Better Juice, Ltd. has adapted its sugar-reduction technology to lower the sugar loads in fruit sorbets.
Sorbets typically include around 50% puréed fruit, added sugars or alternative sweeteners and water. Sorbets are generally viewed by consumers as refreshing delights, imbued with natural goodness from real fruits. However, sorbets have naturally high sugar content.
“Even products claiming zero added sugar still house approximately 6% to 10% percent sugar from the fruit juice concentrates alone,” says Gali Yarom, co-founder and CEO of Better Juice.
Sorbet’s glycemic index typically surpasses that of ice cream because it contains sugar from the fruits and no fat, leading to quicker absorption of sugars into the bloodstream.
To create sugar-reduced sorbets, the company successfully adapted its patent-protected technology to process fruit concentrates and purées. Better Juice has produced sorbets in a range of flavors, including apple, orange, and strawberry, reducing sugar content by 50% to-70% and calories by 40%.
Better Juice’s enzymatic technology is based on non-GMO microorganisms that naturally transform fruit juice’s composition of sucrose, glucose and fructose into prebiotic oligosaccharides and other non-digestible fibers, without any impact on their natural complex of vitamins, fiber and nutrients. The fruit juices are treated in continuous-flow columns that contain immobilized sugar-reducing beads.
“We succeeded in creating delicious sorbets with as little as 2% percent sugar,” Yarom says. “Our treated sorbets possess a more gentle sweetness yet retain all their characteristic fruity notes and flavor. Yet they have fewer calories and a lower glycemic index.”
Better Juice will provide its technological breakthrough to ice cream chains and CPG ice cream and sorbet manufacturers via small, easy-to-use plug-in units that contain the patented immobilized enzymes. Manufacturers will be able to reduce the sugar content of their products, including ice creams with fruit, at desired levels of up to 80%.
Ice cream makers will alternatively have the option of sourcing reduced sugar concentrates from other B2B/C Juice manufacturers in U.S. holding agreements with the company to install the sugar-reduction device in their facilities.
Better Juice recently obtained self-affirmed GRAS status from the U.S. FDA, allowing it to sell its products in the U.S. The company will initially commercialize its solution for sorbet and ice cream in the U.S. but also plans to extend its services to Europe and other regions.
“This accomplishment showcases our ability to broaden the scope of applications that our technology can apply to,” says Eran Blachinsky, co-founder and CTO of Better Juice. “Its potential goes beyond just fruit juices to any product that contains real fruit components, such as jams and fruit roll-ups, which are also in the pipeline for a Better Juice sugar reduction makeover. We deliver good news to consumers who are consciously seeking to reduce their sugar intake or with sugar sensitivities without having to give up the enjoyment of these sweet delights.”
Last January, Better Juice announced its collaboration with Ingredion Incorporated. Ingredion Ventures, Ingredion’s venture investment arm, will lead the Series A funding round for Better Juice which will fast-track penetration of its breakthrough sugar-reduction solution into the U.S. juice market.
