recyclable, FSC™ certified and has the option for customers to use a plant-based cap made from polymers, which are derived from sugar cane. With an increasing number of consumers now recognising the FSC™ label and opting for plant-based products, the package meets the needs of the environmentally conscious consumer.

Duarte Pinto, CEO of Sumol+Compal said: “We are delighted to pack our products in the new Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic. It is an environmentally sound package, thanks to its light weight and cap made from sugar cane, a renewable resource. It offers excellent functionality for consumers to hold and pour from because of its ergonomic shape. Compal is the first brand to launch products in Tetra Stelo Aseptic worldwide, true to the spirit of innovation to make our products stand out and offer consumers the best experience every day.”

The new range of packages starts at 1000ml, with new sizes being added to the family soon. The Tetra Stelo™ Aseptic 1000 Edge with Bio-based WingCap™ 30 is already available in Portugal, and will be rolled out in Poland, Romania and Brazil markets.

At this year’s Anuga trade fair, held between 5 and 9 October, Doehler will present a diverse portfolio of innovative, natural ingredients and applications which combine plant-based nutrition, sugar reduction and functionality with unique Multi-Sensory Experiences^®.

Unique Multi-Sensory Experiences^®

When it comes to food and beverages, consumers are above all looking for products with unique taste sensations along with healthy, natural ingredients, new textures, brilliant colours, an exquisite mouthfeel and ultimately the emotional enjoyment that comes from Multi-Sensory Experiences®. Doehler will present innovative concepts at its stand which, based on the comprehensive portfolio of natural ingredients, include natural flavours and colours, to dry ingredients and innovative sweetening solutions, create a perfectly harmonious mixture of taste, appearance and texture to appeal to all the senses.

Refreshing beverages which are less sweet, yet full of flavour, are in great demand. Doehler has therefore developed reduced sugar concepts for lemonades and co., comprising well-known classics up to innovative beverages. The diverse selection of natural sweetening solutions can be perfectly tailored to the respective desired taste profile through countless combination options.

Innovative Sweetening Solutions

Beverage concepts that are less sweet and have a more exciting flavour diversity are becoming ever more popular amongst consumers. The Refreshingly Light Soda provides a pure fruit taste, combining the sour, yet fresh flavour of lemon with a hint of sweet peach and is presented in the trend colour of coral. At under 5 g per 100 ml, the sugar content is low, while a juice content of at least 8% is that much higher. Consumers looking for a lemonade with a more “grown-up” taste profile should try our Light Brewed Soda with its special flavour notes of brewed ginger and brewed lime. Thanks to a natural sweetening solution using a stevia tea brew, the drink has a sugar content of just 4.1 g per 100 ml.

Water Plus – Plus added naturalness, variety or health

Everyone is talking about Water Plus, a series of innovative beverage concepts with a hint of flavour and healthy added value! Discover applications such as Fruit Infused Water in lemon & apple or raspberry & mint flavours, or the fruity-tart taste sensation of Botanical Waters, created by adding lemon juice containing rosemary and coriander extracts, at the Doehler stand. The Energising Water with the exotic flavours of mango and passion fruit, as well as caffeine, ginseng and guarana extract, provide a natural energy boost in addition to the multi-sensory experience.

Driving Nutritional Excellence

Ever more consumers expect the food and beverages they consume to have a natural, functional added value as well as vibrant appearances and excellent taste. Doehler will therefore present a selection of innovative and diverse concepts based on Health Ingredients. These include herbal and fruit extracts, plant-based proteins, and vitamins and minerals.

The Plant-Based High Protein Drink, also available in vanilla flavour, is a perfect alternative to milk while also providing plant-based proteins for a balanced diet. Our Protein Ball is a delicious and healthy in-between snack with apricot ingredients which supply the body with plant-based proteins. The same goes for our Protein Bars which use 100% natural fruit powders to create a first-class banana or raspberry flavour and which also have a high plant-based protein content.

Alongside the innovative food applications, Doehler also has beverage concepts with functional added value. Many consumers require an additional source of energy which can easily be integrated into their active lifestyle. The next generation of energy drinks developed by Doehler are perfectly suited here and impress with their natural ingredients and low calorie content. The spectrum ranges from a Guayusa Energy Drink and a Cold Brew Coffee Energy Drink to a cola-flavoured Zero Sugar Energy Drink.

Hall 8, Stand A010

Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) and Luckin Coffee (Luckin) have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) to develop a co-branded Luckin Juice business in China. The signing ceremony in Singapore was attended by Zhengyao Lu, Chairman of Luckin Coffee, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, Chairperson of Louis Dreyfus Holding B.V., Ian McIntosh, CEO of LDC, and other members of senior management from the two companies.

The business will focus on co-branded Not From Concentrate (NFC) orange, lemon and apple juices, for which LDC masters the full value chain from its farms to customers at destination, and plans to build its own bottling plant in the future. It also plans to bottle and brand other fruit and vegetable juices. Luckin Coffee stores will play an important role as sales outlets, while the business also plans to market its juices via other channels.

“China is the fastest-growing NFC market globally and, together, Luckin and LDC see a significant opportunity to offer high quality, sustainably-developed NFC juices to the Chinese consumer. We are pleased to be partnering with one of the world’s largest citrus fruit growers and juice suppliers to launch a co-branded Luckin Juice and continue our ambitious growth plans,” said Jinyi Guo, Luckin Coffee Senior Vice President and Co-founder. “There are strong synergies between our leading-edge marketing and consumer approach, and LDC’s great juice supply capacity, global reach and strong value chain expertise. Through the joint venture with LDC, Luckin is extending upstream toward production, giving greater product quality control along the whole process and the ability to offer better products, a better experience and services to consumers, to further meet their diverse product needs. In the future, Luckin Coffee will further reduce costs to meet the needs of broader consumers and increase their consumption frequency.”

Accelerating our strategic alliance with Luckin Coffee through this new JV is very positive,” said James Zhou, LDC Global Vice President and regional head for LDC North Asia. “This fits perfectly with our corporate strategy to move further downstream toward the end consumer, in particular through partnerships, and with our growth ambitions in China. LDC has been in the juice business for over 30 years and this is an excellent fit with our Juice Platform’s strategy. Our areas of expertise are totally complementary, with LDC’s know-how in managing a sustainable juice value chain and Luckin’s knowledge of the Chinese consumer, marketing and digital platform know-how, and established consumer base. We have all the ingredients for a true win-win situation.”

Founded in 1851, LDC is one of the world’s leading merchants and processors of agricultural goods. It is also one of the world’s largest juice production and supply companies, committed to producing high-quality fruit juice products, with sustainably-grown fruit from Brazil and other global sources, with built in traceability. LDC has been active for more than 40 years in China, where it operates today across the value chain in a wide range of commodities, including grains, oilseeds, cotton, sugar, rice and juice, in almost every province in the country. Luckin Coffee is committed to providing customers with high-quality, cost-effective and convenient products, through in-depth cooperation with top suppliers in various fields.

Abstract

Although there is strong evidence that consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with a reduced rate of all-cause mortality, only a minority of the population consumes 5 servings a day, and campaigns to increase intake have had limited success. This review examines whether encouraging the consumption of fruit juice might offer a step toward the 5-a-day target. Reasons given for not consuming whole fruit involve practicalities, inconvenience, and the effort required. Psychologically, what is important is not only basic information about health, but how individuals interpret their ability to implement that information. It has been argued that fruit juice avoids the problems that commonly prevent fruit consumption and thus provides a practical means of increasing intake and benefitting health through an approach with which the population can readily engage. Those arguing against consuming fruit juice emphasize that it is a source of sugar lacking fiber, yet juice provides nutrients such as vitamin C, carotenoids, and polyphenols that offer health-related benefits. Actively encouraging the daily consumption of fruit juice in public health policy could help populations achieve the 5-a-day recommendation for fruit and vegetable intake.

Please download the full article under https://bit.ly/2lYVZAJ

Source: Oxford Academic

thyssenkrupp is investing in the safety of fresh food products by building Germany’s biggest center for high-pressure processing of food in the town of Quakenbrück, Lower Saxony. Construction of the center in Quakenbrück’s business and innovation park will commence in early 2020. From the start of 2021, up to 26 metric tons of food products daily will undergo gentle and reliable preservation at the roughly 630 m2 facility, which is being built at a cost of around 3 million euros.

Nowadays, more and more people attach importance to a healthy diet with fresh, natural produce. Using thyssenkrupp’s high-pressure pasteurization (HPP) process, food can be preserved gently without the need for heat or chemical additives. High pressures of up to 6,000 bar eliminate contaminants such as pathogens, fungi and yeasts, significantly slowing and in some cases even preventing decay while retaining valuable ingredients.

Christian Myland, CEO of Uhde High Pressure Technologies: “Quakenbrück is one of the most important research and technology centers for the German food industry, making it the ideal location for our project. In the future, food manufacturers will be able to come to our service center to see the advantages of high-pressure processing for themselves. HPP technology will help them serve the rising demand for natural, additive-free products.”

The new service center will be able to process a wide range of food products including juices, purees, dairy products, meats, seafoods and many more. It will be built in the direct vicinity of the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL), with which thyssenkrupp cooperates on research and development. The DIL is one of Europe’s leading food industry research and development facilities. Cooperation will focus among other things on microbiological testing and the development of completely new long-lasting, clean and wholesome food products based on HPP technology.

The conference provides a genuine and dynamic forum for all industry players and their suppliers

Antwerp, Belgium – 1&2 October 2019 – Hilton Antwerp 4

Organised by AIJN, IFU and SGF, the Juice Summit is now a global, annual conference which guarantees the presence of renowned industry leaders and experts of the European and international juice industries. Over the years it has become a key conference delivering exceptional insights in important topical dossiers as well as providing a unique networking opportunity.

The Summit is a two-day conference with presentations and panel discussions covering a wide variety of topical issues which determine the business environment of today, as well as challenges for tomorrow. The speakers and panelists will also share their understanding and vision of the future for the fruit juice industry with participants. Key policy fields like CSR, health and nutrition as well as insights on global market developments will be on the programme. This year the organiser have the honor of having 3 prominent keynote speakers :

• James Quincey, CEO & President of Coca Cola
• Prof Jan Rotmans from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
• And Marius Robles, Co-Founder of FOOD BY ROBOTS

With over 550 participants from over 40 countries, the conference takes place in the most exclusive venues in Antwerp. All practical information and registration process can be found via the following link : www.juicesummit.org

In June 2019, the inventories of Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice (FCOJ) equivalent at Brazilian processing plants closed at 253.18 thousand tons, 26.2 % smaller than that in the 2017/18 season, according to data from CitrusBR (Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters).

This volume is considered small in light of historic inventories – in recent years, inventories were only lower than that in 2010/11 and in 2016/17. The worse performance of Brazilian juice exports in 2018/19, therefore, prevented juice inventories at Brazilian processing plants from decreasing to critical levels.

CitrusBR should only release data about the ending stocks from 2019/20 and 2020/21 (June/20) next year. However, according to Cepea calculations, inventories should bounce back at the processing plants from São Paulo in 2020/21, due to the large 2019/20 crop in the citrus belt.

Considering initial inventories at 253.18 thousand tons in June/19, the demand in the in natura market, between 50 and 60 million orange boxes (the remaining production is allocated to crushing), and the increase in exports, to around 1.05 million tons, Cepea estimates inventories to be around 400 thousand tons by June/20, much higher than the current levels.

