Rehovot-based foodtech start-up Better Juice, which has made it a mission to reduce the sugar content of natural fruit juice while preserving flavor and nutritional content, has sealed a deal to bring its reduced-sugar juices to supermarket aisles.
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Better Juice has inked an agreement with a major US fruit juice manufacturer for commercial installment of its sugar-reduction technology – the first official commercial venture in the company's collaboration with Germany's GEA Group.
Better Juice's patented enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose sugars into prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers. The juice passes through a continuous flow bio-reactor housing non-GMO microorganism that transform the unwanted sugars into beneficial, non-digestible molecules.
The company says its system can reduce sugar loads by up to 80%, while preserving the fruits' vitamins and nutrients.
Is the taste affected? According to Better Juice, the process mitigates sweetness while boosting the fruit flavor.
Better Juice has been granted a patent for its sugar-reduction enzymatic process in Europe. Armed with recent self-affirmed GRAS status from the US Food and Drug Administration, the company is out to market its system.
"These achievements, together with GEA's knowhow and cutting-edge technology, will open doors to work more closely with food and beverage companies," explains Eran Blachinsky, PhD, co-founder and co-CEO of Better Juice.
Under the terms of the collaboration with GEA, the German group will design, manufacture, and install the bioreactor that reduces sugars and offer follow-up technical support. Better Juice will produce the microorganisms for the enzymatic process. The US commercial order stipulates that Better Juice will produce natural juices with a minimum sugar reduction of 30%, and the product is expected to arrive in US supermarkets by the spring of 2022.
"This new agreement marks an exciting milestone in our mission to get our sugar-reduction technology off the ground, to penetrate the US market, and to expand our global footprint," enthuses Blachinsky. "We've officially launched our drive to help consumers enjoy reduce sugar in their favorite fruit juice."
"Scaling up is always a challenge," confesses Gali Yarom, co-founder and co-CEO of Better Juice. "But when your partner is GEA, with its vast industrial food processing capabilities and global presence, the acceleration of the Better Juice commercialization is much faster and brings added value to the supply chain. Imagine – in just a few months, affordable, reduced-sugar fruit juice will be a ready option for American consumers."
"Better Juice has incredible potential to transform the global juice industry," notes Colm O'Gorman, Head of Sales Management for GEA's Global Technology Center for Non-Alcoholic Beverages. "As consumer demand for lowered-sugar beverages continues to surge, we are eager to join Better Juice on this momentous journey. We look forward to delivering products that address one of the top consumer needs of reducing their sugar intake, especially in daily beverages."
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