GreenSpace Brands has agreed to purchase Nothing But Nature (owners of the Kiju organic juice brand) for total consideration of approximately USD8.88 million to USD9.88 million. The acquisition offers opportunities for growth through continued product line innovation and expansion and is expected to immediately grow GreenSpace’s earnings and cash flow, with a number of potential synergies that are anticipated to continue to improve EBITDA margins. Nothing But Nature has a very strong balance sheet and currently has no debt outstanding.

South African biotechnology and IP Company Green Cell Technologies (GCT), has created a unique solution to overcome the challenges of the need to reduce the excessive amount of waste generated during the food processing cycle. The game-changing Disruptor, using Dynamic Cellular Disruption, provides manufacturers with a compact and cost-saving technology to process their food more expediently, reduce waste, and improve nutritional quality.

The founders of Green Cell Technologies, Roy Henderson and Jan Vlok, have taken ten years to bring this revolutionary processing machine to market. It is now getting the attention of the world’s food and beverage manufacturers both large and small. Current processing methods generate huge amounts of waste – not only in the material itself, but also in not accessing 100% of the available nutrients.

GCT’s Disruptor and Dynamic Cellular Disruption(DCD) process change all that. Without using harmful heat or chemicals, the patented process and machinery use wholefoods and plants (skin, pips, seeds, stalks and everything) to generate nutrient rich emulsions, which can be used for a variety of food types – from soups, convenience foods, baby foods and sauces and more importantly juices. The added nutrition is derived from the fact that the Disruptors are able to remove the plant cell membrane, thus releasing 99.99998% of the ‘actives’ inside and all the fibre is taken up into the flowable liquid.

Trials and demonstrations for local and international food manufacturers has typically shown them “a 60% – 80% increase in the amount of product they can produce, and in many instances even higher, because there is very little to no wastage using DCD” confirmed Roy Henderson, CEO of GCT. In addition to this the taste profile of the material is much enhanced by the opening of all the plant cells.

The Disruptor (baby two-barrel version) is a 3.2 ton piece of equipment. It’s a commercial proposition with massive export potential for the company – with machines available in 2,4, 6 and 8-barrel configurations. The company want to assist the bulk processors in changing their way of making consumer retail foods and beverages in response to consumers already vocal in their desire and need for healthier foods and drinks.

Source: Green Cell Technologies

With charcoal based products becoming more readily available in the UK such as charcoal and chia seed-topped bagels and charcoal and sesame seed biscuits being stocked by Waitrose it was only a matter of time before a charcoal based juice arrived.

Botanic Lab, a London based company are a producer of the juice which includes raw cane grass, lemon juice and yuzu fruit which results in a ‘lemonade’ tasting drink. Waitrose has seen an ongoing climb in sales since it was launched in September last year with a rise of 100 per cent month on month.

As with all new trends in juices, there is always celebrity take-up and charcoal juice is no different. Amelia Freer who has furthered the careers of many stars (including James Corden) is reported to have explained that charcoal juice “binds with toxins to speed their safe elimination from the body” and rehydrates “more effectively than water”. Charcoal is “poised to become a mainstay of the cleanse ritual”.

Conversely Charlotte Stirling-Reed, registered nutritionist and media expert for the Nutrition Society, is a bit more cautious urging consumers to be wary and to seek medical advice before taking any supplements containing charcoal as it can affect absorption of medicines and might not be appropriate for breastfeeding and pregnant women.

Source: Daily Telegraph UK

These sleek, eye-catching containers deliver a positive consumer experience along with versatility and flexibility for brand owners and packaging manufacturers.

“Along with consumer appeal, our comprehensive polyethylene terephthalate (PET) package portfolio for juice provides brand owners and manufacturers with convenience and reduced product line complexity, enabling efficient and cost-effective product management, “ said Alex Warren, manager of marketing and strategic business development for Amcor’s Beverage Business Unit.

These premium bottles are aesthetically-pleasing, easy to handle, and meet the needs of on-the-go consumers. They are spill-proof and offer higher quality and better sealing than competitive containers. Convenient sizes meet today’s busy consumer lifestyles and enable healthier, controlled portion sizes.

The PET beverage collection is available in round, hourglass, and square shapes and comes in four sizes (12oz, 16oz, 32oz, and 64oz). Three filling types include cold-fill for dairy and juice, aseptic for dairy and juice, and high-pressure processing (HPP) for juice. A broad range of preforms enables stock and custom bottle designs ranging from 8oz to 16oz for single-serve and 28oz to 68oz for multiple-serve applications. Labeling alternatives include wrap, shrink, or pressure-sensitive labels (barring hourglass design).

The large, comprehensive product line enables multiple applications and one-stop shopping for manufacturers thanks to the availability of three shapes, four bottle capacities, three finishes, and three filling types, according to Amcor. Multiple applications for each SKU enable efficient and cost-effective product management. The stock bottle collection also offers compelling shapes and sleek premium designs which help brand owners achieve differentiation on the store shelf.

Capital costs are reduced because fewer change parts are required to change from incumbent bottles as well as between the different shapes of a given size in the stock portfolio. This cost advantage applies to both the filling equipment and the blow moulding machine.