Although this scenario points to high inventories (the last four seasons ended with lower inventories), the effect on orange quotes in 2020/21 will depend on the volume to be produced next season. If production is average or high, the season tends to end with large volumes stocked again, which may constrain remuneration to growers as well as price rises for orange juice.

According to Fundecitrus (Citrus Defense Fund), the annual orange production in the Brazilian citrus belt has been oscillating between  high and low. However, it is still early to forecast the 2020/21 season, since flowering is still beginning in some groves from SP – but, considering the long drought, flowerings may be favored.

With the higher juice supply in 2019/20, shipments may bounce back from 2018/19. The needs of European distributors may favor exports, but higher demand from the United States will still depend on Florida’s production.

BRAZILIAN MARKET – The high price levels for tahiti lime hampered new deals in the in natura market from SP in August. According to agents, supply was low, since, until the end of the month, the fruits still on tree had not reached the ideal size and maturation stage to be harvested.

Drier weather limited fruits growth, which should underpin tahiti lime prices in September. Between August 1 and 31, quotes averaged 30.03 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, 20.1 % up compared to that in July.

In the in natura market of pear oranges, the trading pace was slow and demand decreased in August. However, low supply underpinned prices. Thus, pear orange quotes averaged 18.26 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, in August, 1.1 % up compared to that in July.

• Sales of UK manufactured fruit and vegetable juice surge 17 % year-on-year while beer sales fall 16 %
• Food industry remains the largest UK manufacturing sector, contributing £71.8bn in sales overall
• Sales of UK manufactured goods hit a record £390.1 billion, up 2 % year-on-year

The manufacture of fruit and vegetable juice was the fastest growing sub sector in the UK food industry, growing 17 % from £654 million in 2017 to £768 million in 2018 – according to analysis of the latest ONS PRODCOM data by Santander¹.

Research² shows that more than half of people aged 16 to 24 consume juice drinks at least once a day. Consumption of smoothies has seen the biggest increase among all fruit juice drinks with Brits spending £112 million alone on these last year alone³.

Sales of UK manufactured beer have meanwhile hit their lowest level in a decade at £3.1 billion – down from £3.7 billion the year before – as young people increasingly turn to alcohol free alternatives. Beer sales reached their peak in 2009, when Brits consumed £4.8 billion in beer.

Food and drink remained the largest UK manufacturing sector in 2018, reporting sales of £71.8 billion – a 3 % increase on 2017. Overall UK manufacturing sales hit a record high of £390.1 billion in 2018 – an increase of £9.4 billion (2.5 %) from the previous year.

Andrew Williams, Head of Food & Drink Sector, Santander UK, said: “Food and drink manufacturing is vital to the health of the economy and the UK is widely seen as a global leader in product innovation. The last decade has seen the food and drink industry shaken up with huge shifts in consumer buying habits – from growing interest in veganism to juice and smoothie diets. Manufacturers are having to respond quicker than ever to develop new products to meet customer demand – a pattern which is likely to continue as Brits explore the latest food fads.”

Ice cream was the second fastest growing food manufacturing sub sector, increasing 14 % from £383 million to £437 million in manufacturing sales value. An unusually hot summer and a shake-up of manufacturers’ product offering, including allergy-friendly and low-calorie options, boosted sales across the UK. The rise of consumers adopting a plant-based diet saw sales of vegan ice cream jump by 26 %.

Despite the surge in sales of fruit and vegetable and ice cream, British staples of cheese (£7.8 billion), bread, cakes and pastries (£6 billion) and processed meat (£7.9 billion) held their place as the foods with the highest sales in the UK overall. UK manufacturing remains the ninth biggest in the world, contributing over 45 % of all UK exports.

Santander has a dedicated team working with a range of food and manufacturers – from coffee experts to Cornish sea salt producers – to help establish trade links with international buyers. As part of helping manufacturers grow their businesses, the team of experts regularly organise international delegations for businesses to meet potential buyers and suppliers in countries around the world. Last year the team took 64 businesses on trade missions to 10 countries, with a further 40 businesses being linked up with partners around the world through inward ‘meet the buyer’ events and virtual meetings.

¹ Santander analysis of the ONS PRODCOM data tables published on 1st July showing manufacturing sales by industry and industry sub-sector for full year 2018. Santander analysed the data to find the fastest growing sectors. 
² Kantar survey of 1,233 respondents, March 2019.
https://drlkaenwvxlk9.cloudfront.net/Uploads/b/t/b/10charts_juicessmoothies_digitalpdf_487400.pdf
³ The Grocer report on juices and smoothies, 23 February 2019.
https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/category-reports/super-juice-juices-and-smoothies-category-report-2019/590446.article

combidome makes Polish debut

Maspex Wadowice Group, one of the biggest food manufacturers in Central and Eastern Europe, continues its close partnership with SIG, as it rejuvenates its popular juice brand Tymbark, using the innovative combidome carton pack. This is the first time the unique carton bottle has been launched in Poland.

Looking for stand out on-shelf differentiation, Maspex has realized the opportunity to refresh consumer appeal for its natural Tymbark fruit juice range, with a packaging innovation never been produced in Poland before.

Consumer preference

A recent consumer survey showed a clear preference for combidome, with the carton performing four times better than a competitor package. Participants in the survey highlighted the convenient grip and centrally located spout that ensures an outstanding pouring experience – a feature highly valued by consumers.

With a heritage that spans 85 years, the Tymbark brand is renowned for premium taste and quality, not only in its homeland of Poland but in many other European countries. The brand’s premium juice range requires a perfectly matched packaging solution, to impact on consumer purchasing decisions by standing out on shelf and providing clear usage benefits.

Maspex has a close relationship with SIG that goes back 20 years, which ensures the right product and packaging decision is made. This time combidome has been chosen for Maspex’ renowned Tymbark juice range.

As increasingly mobile consumers become more discerning about quality and convenience, packaging is playing more of an essential role. SIG relentlessly aims to drive Product Innovation and Differentiation, working in partnership with producers like Maspex to offer product and packaging solutions which perfectly match food and drink developments.

combidome convenience and on-shelf appeal

combidome perfectly complements Tymbark’s juice range, with its sturdy yet slim shape and modern design. The carton’s in store appeal, including a shelf ready tray, provides a point of difference to busy shoppers, clearly depicting the product’s premium quality and image. combidome also ensures safe product protection and consumers can benefit from its strong environmental credentials, plus secure reclosing and storage.

Cloudy Apple Juice: Influence of Raw Material, Processing and Storage

Cloudy apple juice is one of the most popular juices consumed. As the nature and stability of the cloud particles are an important quality feature for the consumer this review considers the composition of those particles and the various factors that influence the cloudy nature of the juice which should help manufacturers obtain consistent appealing products. In order to maintain the natural reputation of juices with the use of additives to control cloud stability this document provides an important scientific reference for the physical steps that can be taken.

This document has been published and is available via the IFU website under the heading Best Practice & e-learning.

Better Juice, Ltd., the first foodTech startup to develop innovative technology to reduce all types of sugars in orange juice, and Citrosuco S.A, Brazil, one of the largest orange juice producers worldwide, are teaming up! The new collaboration aims to set up a pilot plant to reduce sugars in orange juice. Citrosuco is providing some of the funding plus technical and operational expertise.

Fruit juices contain vitamins, minerals, and many other beneficial nutrients, but this natural drink comes with three types of sugars. Better Juice’s game-changing enzymatic technology naturally transforms all types of fruit sugars into prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers and sugars.

“Our device use non-GMO microorganisms to convert the sugars, and provides orange juice manufactures a ready opportunity to meet the trends and claims for reduced sugars, all while keeping the juicy flavor of the beverage,” says Eran Blachinsky, PhD, Founder and CEO of Better Juice. “The global orange juices market is valued at dozens of billion US$ with outstanding potential to create better-for-you orange juice beverages.”

“We have been seeking an orange juice sugar reduction technology for some time,” says Alex Marie Schuermans, Product Development and Applications General Manager of Citrosuco. “Better Juice’s solution holds a lot of promise and we are confident that by combining their technology with our know-how, we can accelerate production of the first sugar-reduced orange juice.”

“This collaboration with Citrosuco is a vote of confidence in Better Juice’s leading technology and its capabilities for reducing sugar in orange juice,” notes Blachinsky. “We’re excited to work with this strategic partner and help create juices with low sugar — the latest frontier in sugar reduction.”

“Our proprietary technology can be tuned to reduce between 30 % to 80 % of all the sugars in orange juice,” explains Blachinsky. “Making it easy conform to the minimum 25% reduction required by the FDA, as well as the 30 % reduction required by the EFSA for allowable claims of ‘reduced sugar’ in food and beverage products.”

The startup won the “Most Innovative Technology” award at the 2018 Startup Innovation Challenge at Health ingredients Europe in Frankfurt for its sugar reduction technology, which it developed in conjunction with The Hebrew University in Rehovot, Israel, and The Kitchen Hub incubator, Ashdod, Israel.

The compliance of the declared filling volume is an important topic for all bottlers. On one hand the legal minimum values must be met and on the other hand overfilling means considerable economical loss.

The simple transfer of the juice in a graduated cylinder is quite inaccurate as the scale of such a cylinder is too wide and do not give an exact result. Additionally there will always be some remains in the bottle. Therefore this method is not precise enough for this task.

The usual continuous check of the filling volume in a filling line is done by weighing the full bottle and subtracting the average weight of empty bottle and cap. The weight of the juice can be transferred into volume by the division with the average density of the juice. This can be done automatically, but contains the risk of slightly incorrect results, as the weight of the packaging and the density of the juice normally vary within a predefined range.

This new method describes a more exact way to determine the filling volume (net volume) in a laboratory.

It is now available in the Methods of Analysis section of the IFU Website!

Wonder Melon juice comes in two varieties

Kayco introduced Wonder Melon, a watermelon juice it said builds on consumer demand for the summer staple. Wonder Melon is made from 100 % organic cold-pressed juice with no added sugar, artificial ingredients or artificial colorings.

The healthy drink comes in two varieties. Watermelon Cucumber Basil is a concoction of real watermelon juice, lemon juice, apple juice, cucumber juice and basil, with only 80 calories per 8.45-ounce bottle. Watermelon Lemon Cayenne has real watermelon juice, lemon juice, apple juice and a dash of cayenne and just 100 calories per 8.45-ounce bottle.

Both juice varieties are Non-GMO Project Verified, Fair Trade Certified, certified USDA organic and certified OU kosher. The suggested retail price of the juice is $ 3.99 per 8.45-ounce bottle. Wonder Melon is available in the US in the refrigerator section at Shop-Rite, Fairway, Best Market and many independent grocers, and is also available through Amazon.

Brazilian exports of Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice (FCOJ) Equivalent decreased 19 % in the 2018/19 crop – compared to the previous season), as expected. Between July/18 and June/19, shipments totaled only 982.24 thousand tons, according to Secex. As for the revenue, it totaled 1.8 billion USD, 19 % down in the same comparison.

The volume exported from Brazil in the 18/19 season was the second smallest in the last 20 years of Secex historical series, only larger than that from 2016/17, when the Brazilian citrus belt harvested a small crop – which, in turn, resulted in the lowest inventory of all times, according to data from CitrusBR (Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters).

