Better Juice and GEA invests in sugar-reduction technology testing facility in Germany

GERMANY – Israeli start-up Better Juice has partnered with GEA Group, a German supplier of systems and components for the F&B sector, to establish a novel facility in Germany to test sugar-reduction technology.

The partners said the center which is termed the “meeting point in the sweetener sector”, will offer lab services for testing all essential analytical parameters.

Gali Yarom, co-Founder and co- CEO of Better Juice explained that the pilot center creates a high-tech venue where the duo can host companies – mainly from the EU, but also from all over the world.

Other than being a benchmarking center, the facility will also be a learning, plugin, and taste product center for the products that will be recreated with the Better Juice process in a workshop environment.

The startup has a patent-pending technology that utilizes an enzymatic process to convert simple sugars such as fructose, glucose, and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules.

The technology, according to Better Juice, maintains the full flavor and complements the vitamins and nutrients of the fruit.

The company explained that the technology can reduce up to 80% of sugars in natural fruit juices as well as in fruit-based compositions, such as purées.

Dr. Eran Blachinsky, co-founder and co-CEO of Better Juice said: “We set up a readily accessible platform for juice and fruit processing companies.”

Those companies should be seeking to actively contribute their part to the global quest for reducing sugar consumption and concurrently give their products an added wellness edge.”

This new facility is anticipated to be the cornerstone of the sealed commercial deal between Better Juice and GEA in 2021 that is aimed at bringing reduced-sugar juices made using the proprietary enzymatic process of Better juice to supermarkets.

As part of the first commercial order, the fruit drinks manufacturer would produce natural juices with a minimum sugar reduction of 30% that are set to be launched in supermarkets by spring 2022.

Reducing the amount of sugar in products continues to claim its spot as one of the most important trends in the sector.

Recently, the UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe announced that the European soft drinks sector has surpassed the EU target for reduction in added sugar by achieving a 14.6% sugar reduction from 2015 to 2019.

The sector has become the first and only sector to surpass the 10% target that was to be achieved by 2020.

The achievement has enabled it to restore confidence that efforts to cut the amount of sugar in beverages are delivering results.

Additional measures saw the sector deliver a 3.6% reduction in average added sugars between 2019 and 2021, said UNSDA, marking a 17.7% reduction since 2015 (covering all soft drinks except water and juices).

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