Pomegranate Fiber offers added nutrients to a variety of food applications, continuing POM Wonderful’s commitment to better-for-you ingredients

POM Wonderful, a worldwide leader of California-grown pomegranates and No. 1 pomegranate juice in North America, announced the addition of Pomegranate Fiber to its growing specialty ingredients lineup. The Pomegranate Fiber, which is upcycled from POM Wonderful pomegranate husks after juicing, is a GRAS, fiber-dense powder that can be used in a variety of food applications, including crackers, sauces, dressings, baked goods and plant-based food.

Pomegranate Fiber is made under POM Wonderful’s growing Specialty Ingredients division, which provides raw ingredients to suppliers across the food and beverage industry. Pomegranate Fiber has numerous culinary benefits — it can help draw out flavour and colour, and in baked goods, the powder enhances browning, which ultimately reduces cook times. It has soluble and insoluble fiber plus antioxidant goodness and polyphenols.

Pomegranate Fiber is made from upcycled materials using the husk of pomegranate fruit. POM Wonderful uses a proprietary method to press whole pomegranates to create POM 100 % Pomegranate Juice. After the initial press, the husks are then pressure extracted to create POMxL, a concentrated liquid extract that is also part of POM’s specialty ingredient line-up — the remaining pomegranate husk is dried and milled to create Pomegranate Fiber.

“We are thrilled to add another specialty ingredient to our line-up that is versatile and upholds our commitment to nourishing naturally,” said Jason Horvath, sales manager for POM Wonderful Specialty Ingredients. “With the Pomegranate Fiber, we are providing better-for-you options to the food and beverage industry while continuing our work towards a zero-waste future.”

The addition of the Pomegranate Fiber comes on the heels of POMxL’s Upcycled Certification, further underscoring POM Wonderful’s commitment to sustainability and product innovation.

Sustainability is at the forefront for POM Wonderful. In 2020, POM Wonderful launched the Innovation Challenge, offering $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators who could develop an economical and environmentally friendly solution to upcycle its 60,000 tons of pomegranate husks. In 2022, POM Wonderful transitioned all its 16oz bottles of POM Wonderful juices to 100 % rPET (recycled plastic)* and completed work on its solar farm, which provides more than 90 % of the company’s electricity needs for its Del Rey, California processing facility.

To date, The Wonderful Company and its owners, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, have invested more than $1.3 billion in environmental sustainability initiatives to help fight climate change. This commitment includes the historic $750 million gift from the Resnicks to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in support of the school’s environmental sustainability research.

^*Excludes cap

IFF announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its Flavour Specialty Ingredients (FSI) business to Exponent, a leading UK-based private equity firm, for USD 220 million in cash proceeds. FSI reports through IFF’s Scent division and is a leading manufacturer of synthetic and natural base aroma chemicals used in the flavour market. Cash proceeds from the transaction, net of taxes and expenses, will be used to reduce outstanding debt.

“Aligned with our strategy, we’re continuously evaluating our portfolio to identify opportunities to strengthen our financial profile,” said IFF CEO Frank Clyburn. “The sale of FSI will improve our capital structure while allowing us to focus on our core businesses to enhance growth and returns. We appreciate the contributions of our FSI colleagues, who have shared our commitment to quality and customer service. We will work closely with Exponent to have a successful transition and look forward to FSI’s bright future.”

IFF’s FSI is a leading manufacturer of specialty base aromas with a broad range of more than 1,000 aroma chemicals and natural extracts, which provide inputs primarily to the flavour market. FSI includes four dedicated manufacturing and distribution facilities at Teesside and Hartlepool, United Kingdom; Cincinnati, United States; and Pucheng, China, with additional points of distribution in Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong. With approximately 340 employees, IFF’s FSI business serves more than 970 customers and generated more than USD 100 million in revenue over the last 12 months.

IFF and Exponent expect to close the transaction by the end of Q3 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Centerview Partners LLC acted as financial advisor to IFF, and Cravath, Swain & Moore LLP provided legal support.

The Flavors & Fragrances (F&F) business unit of specialty chemicals company LANXESS is increasing prices worldwide for its entire portfolio of preservatives, benzoates, intermediates, aroma chemicals and multifunctionals with immediate effect. Customers will be contacted individually regarding the specifics of the measure as it applies to their products or regions.

The reasons for the adjustments are, in particular, unprecedented challenges with a significant impact on logistics and production. Fragile supply chains, dramatically increased raw material and energy costs – not least as a result of the war in Ukraine with oil and gas prices at record levels – bring significant consequences for the entire supply chain.

Offerings from F&F are primarily used to provide flavour, fragrance, shelf life and essential performance characteristics in a wide variety of consumer products, such as food and beverages.