The bad performance in 2018/19 was linked to two factors: lower orange supply in the Brazilian citrus belt (São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro) and a decrease in the international demand, mainly from the United States. Lower exports, however, prevented juice inventories at Brazilian processing plants from decreasing to critical levels at the end of the season (June 30 2019).

According to a report from CitrusBR, in June/19, inventories at Brazilian processing plants closed at only 224.51 thousand tons, which is considered low compared to that in recent years – inventories in June/19 were only lower than in 2010/11 and in 2016/17.

Brazilian shipments to the United States decreased a steep 38 % compared to that last season, totaling only 196.4 thousand tons. Revenue, in turn, dropped 39 %, to 340.96 million USD. Besides lower consumption in America, this result is linked to expectations for a crop recovery in Florida in 2018/19. According to a report from the USDA released today, July 11th, Florida should harvest 71.6 million boxes of 40.8 kilos, 59 % more than in 2017/18.

To the European Union, the biggest importer of the Brazilian orange juice, shipments totaled 643.74 thousand tons, 11% down compared to that last season. Revenue, in turn, reached 1.19 billion USD, 9 % down in the same comparison.

BRAZILIAN MARKET IN JULY – The cold weather in São Paulo State reduced citrus consumption in the first fortnight of July. According to Cepea collaborators, despite the occasional frosts in some producing regions (mainly in southwestern SP), there were no losses at orchards. Between July 1 and 15, pear orange prices averaged 18.07 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, stable (-0.05 %) compared to that between June 1 and 15.

Concerning tahiti lime, besides lower supply (due to the harvesting end for the fruits produced in the first semester of 2019), rains pushed up quotes in the first half of July. Between July 1 and 15, tahiti lime quotes averaged 25.19 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, a staggering 84.5 % up compared to that in the same period of the previous month.

Together with the Paper Straw Co, BillerudKorsnäs has developed the first functional 180° U-Bend straw, made out of paper. The straw is made to be used for individual drink cartons such as juice, milk and water. The long term market potential as well as positive sustainability impact is extensive.

BillerudKorsnäs has just filed a patent of the U-Bend paper straw in cooperation with The Paper Straw Company, who will produce the straw in Manchester, England and in the US. The end-users will be consumers buying individual drink cartons filled with juice, milk or water. Made out of FibreForm, a uniquely shapable paper patented by BillerudKorsnäs, the U-Bend paper straw is durable and recyclable. The straw based on materials from sustainably sourced forests is also biodegradable, resulting in a positive impact on pollution and littering compared to plastic straws.

”The U-Bend straw is the first paper straw that is 180° bendable. It can be used together with existing drink packaging. Today many billion bendable straws are produced in a year which means that the potential for our business and our contribution to a more sustainable packaging world is, to say the least, considerable.” says Emma Hellqvist, Formable Solutions at BillerudKorsnäs.

At this moment, we are ready to go into industrial trials with the goal to be able to commercialise by the end of this year. The key to success lies in the efforts of innovation, collaboration and strong partnerships – in this case with The Paper Straw Co owned by Hoffmaster Group. Aardvark^® Straws is part of Hoffmaster Group and will enable the production of the U-Bend paper straw for the US-market.

“We are excited to expand our line of paper straw offerings with the patent pending U-Bend paper straw.” Says Geert Pijper, Co-Founder The Paper Straw Co.

Company will put its paper straw innovations into the public domain to encourage industry collaboration, and will also explore bio-degradable materials

Tetra Pak has today announced that customers have started field testing its paper straws for beverage products in Europe. The move means Tetra Pak is the first carton packaging company to provide such straws for beverage cartons in the region.

The company also announced its intention to publish and share its innovations on paper straw developments to support industrial collaboration on the alternatives to single use plastic straws for beverage cartons.

Adolfo Orive, President and CEO, Tetra Pak said: “We are pleased to have developed a paper straw that is fully functional and meets internationally recognised food safety standards. This is an important step in our vision to deliver a package made entirely from plant-based packaging materials, contributing to a low-carbon circular economy.

“We have decided not to apply for patent protection on the numerous technical improvements we have made on the equipment and the materials, and instead put our innovations into the public domain. For the industry to achieve its common goal of driving towards a low-carbon circular economy, the entire supply base for paper straws must expand and grow quickly. We invite all suppliers and customers to use our knowledge and join forces with us to ramp up production as quickly as possible.”

Made from FSC^™ certified paper and recyclable with the rest of the package, the new paper straw will be available initially for two small size carton packages commonly used for dairy and beverage products for children: Tetra Brik^® Aseptic 200 Base and Tetra Brik^® Aseptic 200 Base Crystal.

The field testing of the paper straw is beginning with limited volumes while the company increases production capacity at its straw plant in Lisbon, Portugal.

The company also announced that it has been assessing technical advancements and working with a number of technology leaders to explore biodegradable options, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a polymer derived from plant-based materials which is also biodegradable.

Other sustainable drink-from development projects in Tetra Pak’s pipeline include tethered caps and integrated drink-from systems. The company has mobilised development and supply chain teams, securing extra resources to advance these priority plans.

PepsiCo, Inc. announced that LIFEWTR^® will be packaged in 100 % rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate), and bubly^™ will no longer be packaged in plastic. The company’s AQUAFINA^® water brand will also offer aluminum can packaging in U.S. food service outlets, while the brand tests the move in retail. The changes, which all go into effect next year, are expected to eliminate more than 8,000 metric tons of virgin plastic and approximately 11,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, representing the latest ambitious steps in the company’s sustainability journey and pursuit of a circular economy for plastics. They reinforce and advance PepsiCo’s goals to by 2025 make 100 % of its packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable and use 25 % recycled plastic content in all its plastic packaging.

“Tackling plastic waste is one of my top priorities and I take this challenge personally,” PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta. “As one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, we recognize the significant role PepsiCo can play in helping to change the way society makes, uses, and disposes of plastics. We are doing our part to address the issue head on by reducing, recycling and reinventing our packaging to make it more sustainable, and we won’t stop until we live in a world where plastics are renewed and reused.”

Naked Juice, a category leader in premium fruit and veggie juices and smoothies, has been working since 2009 to ensure its bottles are made of 100 % rPET and can be turned into bottles again and again. By making its bottles with rPET, the brand also uses about 25 % less energy than if it used virgin plastic.

PepsiCo is one of the largest users of food-grade recycled PET in the world, and the company is also working to help reliably increase the supply needed to meet its packaging goals. In tandem with current suppliers and partners like The Recycling Partnership, Loop Industries, Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), PepsiCo is aiming to both increase recycling rates and improve the plastic recycling infrastructure.

Learn more about our sustainable packaging vision here.

The global cold pressed juice market is segmented by category into conventional and organic; by type into fruits, vegetables and blends; by distribution channels into store based and non-store based and by regions. The global cold pressed juice market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 10 % over the forecast period i.e. 2019-2027.

The cold pressed juice market is anticipated to maintain a significant growth rate on the back of rising disposable income levels, awareness among consumers concerning healthy food & drinks, and easy availability of cold pressed juices. On the basis of category, cold pressed juice market is segmented into conventional and organic. Out of which organic is expected to be dominant segment as a result of shifting trends towards consummation of organic juices and increasing per capita income in developing economies across the globe.

North America cold pressed juice market is anticipated to witness fast growth. This growth is attributed to the rise in the implementation of latest technologies in packaged food & beverages industry, changing lifestyle of consumers, and existence of well-established industrial infrastructure in the region. Growing awareness among consumers regarding health benefits of sugar-free and organic juices are some another factors that drives the growth of regional market.

Growing Concerns Regarding Various Health Issues

Growing concerns regarding various health issues, while simultaneously growing number of health benefits associated with consuming cold pressed juices are estimated to boost the growth of cold pressed juice market. Rising health awareness among consumers is gradually causing a shift towards the consumption of beverages that are calorie-free, caffeine-free, and free from artificial ingredients. Numerous factors such as changing lifestyle, changing food patterns, and rising health consciousness among younger section of the society are likely to result in considerable growth of cold pressed juice market during the forecast period.

However, use of organic flavors and adoption of the high pressure processing (HPP) manufacturing processes, makes them expensive. Thus, in terms of cost, cold pressed juices are anticipated to witness significant hindrance in term of the market growth in comparison to its substitutes.

The report titled “Cold pressed juice Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2027” delivers detailed overview of the cold pressed juice market in terms of market segmentation by category, by type, by distribution channels and by regions.

Further, for the in-depth analysis, the report encompasses the industry growth drivers, restraints, supply and demand risk, market attractiveness, BPS analysis and Porter’s five force model.

This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the global cold pressed juice market which includes company profiling of Coca Cola / Odwalla, Hain Blue Print Inc., Starbucks / Evolution Fresh, Suja Life, LLC, Pressed Juicery, Juice Generation, Florida Bottling, Drink Daily Greens, Liquiteria and Other Prominent Players. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials and recent news and developments. On the whole, the report depicts detailed overview of the global cold pressed juice market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching possibilities and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.

Major processing companies in São Paulo say that, in July, they are likely to increase the receiving of mid-season fruits from contracts of the 2019/20 season. According to players surveyed by Cepea, pear orange has been received in June, but in small volumes, because the quality was not good for juice production.

Besides, the volume of early varieties continued high in late June, which increased acquisitions of the industry – some companies reported that processing activities increased at the end of the month. As a result, the supply of these fruits may continue high, even with the availability of mid-season fruits increasing gradually.

As for trades in the spot market, only two of major processors were purchasing in late June, with values between 16.00 and 18.00 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, harvested and delivered – the value may change during the season. For small processing companies, in turn, quotes reach up to 20.00 BRL per box, depending on the company and the quality.

CONTRACTS – As for mid and long term trades (two or more crops), players surveyed by Cepea say that the demand is high until December/18, when contracts were established between 20.00 and 22.00 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, harvested and delivered.

BRAZILIAN MARKET – Players expect that, in July, as processing companies are receiving oranges, the volume in the in natura market may reduce, preventing prices to decrease sharply. Agents say that the demand for pear orange increased in late June because the supply of early varieties reduced in the in natura market.

Concerning ponkan tangerine, the crop from São Paulo, which started in February in some areas of the state, is about to end. According to agents consulted by Cepea, only a few orchards still had fruits to be harvested at the end of the month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $1.8 million to two Cornell food science research projects.

One project improves the commercial viability of a new food packaging material that actively reduces the need for preservatives, while decreasing food waste; the other project improves juice and beverage production to keep the fresh taste in concentrates.

Ever-increasing food waste represents an emerging threat to the economic and environmental sustainability of the U.S. food system, said Julie M. Goddard, associate professor of food science. Preservatives are added to foods to retain quality with a longer shelf life, but consumers are demanding a reduction in additives.

However, this consumer movement leads to unintended results: food that spoils more quickly, which could cause a surge in food waste.

“We’ve shown that you can introduce preservative functionality into packaging materials, so that we can reduce the additives in foods and beverages without losing product quality,” Goddard said. These “active packaging” materials are a promising new technology, but technological hurdles and consumer-mindsets have so far prevented their successful commercial translation, she added.

Removing the preservatives in food products – such as sauces, mayonnaise or salad dressing – would severely diminish shelf life, even with refrigeration. But by adding chelating agents – compounds that can sequester metal ions – to the jar or bottle itself, the food can last much longer without the additives seeping into the food.

