Cherry juice may be about to become much more popular among health conscious consumers, as Tasmanian cherry grower Reid Fruits has partnered with the University of Tasmania and another commercial stakeholder to verify the health benefits of dark cherries.
The University of Tasmania has been working on ways of extracting the juice’s key nutritional compounds, and at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong Reid Fruits launched a new cherry product - Cherry Vital. The health benefits of tart cherries have been well documented but little research currently exists about the health benefits of dark cherries and in particular the benefits of anthocyanins, according to Reid Fruits. “We wanted the first batch of cherry juice to be ready for Hong Kong, and it was just bottled a month ago. We had an amazing response at Fruit Logistica, so that was a really positive thing for the future of Cherry Vital,” says Lucy Gregg, of Reid Fruit.
With wages in Tasmania high, Reid Fruit was looking for ways to add value to its core product. “We were looking at options to deal with waste cherries which we’ve historically dumped. We investigated many options and have even bottled a cherry cider, called Ruby, which we do as 60% apple juice and 40% cherry juice but we were attracted to cherry juice based on the health benefits in an ever increasing health conscious market,” says Ms Gregg.
Cornering the ‘wellbeing’ drink market
The juice will be largely bottled for export, although each country has different labeling and nutrition regulations to deal with, so Ms Gregg says the introduction is happening slowly. “The research has to be really rigorous to meet the importing countries consumer law requirements. Our research also shows that we may need to market Cherry Vital in different formats to appeal to consumers in various overseas markets. We are also currently finalizing pricing for major Asian cities.”
Reid Fruits did not want Cherry Vital to be just another supermarket shelf version. Ms Gregg says it is exciting to see that School of Medicine at the University working to provide hard evidence for what is already known anecdotally, that a certain amount of cherry juice or fresh cherries each day can help with issues related to inflammation. “We want to prove the benefits of a daily dose of cherry juice. We’re also looking at extracting the anthocyanin out as a concentrated form which we may be able to use to enrich the existing juice.”
The reason for introducing the product to Asia is that there has been a clear trend towards functional foods in the region, especially Japan and China. Functional foods are consumed for their nutrient content and to enhance wellbeing, Ms Gregg says. “We don’t want the product to sit next to the diet cola in the local 7/11. It’s definitely going to be a wellbeing drink, which forms an increasingly significant part of the market in many parts of Asia. ”
The third research phase, clinical trials to verify preliminary results, will begin during the December/January harvest, Ms Gregg says. “We hope to introduce six packs of Cherry Vital with a recommended daily dose of anthocyanin contained in each bottle by then.”