“There is a lot of benefit in having fewer additives but gaining the preservative quality built-in to the package so they don’t migrate to the food,” she said.

During the research phase, the researchers will work directly with consumers and producers to ensure that the packaging material meets food-production, supply chain needs and that consumers are more likely to accept this new technology.

Joining Goddard on this project will be co-principal investigators Randy Worobo, professor of food science, and Motoko Mukai, assistant professor of food science; David Just, professor of applied economics at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management; and Chris Ober, professor of materials science and engineering.

For the other project, Carmen Moraru and Olga Padilla-Zakour, both professors of food science, will lead research on using reverse and forward osmosis filtration and other cold processes to create nutritious, high-quality and tasty juices and beverages in an energy-efficient way. Collaborators include Miguel Gomez, associate professor of applied economics at Dyson, and Robin Dando, associate professor of food science.

Currently, juice processors use heat to create juice concentrate, but heat changes the product’s nutritional and sensory profiles.

“Our combination nonthermal process maintains product quality and makes the juice concentrate taste like it is fresh,” Moraru said.

Also, juice concentration consumes energy. “With this cold process technology, we can save energy and conduct the concentration at a fraction of the thermal evaporation cost,” she said.

The researchers will examine different filtration conditions for specific juices and other beverages. In addition to New York state fruit juices like apple and grape juice, the researchers will also examine concentration of cold-brew coffee and tea.

Juice and beverage concentrates make sense from a financial perspective, Moraru said.

“For commercial purposes,” she said, “it is more economical to transport concentrate rather than move the added weight of water. Concentrate is economical and stable, while water makes juices more prone to degradation.”

The developed processes will be transferred to industry stakeholders. Said Moraru: “Ultimately, this work will benefit consumers and will help boost the competitiveness and sustainability of the U.S. food sector by reducing the energy in food processing.”

These new projects add to the department’s growing research output in improving environmental sustainability in the U.S. and global food production by reducing food waste while improving energy efficiency.

The Brazilian exports of Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice (FCOJ) Equivalent in the 2018/19 season are ending and the volume shipped to all destinations is still low – May was the ninth consecutive month of lower sales (this scenario has been observed since September/18).

This scenario, which was already expected by agents, is linked to the lower orange production in the Brazilian citrus belt (São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro) this season as well as lower demand from the international market, mainly the United States. The exports decrease, in turn, prevents orange inventories of Brazilian processing plants from decreasing to critical levels by the end of the season (June 30 2019).

This season (July/18 to May/19), Brazilian juice exports to all destinations have decreased 18 % compared to the same period in the 2017/18 season, totaling 918.46 thousand tons, according to Secex. Revenue, in turn, has dropped 17%, totaling 1.69 billion USD.

Exports to the European Union, the biggest purchaser of the Brazilian juice, totaled 592 thousand tons, 8 % down compared to that in the same period last year. Revenue, in turn, totaled 1.09 billion USD, 6 % down in the same comparison.

Shipments to the United States had the steepest decrease in the season, of 38 % compared to the previous crop, totaling 190.71 thousand tons of juice. This result is linked to the lower demand from the USA, due to the estimates for the recovery of the 2018/19 crop from Florida as well as lower consumption. Revenue, in turn, dropped 39 % in the same comparison, totaling 331.55 million USD.

ESTIMATES – According to a report released by the USDA on June 11, the orange crop from Florida should increase by 58.4 % compared to the previous, totaling 71.4 million boxes (1.3 % down compared to that forecast in May).

Despite the decrease in the consumption of orange juice in the United States, the demand from the country for the Brazilian orange juice may not decrease too sharply in the coming seasons, due to the effects of greening on American crops in the long term.

BRAZILIAN MARKET – The trading pace was slow in the Brazilian citrus market in the first fortnight of June. However, the volume of oranges in the ideal stage for the in natura market was gradually decreasing in São Paulo, due to the increase in the deliveries to processing plants. Thus, between June 3 and 14, pear orange quotes averaged 18.08 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, 21.5 % down compared to that in the first half of May.

As for tahiti lime, despite the large volume available for harvesting, the current weather allows the fruits to stay on tree for longer. Thus, growers reduced the pace of activities in the field, aiming to prevent prices from dropping too much. In the first half of June, tahiti lime quotes averaged 13.65 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, a slight 20.6 % down compared to that in the first fortnight of May.

EXPORTS – Lemon and lime shipments were positive in May, surpassing, for the first time in the year, the amount exported in 2018. Last month, exports hit a record (revenue and volume) in all Secex series, which started in 1997.

According to Brazilian exporters consulted by Cepea, as the weather delayed the maturation of tahiti lime crops in SP, shipments decreased from March to April, increasing again in May. According to data from Secex, Brazil exported 18.94 thousand tons of lemon and lime in May, almost two-fold the amount shipped in May 2018 and 57% more than that exported in April/19.

Nutricane Beverages, an innovator in the beverage space from India, announced the launch of its exciting and innovative range of fruit juices with two new variants – Mango and Guava under its brand name OMG!

This new-age range is a delicious blend of fruits with sugarcane juice, that not only enhances flavour but also elevates the nutritional profile of the juice and is a great source of vitamins and other essential micro nutrients. The packaging of OMG! juices in a recyclable glass bottle without any added sugar or chemical preservatives makes this juice an all-round winner.

These unique fruit juices are a first of their kind globally where fruits are combined with sugarcane juice that acts as a natural sweetener thereby replacing the need for refined sugar and water as is done in other packaged fruit drinks and beverages. This breakthrough was made possible by Nutricane Beverages through its internally developed patent-pending process called “FreshFusion” which gives sugarcane juice a long shelf-life. The company launched its sugarcane juice range in 3 flavours last year and has now introduced its new fruit juices range.

OMG! fruit juices are now available in a 250 mL glass bottle in two variants – Mango and Guava in Delhi NCR, Jammu and Kashmir, Jaipur, Chennai, Bangalore and Lucknow at an attractive price of INR 45/-. The juices will be available in more cities all over India in the coming months.

About Nutricane Beverages Pvt. Ltd. and OMG!
Nutricane Beverages Pvt. Ltd. is a juice & beverage company with a mission to innovate and offer unique, healthy and nutritional beverages to the global market. The company through its internal research and development over the past few years has developed ‘FreshFusion’ process, a patent-pending process to preserve natural sugarcane juice in ambient conditions while retaining its nutritional properties.
Under the brand OMG! – Oh My Ganna, Nutricane has launched flavoured sugarcane juices as well as fruit juices using sugarcane juice as a core ingredient thereby replacing any refined sugars, creating the most delicious, nutritious & wholesome juices.
OMG! products are naturally crafted and packed at its state of the art facility located in Jhajjar district in Haryana (India), using modern processes which offer more juice content, do not contain refined sugar or any chemical preservatives, a first of its kind that would create a new segment in the juice category for a healthy and happy consumer.

One of the large-sized processing plants from São Paulo State started purchasing oranges in the spot market in the first fortnight of May – early varieties from the 2019/20 crop as well as fruits out of the ideal period from the 2018/19 season. Two plants of this large-sized processing plant were crushing oranges in that period, one in Araraquara and the other in Colina.

Bidding prices were around 18 BRL per box, harvested and delivered at the processing plant, lower than that observed until December/18 for mid and long-term contracts, which ranged from 20 to 22 BRL per box – with the possibility of a participation additional in the international juice market. At smaller-sized processing plants, in turn, quotes ranged from 14 to 20 BRL per box in the spot market – depending on both the processing plant and the quality desired.

For mid and long-term contracts, the purchases of oranges from the new crop have been occasional this year, with no fixed prices and deals closed between some of the large-sized processors only.

The citrus farmers consulted by Cepea are concerned about the effects of the higher production expected for the citrus belt (São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro) in 2019/20 on orange prices.

Higher supply estimates are based on the good development of orange orchards in all Brazilian regions, favorable weather in the second semester of 2018 (with mild heat and well-distributed rains) and the resume of investments. Still, greening should constrain yield at many orchards in SP.

Although higher productivity in 2019/20 may lower the unit cost of production, the new bidding prices are considered low compared to expenses, which may constrain the revenue paid to the growers who will depend on sales in the spot market. Concerning fruit volume, most oranges have already been traded, through contracts – either previously closed or closed in late 2018. However, a high number of farmers, probably smaller-sized ones, may have been waiting for prices to be fixed this year in order to sell their fruits.

THE MARKET IN MAY – Oranges quotes dropped in the first fortnight of May, pressed down by both higher supply and low purchases from processing plants. Between May 2 and 15, pear orange quotes averaged 23.03 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, 34.5 % down compared to that in the first fortnight of April.

TAHITI LIME – The demand for tahiti lime was low in the first half of May, while supply continued high in the field of São Paulo State – due to the delay in fruit maturation in the first months of 2019. Between May 2 and 15, tahiti lime was traded for 17.20 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, 26.8 % down compared to that in the first fortnight of April.

EXPORTS – In the international market, the demand for tahiti lime was firm, due to the higher quality of the fruits available. However, this year, the Brazilian exports of tahiti lime have been lower than in 2018. In April/19, shipments totaled 10.6 thousand tons, according to Secex, 9 % down compared to that in April/18. Between January and April 2019, exports were 20 % lower than in the same period last year.

The Coca-Cola Company reported a solid start to 2019, with continued momentum that included gaining global value share. Reported net revenues grew 5 % in the first quarter, and organic revenues (non-GAAP) grew 6 %, with positive performance across all operating groups, in addition to a benefit from timing.

“We’re encouraged by our first quarter results as our disciplined growth strategies continue to deliver strong underlying performance,” said James Quincey, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “We remain confident in our full year guidance as we continue to make progress on our transformation as a consumer-centric total beverage company.”

Highlights

Quarterly Performance

• Revenues: Net revenues grew 5% to $8.0 billion. Organic revenues (non-GAAP) grew 6 %. An estimated 2 points of revenue growth was attributable to timing, primarily related to bottler inventory build in order to manage uncertainty related to Brexit. Additionally, the quarter included one less day, which resulted in an approximate 1-point headwind to revenue growth.
• Margin: Operating margin for the quarter, which included items impacting comparability, was 29.1 % versus 23.7 % in the prior year. Comparable operating margin (non-GAAP) was 30.5 % versus 30.7 % in the prior year. Strong underlying margin (non-GAAP) expansion was offset by an approximate 260 basis point negative impact from currency headwinds and net acquisitions.
• Earnings per share: EPS from continuing operations grew 24 % to $0.38. Comparable EPS from continuing operations (non-GAAP) grew 2 % to $0.48, despite an 11-point currency headwind. EPS included an estimated 2 cent benefit from timing, primarily from the bottler inventory build related to Brexit.
• Market share: The company continued to gain value share in total nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages.
• Cash flow: Cash from operations was $699 million, up 14 %. Free cash flow (non-GAAP) was $335 million, down 1 % as strong underlying cash generation was offset by currency headwinds along with an increase in capital expenditures and cash tax payments.
• Share repurchases: Purchases of stock for treasury were $397 million. Net share repurchases (non-GAAP) totaled $243 million.

Company Updates

• Chairman transition and an evolving growth culture: Following the company’s annual meeting on April 24, James Quincey will become the 14th chairman of The Coca-Cola Company, contingent upon his reelection as a director. Quincey succeeds Muhtar Kent, who is retiring after a Coca-Cola system career that started in 1978. Kent served as chairman and CEO from 2009 until 2017 and then as chairman after Quincey became CEO. Quincey intends to build on the strong foundation Kent has established within the system, including a focus on fostering a growth-oriented culture.
• Pursuing the company’s World Without Waste goals: Supporting its commitment to the World Without Waste initiative and improved transparency, the company issued its annual progress report, which cited continued progress globally on design, collect and partner efforts. For example, the company, along with its bottling partners, now has 100 % recycled PET bottles in multiple markets and will have them in more than a dozen markets by the end of 2019, driving successful circular solutions for packaging. Much of the system’s Latin America business is engaged in a multi-country project to significantly increase the use of refillable packaging, and markets globally are assessing ways to move toward more diverse business models for product delivery.
• Broadening a consumer-centric portfolio: During the quarter, the company completed its acquisition of Costa Ltd., which gives Coca-Cola a significant entry point into hot beverages and a global platform in coffee. In the second quarter, the company will begin to leverage Costa’s scalable platform across formats and channels with the introduction of Costa ready-to-drink products. Coca-Cola also closed its acquisition of CHI Ltd., an innovative, fast-growing leader in expanding beverage categories in West Africa, including juices, value-added dairy and iced tea.
• Driving profitable growth under the Leader, Challenger, Explorer framework: Strong innovation within Leader brands included double-digit growth for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar globally for the sixth consecutive quarter. Within the U.S., the company showed strong performance for Orange Vanilla Coke and Orange Vanilla Coke Zero Sugar, which helped drive 6 % retail value growth for brand Coca-Cola. The company also launched Simply smoothies in the U.S., while innocent, the company’s leading juice brand in Europe, expanded into plant-based beverages. As a Challenger brand, smartwater continues to innovate through the successful rollout of smartwater antioxidant and smartwater alkaline in the U.S. Within Explorer brands, the company continued to capitalize on brands with edge, including Aquarius GlucoCharge, which has shown early signs of success in the fast-growing enhanced hydration category in India.
• Aligned and engaged system investing for growth: The company has established a sustained platform for performance that is focused on disciplined portfolio growth through an aligned and engaged system. Across the bottling system, the company is seeing the right strategic investments in supply chain, cold-drink equipment and sales force capabilities to drive accelerated results. These investments are creating a winning strategy in the marketplace, centered around improved execution that is committed to increasing the availability of core products, in addition to expanding the total portfolio.

Download the full earnings release (PDF)

Butterfly, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bolthouse Farms from Campbell Soup Company for $510 million in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

Founded in 1915 and based in Bakersfield, CA and Santa Monica, CA, Bolthouse Farms is a vertically integrated food and beverage company focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing proprietary, high value-added natural, healthy products. The company has leading market positions in fresh carrots and refrigerated premium beverages in the U.S., along with a strong and growing presence in refrigerated salad dressings. Bolthouse Farms benefits from access to over 65,000 acres of premium growing land, nationwide fresh distribution capabilities, and a state-of-the-art carrot and beverage processing facility. The company has approximately 2,200 employees and operates facilities in Bakersfield, California; Hodgkins, Illinois; Wheatley, Ontario; and Prosser, Washington.

Bolthouse Farms is Butterfly’s fourth investment within its “seed to fork” approach to investing in food across agriculture, aquaculture, food and beverage products, food distribution and foodservice.

The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in summer 2019.

About Butterfly:
Butterfly Equity (“Butterfly”) is a Los Angeles, California based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, spanning the entire food value chain from “seed to fork” via four target verticals: agriculture & aquaculture, food & beverage products, food distribution and foodservice. Butterfly aims to generate attractive investment returns through deep industry specialization, a unique approach to sourcing transactions, and leveraging an operations-focused and technology-driven approach to value creation.

Cartons will become full-scale data carriers and digital tools

Tetra Pak announced the launch of its connected packaging platform, which will transform milk and juice cartons into interactive information channels, full-scale data carriers and digital tools.

Driven by the trends behind Industry 4.0, and with code generation, digital printing and data management at its core, the connected packaging platform will bring new benefits to food producers, retailers and shoppers.

For producers, the new packaging platform will offer end-to-end traceability to improve the production of the product, quality control and supply chain transparency. It will have the ability to track and trace the history or location of any product, making it possible to monitor for market performance and any potential issues.

For retailers, it will offer greater supply chain visibility and real-time insights, enabling distributors to track stock movements, be alerted when issues occur, and monitor for delivery performance.

For shoppers, it will mean the ability to access vast amounts of information such as where the product was made, the farm that the ingredients came from and where the package can be recycled.

Ivan Nesterenko, Vice President, Cross Portfolio at Tetra Pak said: “We are unlocking new opportunities for our customers to get more value from packaging than even before. No longer is it only about product protection and functionality, it is about connectivity. The future of packaging is undoubtedly digital: this launch is a step towards a truly intelligent package, and we are excited to collaborate with our customers on this journey.”

Tetra Pak has successfully completed pilots with its customers to test the new connected package and its performance in retail in Spain, Russia, China, the Dominican Republic and India, working with beverage, juice and milk producers. In Spain a customer increased their sales by 16% through the scan and win campaign.

Döhler Group and Zumos Catalano Aragoneses S.A. (ZUCASA) have reached an agreement on the acquisition of the majority of shares in ZUCASA by the Döhler Group. With immediate effect, Döhler will manage ZUCASA’s juice production facility located in the Huesca region through its subsidiary Döhler Fraga S.L.

For Döhler, this transaction marks another great step forward in one of Europe’s largest fruit production areas. Customers will benefit from a more diverse offering in the stone fruits segment as well as in apples and pears; furthermore, the combined businesses will offer greater efficiency in a global market with regard to customised all-in-one solutions.

ZUCASA’s extensive expertise and ability to provide fruit and vegetable juices, purees and concentrates for food and beverages, combined with the broad product portfolio and the comprehensive industry knowledge of the Döhler Group, will create unique synergy effects. In the coming years, Döhler Group aims to set a benchmark within the sector and develop a plan of expansion and sustainable growth within its business model.

About ZUCASA:

Zumos Catalano Aragoneses S.A. is a producer of juices, purees and sweet fruit concentrates, vegetables and plants located in the region of Fraga (Huesca), with operations at the heart of Spain’s largest production area of sweet fruit between Huesca and Lleida. It has facilities spanning more than 24,000 m2 over an area of 168,000 m2, with capacity to store 32,000 m3 of natural fruit juices, purees and concentrates. ZUCASA began production in 2010 with three lines for processing fruits and vegetables: two of which for purees and a third for juices. Currently, it employs an average of 50 workers on permanent contracts, reaching 150 workers during high season. The company’s commitment to quality in production has been confirmed by the international certifications BRC, IFS, SGF, Kosher, FDA and others, which in turn have enabled it to expand internationally, with more than 60 % of revenues coming from exports.

Lion NZ announced that it has acquired Kiwi drinks brand, Teza Iced Teas. The purchase forms part of the company’s wider ambition to grow its non-alcoholic beverage portfolio and cater to the increasingly diverse social occasions of New Zealanders.

Sitting alongside the likes of GoodBuzz Kombucha, Hopt and Mac’s Soda, Teza will join Lion’s growing non-alcoholic division, Drinks Collective, which earlier this month also announced a new strategic partnership with flavoured sparking water start-up, Vista.

Teza Iced Teas is part of the Greenstone Drinks Company and was the first real-brewed iced tea in New Zealand. The product is made with batch brewed organic leaf tea, fruit juices and botanicals. Sold in 325 ml glass bottles, the brand offers several unique flavours including Feijoa & Lime Blossom and Lemon & Mandarin.

Stefan Gray, General Manager, Drinks Collective says: “The iced tea market is in strong growth globally so we’re incredibly excited to welcome Teza Iced Teas into the Drinks Collective. The brand’s premium offering complements our existing range nicely and will help us deliver greater choice and convenience for consumers across more social occasions. We’ll be leveraging our networks to make the brand more readily available nationwide and the Teza Grassy Tea Bush Van will also be making a return to the streets of NZ.

“I think typically people associate Lion with alcohol products and don’t realise what an amazing non-alcoholic beverage offering we have – from coffee and juices to low sugar sodas and Kombucha. We have big plans to grow the Drinks Collective as part of our commitment to meeting the evolving world of sociability and by 2025 at least 10 % of Lion’s sales will come from our non-alcoholic range,” adds Gray.

Lion’s Drinks Collective will take full control of the Teza brand and associated assets, with the founders, Joe Gehrke and Daphne Raj, now living in Australia where they are focused on growing their company, Greenstone Drinks Co. They will still be involved in the brand via an agreement which will see them distribute Teza for Lion in the Australian market through Greenstone Drinks Co.

Teza founder Joe Gehrke, says, “We created Teza when we moved home from our stint in the UK. We noticed a real gap in the market for a premium, more natural iced tea offering and are proud of the growth we’ve achieved for the brand so far, including Australia, Japan, and South Korea. We’re thrilled to pass the Teza brand on to Lion who has a proven track record of nurturing and growing strong brands in the Kiwi market. Under Lion, Teza can be taken to the next level.”

Odwalla is bringing a smooth, tasty twist to the kombucha craze.

Odwalla Smoobucha, which hits stores in the U.S. after a buzzed-about unveiling at Natural Products Expo West tradeshow in Anaheim, Calif., blends the great taste and texture of fruit smoothies with the boldness of pasteurized kombucha.

Three flavors – Citrus & Guava, Berry & Ginger and Apple & Greens – offer a unique mashup of flavor and function, with 40 percent less sugar and fewer calories than leading smoothies. The cleverly named beverage also includes 500 million colony-forming units of “good” bacteria, an excellent source of fiber that helps support digestive health and delivers 100 % daily value of antioxidant Vitamin C. Odwalla Smoobucha, offered in 15.2-oz. bottles, can be enjoyed as a nutritious, on-the-go snack.

Odwalla also is introducing two limited-edition flavors inspired by the vibrant essence of spring. Hot Tropics and Mint to Be Berry offer a refreshing blend of 100 % juice, coconut water and trendy botanical ingredients such as jalapeño and mint.

Cold-pressed juice leader Evolution Fresh announced the launch of new Organic Celery Glow, the first available celery juice hitting store shelves at select grocery and natural retailers beginning in April in the U.S.A. Consumer interest in plant-based hydration is on the rise, with the USD 54 M category growing 28 % in 2018^*, and Evolution Fresh is making it easier than ever to enjoy

“We are excited to introduce Evolution Fresh Organic Celery Glow nationwide and offer consumers a convenient celery juice without the fuss of juicing at home,” said Michelle Chin, vice president, marketing and category, Evolution Fresh. “Evolution Fresh Organic Celery Glow is a delicious, functional, ready-to-drink beverage that offers an easy way to get more nutrients from green vegetables as part of your daily diet.”

Evolution Fresh Organic Celery Glow

New Evolution Fresh Organic Celery Glow features revitalizing, cold-pressed celery juice that is brightened with a twist of lemon and contains 2 grams of naturally occurring sugar per 8 fluid ounce serving. The beverage is a good source of potassium and certified USDA Organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, and Kosher and is available for the suggested retail price of USD 4.99 (per 15.2 fluid ounce bottle).

^* IRI/Spins Plant Water Category L52 Wks ending 1/27/19

Every six packages form a cube, optimising use of space in transportation and storage

Tetra Pak today launched the Tetra Classic^® Aseptic 65 ml Cube package, offering an efficient packaging solution for dairy, juice and liquid food.

The dimensions of the package have been designed to allow every six packages to form a cube, hence optimising the use of space in distribution and storage. This has brought significant improvement in cost efficiencies and the environmental footprint.

The package adds to the company’s Tetra Classic Aseptic family, the tetrahedron packages known for their minimal use of packaging materials.

Compared to the traditional Tetra Classic Aseptic 65 ml packages, the new package requires less secondary packaging and needs approximately 40 % less space to transport the same quantity of products. This means food can now be delivered safely over longer distances, at lower cost, and made available to consumers at an affordable price.

Hemant Krashak, Product Director at Tetra Pak said, “With its robust food protection, minimal use of materials, and efficiency in distribution, the Tetra Classic Aseptic 65 ml Cube package provides a simple answer to the rising need of environmentally sound packages while saving cost for manufacturers. Many customers with existing Tetra Classic Aseptic filling machines can easily switch to this new package with limited investment.”

The new package is now available with hand packing for secondary boxes. It has been in use since December 2018 at a customer in Southeast Asia selling coconut milk as a cooking ingredient in markets where logistics infrastructure is a challenge.

Watch Tetra Pak’s video on YouTube!

JuiceInnov8, a Bangkok based deeptech startup in food biotechnology space, has closed a pre-Series A funding led by 500 Startups (500 Durians and 500 Tuktuks), making the total amount raised (including Seed Round and grants) at USD 1.2 M to date.

As the first venture-backed food-biotech startup in Asia, the company is now on the verge to reinvent global beverage industry with a better & healthier juice that has less sugar & lower calories. By working with leading food & beverage manufacturers worldwide, JuiceInnov8 develops sugar reduction technology platform with natural & non-GM (non-genetically modified) microbes and proprietary sugar conversion process through biotechnology. The technology allows sugar & calories reduction in juice to near zero while preserving its original 100 % juice content and key nutrients.

Proceed from this round will help JuiceInnov8 expand its core scientist & engineering team and help accelerate the development from pilot to commercial scale. The company is now working closely with leading brands & suppliers in the food & beverage supply chain in multiple regions around the globe.

To deliver new beverage options to consumers seeking healthier alternatives, Danone Waters Brazil has partnered with Crown Holdings, Inc. to launch its newest brand, 4U by Danone. Debuting in the Brazil market in November, the 4U line features two carbonated juices and two flavored teas, all made with 100 % natural ingredients. Two different sizes of sleek style cans from Crown, along with special ink finishes and colorful imagery, offer vibrant, eye-catching package designs that reflect the healthy, fresh blends of the 4U beverages.

With an uptick in global awareness for health, wellness and sustainability, the beverage market has seen a growing consumer preference for alternative, more natural options. The 4U brand helps Danone address this burgeoning market within Brazil and diversify its portfolio, which includes dairy products and water, and reach new consumers.

The launch of the 4U line brings four new flavorful beverage options to the market. Danone’s carbonated juice, developed under the sub-brand True 4U, is available in White Grape and Citrus and packed in 269 ml (9.1 ounce) sleek style beverage cans. The sub-brand Tea 4U features two flavors, Black Tea – Hibiscus and Berry and Lemon Grass and Citrus, and is available in 310 ml (10.5 ounce) sleek style cans. All four beverages are completely natural, containing no preservatives or artificial coloring.

Danone chose the beverage can for its durability, recyclability and decorative options. The format’s premium appeal, portability and increasing popularity in the Brazilian market were also important factors. Danone collaborated with Crown due to the Company’s reputation for sustainable products and practices and its close relationships with partners.

“Placing Danone on the forefront of Brazil’s growing natural beverage market required a strategic packaging partner that could accurately capture the new 4U brand and help us make our mark in this product sector,” said Rafael Ribeiro, Head of Marketing and Sales at Danone. “Collaborating with Crown allowed us to venture into uncharted territory and bring an exciting, fresh product line to our customers with the confidence that our brand would be represented in a high-quality, sustainable format.”

For added shelf appeal, Crown used two distinct sizes of its sleek style cans. Part of the Company’s diverse product portfolio, the sleek style cans bring a level of exclusivity to the brand and provide greater differentiation between the carbonated juice and tea varieties. The cans’ graphics feature bright colors to convey the bold flavors and fresh ingredients of the natural beverages. An all-over matte finish has been applied to the Tea 4U cans, creating a tactile experience for consumers.

“It is always an honor to help our customers bring a new concept to market, and we were thrilled to support Danone with the launch of the 4U line,” said Altair Frulane, Commercial Director at Crown Embalagens Metálicas da Amazônia S/A, a subsidiary of Crown. “Our collaboration with Danone involved careful ideation and planning that resulted in a striking product that is true to the brand’s messaging and goals. It is this type of project that allows our expertise and creativity, both regionally and globally, to shine.”

Global Cold Pressed Juice Market is estimated to grow at a substantial CAGR in the forecast period as the scope, product types, and its applications are increasing across the globe. Cold-pressed juice implies usage of a hydraulic press to extract juice from vegetables and fruit, different from further procedures such as single auger or centrifugal.

The factors that propel the growth of the Cold Pressed Juice Market include growing number of diabetic patients, fatness problems, growing dietary and health concerns among clinicians, Changing lifestyle, and beauty and detoxifying benefits offered by juice. On the other hand, the factors that may hamper the growth of the market include high price of cold pressed juice.

Cold Pressed Juice Market may be explored by nature, type, distribution channel, and geography. Cold Pressed Juice Market may be explored by nature as Conventional, and Organic. The “Organic” segment led the Cold Pressed Juice Market in 2018 and is anticipated to maintain its dominance by 2024. Cold Pressed Juice Market could be explored based on type as Mixed Fruits and Vegetables, Fruits, and Vegetables. The “Mixed fruits and vegetables” segment led the Cold Pressed Juice Market in 2018 and is anticipated to maintain its dominance by 2024 owing to high demand and rising concerns concerning numerous health issues.

Cold Pressed Juice Market could be explored based on distribution channel as Hyper/Super Market, Convenience Stores, Internet Selling, and Retail/Grocery Stores. The “Hyper/Super Market” segment led the Cold Pressed Juice Market in 2018 and is anticipated to maintain its dominance by 2024.

Cold Pressed Juice Market is categorized based on geography into North America, Latin America, Japan, Middle East and Africa, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, and Eastern Europe. Europe and North America accounted for the major share of the Cold Pressed Juice Market Size in 2018 and will continue to lead in the forecast period.

The key players contributing in the robust growth of the Cold Pressed Juice Market comprise Pressed Juicery, Evergreen Juices Inc., Suja Life, Liquiteria, PepsiCo Inc., Evolution Fresh, LLC, JustPressed, Hain BluePrint, Inc., Organic Avenue, Organic Press Juices, and Juice Generation. The leading companies are taking up partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures in order to boost the inorganic growth of the industry.

US markets are poised to achieve continuing growth as Cold Pressed Juice Markets support better nutrition.

An increasing number of diabetic patients, terrible obesity issues, and increasing nutritional and health concerns among clinicians are having an impact on the Cold Pressed Juice markets as people turn to good nutrition as a supplement to medications. Changing lifestyle impacts the market. The cold pressed juice market can be primarily divided into two broad categories: raw juices and HPP. The HPP is packaged in plastic.

Independent brands comprise a higher percentage than is usual for other markets. The cold pressed juice market is comprised in part of smaller stores and from sources that operate as small entities. In other markets it is usually the case that the known brands dominate a market. What is different here with cold pressed juices is that cold pressed juice is better when it is really fresh. This requirement mitigates against large company usual methodical, slow ways of working. It is even more difficult than the milk market when the juice is not pasteurized.

A USD 4.3 billion market in the US in 2017 is expected to reach USD 8.1 billion by 2024, growing in response to demand for food that has more nutrition in it and is tasty.

The full report “Cold Pressed Juice Market” is available with Radiant Insights, Inc. at www.radiantinsights.com.

The Hamburg-based ingredients specialist Bösch Boden Spies presents a new product in its range: Ocean Spray’s 50° Brix cranberry concentrate. It offers beverage manufacturers numerous advantages.

The beverage market is changing: More and more consumers are looking for healthy thirst quenchers that are low on sugar and high on added functional value. Meanwhile, traditional juices and spritzers are increasingly having a hard time in the market. New product concepts are in demand: Ocean Spray’s 50° Brix cranberry concentrate offers beverage manufacturers the ideal basis for this.

The product is characterized by a special production process whereby fewer turbidity-forming ingredients are transferred into the concentrate. As a result, it is particularly color-stable and can easily be mixed with other beverages without flocculating.

Adding this cranberry concentrate to juices, for example, can significantly reduce the sugar content of the beverages. The products taste tart and exotic with a natural, light sweetness. At the same time, the subtle cranberry taste enhances the flavors of the other fruits.

The cranberry concentrate increases the antioxidant content of a drink. And their attractive red color gives beverages containing cranberry a special visual appeal as well.

The cranberry concentrate is also good for using in alcoholic beverages, and is suitable for other product segments as well, such as the dairy sector.

The prices paid to the orange growers from São Paulo and the Triângulo Mineiro region in the 2019/20 season should be positive, despite the larger production, since inventories are forecast to, again, decrease to critical levels at the processors from SP State (because of the lower production in 2018/19), underpinning the demand for the fruit.

According to estimates from CitrusBR (Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters) released in August/18, the ending stocks of Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice (FCOJ) Equivalent forecast to June 30 2019, at 146.7 thousand tons, would only be enough for a two-month exporting period. Therefore, this scenario could underpin orange prices in the Brazilian market in 2019, despite the high production in the 2019/20 season – although positive, the ending stocks in June/18 (related to the 2017/18 crop) were not too large.

Indeed, the first bids from large-sized processors for the oranges from the 2019/20 crop started early again (in October/18). Bidding prices were around 22 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, harvested and delivered at processors (with the possibility of a bonus added to the orange selling price in the international market). In the 2018/29 crop, the first bids were around 20 BRL per box.

Although cautious at first, citrus growers accepted to trade in mid-November, fearing that bidding prices could drop in the following months. Early purchases have been a strategy of large-sized processors since 2016 (when they started closing deals in October, although the 2017/18 crop was one of the largest in all times).

PRODUCTION – Citrus growers believe that the 2019/20 crop will be positive, based on the weather, which favored plants development during blossoming and fruitlet settlement. The main blossoming, which occurred between August and September in most orchards, were large.

In mid-December, the wide temperature range led part of the fruitlets to drop in some regions, mainly in late orange orchards, which are more sensitive to the weather. However, citrus farmers believe these losses should not be significant to the next season results. Still, some growers do not expect a super crop and believe the volume harvested will only recover in 2019/20; others forecast a 40% increase compared to 2018/19.

TAHITI LIME – The tahiti lime volume forecast to be harvested during the crop peak in São Paulo State, in the first quarter of 2019, is also positive. According to Brazilian agents, production may be higher than that from 2018, since the rains in the second semester last year were more frequent and well distributed.

Despite the higher supply, the demand from processors may help to underpin the prices paid to growers, controlling availability in the in natura segment. The good exports performance should also help to underpin tahiti lime quotes, even during the crop peak – shipments may continue at a fast pace, due to the firm demand for the fruit, mainly from Europe, where consumption has been increasing.

The calamondin is one of the most exciting new discoveries that tropextrakt has in store for its customers in 2019. Although it sounds like an exotic, unknown fruit right now, it has the potential to start a new taste trend in foods and beverages that can already be seen in the USA, for example. The calamondin, with its scientific name of “Citrofortunella microcarpa”, conceals powerful potential under its delicate peel with a great variety of flavours: sweet-sour and refreshing, it is reminiscent of mandarin orange, bitter orange, lime and pink grapefruit.

A wide variety of flavours for the food and beverage industry

“The unique flavour of the calamondin is perfect for exotic taste experiences and can make a subtle difference in many foods and beverages”, explains Ingo Kniepert, Managing Director of tropextrakt. “The calamondin, for example, corresponds perfectly with familiar ingredients like orange juice or vanilla.” The refreshing and sweet-sour nuances also develop very well in combination with grapefruit in soft drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers and many other drinks, including milkshakes. The juice is also suitable for fruity blends in dairy products, ice cream, marmalades, jams, fruit sauces and sweets. Its taste components also come into their own in dressings, chutneys and desserts. The calamondin harmonises well with apple, mirabelle and blackcurrant, and herbs and spices including cinnamon, peppermint and vanilla. Tropextrakt has tested these and other combinations in its own application lab, where special applications for customers in the food and beverage industry can be developed on request.

Year-round harvest – transparent production

The calamondin, a particularly small type of citrus fruit, is a hybrid between the mandarin orange and the oval kumquat. Externally, it resembles a lime, but is much smaller. Unlike other citrus fruits, the calamondin has a thin, delicate peel, which is why the fruit has to be cut from the tree by hand. tropextrakt obtains the unadulterated calamondin juice from Vietnam, where the fruits grow, are harvested and processed into pure calamondin juice in NFC quality all year round. “It’s very important to us that our products are left in their natural state, thus complying with the Clean Label standard”, says Kniepert. tropextrakt imports its raw materials from the producers themselves in order to be able to influence the corresponding quality and hygiene standards on site. Every batch can be traced back directly to one of the 500 family businesses with calamondin plantations. Additionally, the producer guarantees the fruit will be processed in accordance with ISO 2000 and the BRC Food and HACCP standards. Both the Vietnamese producer and tropextrakt are Sedex-certified and have made a commitment to sustainable supply chains. In doing so, tropextrakt also makes a contribution to the small plantations in Vietnam, where calamondin cultivation with controlled labour conditions helps in the fight against poverty.

Measurement of the colour of clear and hazy juices (Spectrophotometric method)

Principle. The colour of a juice is an important quality criterion. In some juices a relatively light colour is expected for a good quality, such as apple or grape juices. However, in red/black juices a deep red/purple colour is expected in good quality juices. The colour of a juice can be determined spectrophotometrically by measurement of its absorbance or transmission in the visible region of the spectrum. In yellow/brown products e.g. apple, pear, white grape juices the absorbance is measured at 430 nm. In red/black juices e.g. blackcurrant, raspberry etc. the absorbance is measured at 520 nm.

The text has been slightly revised to clarify part of the procedure.

The revised method can be access via the methods section of the IFU website www.ifu-fruitjuice.com

Determination of Sulphur Dioxide

IFU Method 7a – The determination of total sulphur dioxide has been revised and is available in the catalogue of methods which can be accessed via the IFU website www.ifu-fruitjuice.com.

The revision includes an addendum for the determination of SO₂ is via ion chromatography. This is useful when a confirmation of very low concentrations is needed or when false positive results must be ruled out. This can be the case for example in vegetable juices from Brassica (cabbage) which contains high levels of endogenous sulfur compounds. An analysis on sulfate from the solution of the first receiver flask can be performed using this procedure.

Less sugar, more minerals and still: 100 percent juice!

From 16 to 18 October 2018, the largest and most important European summit of the fruit juice industry – the Juice Summit in Antwerp – took place. Stefan Reiß, CEO of Green Coco Europe GmbH and co-founder of premium brand Dr. Antonio Martins was invited as a speaker emphasizing the potential and relevance of coconut water / coconut juice to the juice industry in front of about 600 decision-makers. The CEO of the Nuremberg company presents an interesting approach to reducing sugar in fruit juices. Coconut juice is very popular among athletes, vegans and nutritionally-conscious consumers due to its high potassium and low calorie content – making it an ideal blend for juices whose high sugar content no longer seems to hit the nerve of the times.

For some time now, the juice industry has faced immense challenges in terms of sugar discussions. The high sugar content of orange juice & co is increasingly being pilloried. For example, orange juice with about 8 grams of sugar per 100 ml of juice contains as much sugar as cola. For this reason, the 100 % fruit juice loses its healthy reputation not only with relevant nutritionists, but more and more with nutritionally conscious consumers.

“Coconut juice can be a solution here and take out the wind of the issue´s sails. Why not add coconut juice to orange juice and drastically reduce sugar content and calories? The fruit juice content remains in this way at 100 percent. The light and neutral properties of the coconut juice do not mask the taste of the orange juice. According to the latest figures from the market research study by Arizton, I see a potential of 297 million liters for juice with coconut juice by 2023, “says Green-Coco CEO Stefan Reiß, summing up his solution. Coconut juice adds valuable minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium to the juice and these can also be declared as such. The juice of the coconut is 11-19 kcal per 100 ml – the lowest calorie fruit juice ever.

A mixing ratio of 40 % coconut juice and 60 % orange juice gives 29 calories per 100 ml, instead of 42 kcal as before. In this way you achieve a reduction of more than 10 calories per 100ml to less than 30 kcal compared to the pure variant – in times of steadily rising numbers of diabetes diseases a step in the right direction. Even in multivitamin juices, adding coconut juice would mean a significant calorie and sugar reduction.

Other facts should encourage the industry to take this path: According to a market study by Arizton, the coconut water market is expected to grow by 25 % per year across Europe by 2023. Coconut juice is no longer a niche product, has established itself as an independent category and can be found in almost every discount. Supermarkets, such as REWE, already have a firm place on the shelves for their own coconut juice brands.

With “taste” being such a trending focal point at SIAL Paris 2018 many visitors were keen to discover our passion fruit exotic juice and food preps

Passina’s new branding and natural passion fruit-based food products attracted the attention of crowds of international food stakeholders at SIAL Paris 2018. Almost 160,000 visitors attended the international food trade fair.

“Our clients and partners understood our new concept and approach towards branding in the face of the intense competition the sector faces today. We know that collaboration is key to developing new products”, said Dr Pablo Hafner, Passina Group CEO.

Exploiting the innovation of passion fruit-products

“We have our own R&D department and are also partnering with various research organisations, mainly in the US and Europe. We are now in the research phase and want to launch nutritional supplements based on passion fruit in 2019”, added the CEO.

International experts in the food industry can discover the new applications through recipes prepared by the R&D team for the show:

• Tastings of passion fruit juice, smoothies and dips.
• Concept cards adapted to different sectors: juice & food preps, confectionery and cosmetics.
• Besides adding an exotic and savoury touch to dishes, passion fruit and its ingredients offer a range of health benefits, such as:
• Adding low-calorie, enriching fibres to dietetic snacks (from seeds).
• Reducing sleep disorders and restlessness through herbal teas (from leaves and extracts).
• Anti-inflammatory effects.

Digital presentations displayed at the Passina stand presented the company and its new brand identity. Passina attracted potential collaborators from various sectors and new business partnerships emerged during the busy fair. “We have seen positive outcomes from sales, R&D, and project managers within the food and nutritional supplement sectors”, said Hafner.

This all forms part of the ongoing development of Passi AG, including the sale of the non-passion fruit business to Döhler Group. The sale is currently being evaluated by the antitrust authorities and is conditional on their approval, with the outcome expected to be announced by the first half of November 2018.

Patented natural process converts sugar to fibers in just one-step

Better Juice Ltd. has developed innovative technology to reduce the load of simple sugars in orange juice. The patent-pending enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert monosaccharides and disaccharides (fructose, glucose, and sucrose) into prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers and sugars, while keeping the juicy flavor of the beverage.

Popular juices, such as orange juice and apple juice, have nearly 1 oz. (25 g) of sugar per 1-cup serving (250 ml). Although juice contains the vitamins and minerals you’d find in fresh produce, it’s devoid of most of the natural dietary fiber as an outcome of traditional methods of juicing. In addition to its intrinsic health benefits, fiber also adds to the feeling of fullness.

Better Juice’s process harnesses a natural enzymatic activity in non-GMO microorganisms to convert a portion of the simple fructose, glucose, and sucrose sugars into fibers and other non-digestible natural sugars. The process works on all types of sugars. Yet the process preserves the great flavor and the full complement of vitamins and other nutrients inherent in the fruits. The technology was developed in collaboration with Hebrew University in Rehovot, Israel.

“This natural a non fermentative process occurs without adding or removing ingredients,” says Eran Blachinsky, PhD, Founder and CEO of Better Juice. “It also will not alter the flavor or aroma of the juice.” Better Juice uses an advanced solution that involves just one short and simple pass-through step in the juice-making process, allowing the product to be marketed at a price point comparable to other premium juice products.

”While the process does slightly reduce the sweetness of the juice,” explains Blachinsky, “It actually brings out more of the fruit flavor, making for a better-tasting juice product overall.”

Better Juice conducted several trials with different beverage companies and succeeded in reducing sugars in orange juice from 30 %, up to 80 %. The start-up can now provide proof of concept for orange juice.

Mono-and disaccharides – often called “simple sugars” – are easy for the body to digest and thus quickly metabolized. If the energy they provide can’t be used, it is converted to fat and stored. But when these individual sugar molecules link up, they become prebiotic fibers that are non-digestible. The shorter of these fibers, called oliggosaccharides, are still sweet yet have been shown to bestow a number of health benefits, from protecting against disease to helping manage weight. There are other natural monosaccharides that are not easily digested. These sugars have no glycemic index and low caloric values.

“Consumers, especially children, enjoy drinking natural juices but are not always aware of the less nutritious aspects of juice,” notes Blachinsky. “They want the whole package — great flavor, health, and natural ingredients, including the fibers that are essential part of fruits.”

The company will market an advanced device with the unique technology to fruit juice producers and, eventually, to cafés and restaurants.

Despite the firm sales prices, lower orange production in the 2018/19 crop from the citrus belt (São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro) should constrain the revenue of farmers who trade with processors, since the lower number of boxes produced per hectare tends to push up the unit price. Only in southwestern SP, where production has not changed much, revenue may remain at high levels.

According to data released by Fundecitrus (Citrus Defense Fund) on September 10, this crop should be 31.4 % smaller than the previous (2017/18), totaling only 273.3 million boxes (40.8 kilos) of oranges. This volume is 5.2 % lower than that first forecast by Fundecitrus in May.

Lower production estimates confirm the initial expectations of the agents consulted by Cepea, who believe that the performance of the current crop may have been compromised by both the high rate of flower loss from the first blossoming (between August and October/17) and the lack of rains in the first semester of 2018. Fundecitrus has reported that the average weight of all varieties is lower than that forecast in May, because of the severe drought (May – July).

Lower domestic supply, in turn, has boosted orange prices to processors this year. Besides, inventories from the 2018/19 crop should again decrease to critical levels by June 2019, according to forecasts from CitrusBR (Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters), totaling only 146.7 thousand tons of juice, the second lowest in the CitrusBR series, which started in 1988/89, and only enough for two months of exportations.

After the new estimates were released, prices have been stable in the spot market, at 24 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, harvested and delivered at the processor. However, quotes had already increased last month, when CitrusBR anticipated that estimates from Fundecitrus could be revised down. Despite the smaller amount available for crushing, the average yield is forecast to be higher than in the previous crop, due to the dry period in the citrus belt from May to July (CitrusBR).

Most farmers have already closed deals with the industry – since November/17, processors’ bidding prices have been up to 22 BRL per box. Thus, if quotes increase at processors from now onward, the few farmers with fruits available will still be favored.

SHORTER HARVEST – The new report from Fundecitrus has highlighted that the 2018/19 crop harvesting may end earlier, which, in turn, may push up orange quotes in early 2019, when supply is usually low. So far, 36 % of the oranges from that crop have been harvested, 2 percentage points above the same period last season.

IN NATURA MARKET – The low supply of fruits with the quality demanded by the in natura segment underpinned orange prices in the first fortnight of September. Thus, from September 3 to 14, pear orange quotes averaged 30.81 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, 10.6 % up compared to that in the first fortnight of August.

In the market of tahiti lime, supply is low, which increased quotes in the first fortnight of September – in the first week of the month, prices surpassed 90 BRL per 27-kilo box. Between September 3 and 14, tahiti lime quotes averaged 67.42 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, a staggering 83 % up compared to that in the same period last month.

On the other hand, higher quotes have constrained exportations, due to the competition with the fruits from Mexico. According to Fresh Plaza website, tahiti lime shipments to Europe usually step up starting June, both from Brazil and Mexico.

In general, the exportation season for tahiti lime was positive in the first semester, but shipments decreased in both July and August, according to Secex, by 21.5 % and 8.2 %, respectively, compared to the same months of 2017. From January to August this year, exports totaled 76 thousand tons, a slight 0.4 % down compared to the same period last year.

INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA HORTITECHNICA to feature a Distillers’ Forum for the first time / Talks, sensor technology seminars and tastings

INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA HORTITECHNICA, International Technology Trade Fair for Wine, Fruit Juice and Special Crops, will be held in Stuttgart from 4 to 6 November 2018. The varied accompanying programme will also contain for the first time a Distillers’ Forum with an associated tasting area. Starting at 10.00 on Sunday, 4 November 2018, sensor technology seminars and talks on liqueur, gin and fruit brandy will each be held in succession in the Oskar Lapp Hall (Hall 6). The length of these moderated seminars and talks will be between 45 and 60 minutes. Suitable marketing strategies will also be discussed based on well-known campaigns. The seminars and talks are being organised by well-known distillers such as the KOVAL Distillery from Chicago and Manufaktur Geiger, as well as recognised experts such as Dipl. Lebensmittel-Ing. Dr. Klaus Hagmann. Pre-registrations are required for the sensor technology seminars which are subject to a charge and have a limited number of participants. You can find all the programme information and registration formalities at: www.ivifho.de/rahmenprogramm. Fruit brandies, gins, whisk(e)ys and liqueurs can also be sampled in the tasting area on all three days of the trade fair.

About INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA HORTITECHNICA
INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA HORTITECHNICA takes place together with the International German Winegrowers’ Congress every two years at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre. As an international technology trade fair for wine, fruit juice and special crops, it covers the entire process chain from cultivation and harvesting technology, processing and process control, and filling and packaging technology through to organisation and marketing. The German Winegrowers’ Association (DWV) acts as the professional supporter of the INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA section and organises the International DWV Congress. The German Agricultural Society (DLG) is the professional supporter of the HORTITECHNICA section.

International trade show for production, storage and marketing of apples

Bolzano, 15 – 17 November 2018

With its motto “Bolzano loves apples”, Interpoma, the only international trade show dedicated to the apple, from November 15 to 17 will be welcoming guests from all over the world with a program of events and themed initiatives outside the trade show and across the whole city. Bolzano, as the international capital of the apple, will itself be turned into a true “big apple” during this period.

Interpoma 2018, the two-yearly international trade show dedicated entirely to the apple sector, is scheduled for November 15 to 17 this year at the Bolzano trade show center: there will be a special program of evening events, themed exhibitions and tastings of apple-derived products, featuring numerous enterprises from right across the city, including restaurants and hotels, as well as bars, bakeries and confectioners.

Interpoma is a major event capable of attracting 20,000 visitors to Bolzano from over 70 countries around the world and, with 500 enterprises present, makes South Tyrol a unique market place for the apple sector. With its program “Bolzano loves Apples”, Interpoma offers guests a unique sensory experience for their business trip that can be enjoyed all over the city.

Origins: an exhibition between past, present and future

Interpoma 2018 invites visitors on a journey through the history of the apple, with an exhibition that shows the origins of the apple in Kazakhstan, explains new possibilities for refining and processing, and offers a view of the technologies of the future.

Interpoma Taste

For the first time, Interpoma will this year feature an area inside the pavilion where visitors can taste apple-derived products and much more besides. The Laimburg Research Center for Agriculture and Forestry is presenting innovative apple juices, with tastings and judgings of ciders arranged by its Evaluation Lab. VOG PRODUCTS, the producer of natural ingredients for the food and beverage industry, will put the focus on apple juice, with a special section dedicated to “Pink Lady” products; while, in partnership with Red Rooster farm holidays, the Ausserloretzhof and Gasserhof farms and the Knöspele distillery will be presenting their natural products based upon ancient and traditional recipes, such as preserves and liquors.

The apple in the city

The entire city of Bolzano will for three days dedicate itself to the fruit that symbolizes the regions of Trentino and South Tyrol. In partnership with the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs (HGV), the Unione HDS and BZ Heartbeat, 30 hotels and restaurants and 20 bakeries and confectioners in Bolzano are preparing apple-based menus and specialties for the entire duration of the event.

Interpoma Delicious Events

Trade shows are places to meet and do business, but they also represent an opportunity to get to know new cultures and taste the culinary delights of the host territory. For the opening night on Thursday, November 15, Interpoma is organizing the Golden Delicious Night at the on-site Forst Season restaurant; a “golden” night for locals, but also a chance for enterprises to dine with their customers or meet each other in an elegant and pleasant environment.

Then, on the evening of Friday, November 16, two parties will be held at the Bolzano exhibition center; one, “Rouge et Noir”, is organized by the Forst Season restaurant, while the other will be staged at the Hotel Four Points by Sheraton.

The world market for aseptically packed products amounted to 152 billion litres in 347 billion packs during 2017, according to the new Global Aseptic Packaging report from leading food and drinks consultancy Zenith Global Ltd and packaging experts Warrick Research Ltd. Volumes have risen by 2.7 % a year since 2012, with South East Asia achieving the fastest annual growth rate of 7 %, followed by China on 6 %.

Beverages such as fruit juice accounted for 39 % of aseptically packed products, with white drinking milk responsible for 38 % and other dairy/food products making up the remainder. Aseptic filling has also become established for soups, sauces, tomato products and baby foods.

“While European companies still dominate the global aseptic filling equipment industry, the Chinese market is increasingly supplied by Chinese equipment manufacturers, some of whom have also successfully entered other Asian markets,” commented David Warrick, Director at Warrick Research Ltd. “Volumes have been static in much of Europe, contrasting with rapid growth in many Asian countries,” added Arunkumar Anbalagan, Senior Insights Analyst at Zenith Global Ltd.

Other findings of the 2018 Global Aseptic Packaging report include:

• There are over 16,000 operational aseptic filling systems worldwide, serviced by more than 30 suppliers.
• The largest markets for aseptic packaging are China and South East Asia. China is set to become the leading country by 2022, followed by South East Asia and West Europe.
• Value added dairy products are a fast growing area of demand for aseptic filling systems. In some regions, fillers are used for both ambient and chilled dairy products.
• Environmental issues have become more important in many regions. Developments include the introduction of electron beam sterilisation as an alternative to chemical sterilisation. Demand is increasing for re-use or recycling.

By 2022, Zenith and Warrick estimate that the world market will reach 176 billion litres and 410 billion packs. The majority of additional demand will come from South East Asia as well as China.

The American Beverage Association (ABA) announced that Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), will join ABA as its new president and CEO later this year. Lugar will succeed Susan K. Neely, who successfully led ABA for 13 years. Neely was named president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) in May 2018.

Lugar will leverage deep public policy and advocacy experience on behalf of ABA and its member companies, which make and sell some of the world’s most popular and innovative non-alcoholic beverages. As president and CEO of AHLA, Lugar transformed the lodging industry’s largest association in her five-year tenure, tripling revenue and membership, strengthening the association’s core mission on advocacy, championing the industry’s voice with policymakers and achieving historic highs for the industry political action committee (PAC) placing it in the top two percent of all association PACs.

Lugar previously served as the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) executive vice president of public affairs, where she ran a number of successful, high-profile issue campaigns. Prior to RILA, Lugar led government relations for Travelers Insurance, served as vice president of legislative and political affairs at the National Retail Federation (NRF) and worked on Capitol Hill. She currently is chair-elect of the board of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for pediatric cancer, a member of the executive committee of the Bryce Harlow Foundation and a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100.

The non-alcoholic beverage industry employs more than 250,000 people with a direct economic impact of more than $182.6 billion. The industry manufactures a variety of beverage choices in a wide range of calories and package sizes, including bottled water, 100 percent juice, juice drinks, sports drinks, soft drinks, ready-to-drink teas and energy drinks.

Brenntag North America, Inc., part of Brenntag Group, one of the global market leaders in chemical distribution, announces a new collaboration with Silvateam for the exclusive distribution of Pectin in United States & Canada.

Silvateam has dedicated over 160 years to plant-based extracts. Located in Northern Italy, Silvateam produces products used in a large range of applications such as food, beverages, and animal health and nutrition.

Brenntag North America has been appointed the exclusive distributor in North America for the distribution of the Silvateam Pectin Line:

• Aglupectin^™

“We are excited about our new relationship with Silvateam and the continued expansion of our value- added, functional ingredient options. The combination of our Food & Nutrition team, new food application lab, and Silvateam’s technical expertise position us well to provide quick solutions to our customer’s formulation questions when using pectins,” stated Larry Davis, Marketing Director, Brenntag North America.

Brenntag will focus on Silvateam’s versatile, clean label, pectin products. Pectin is a natural product widely used for its gel formation, thickening, and stabilizing properties in a variety of applications. Applications include fruit juices, jams, marmalades, dairy, confectionary, and bakery.

“Silvateam is a fast-growing company with an excellent reputation in the industry. We are excited to work alongside Brenntag North America to promote our range of specialty pectin,” said Alessandro Di Mase, CEO of Silvateam. “Brenntag’s strong technical expertise, service orientation, and sales team offer the market our tailor-made solutions for texture, mouthfeel, viscosity, flavor release, and suspension.”