Welch’s, America’s largest grape juice brand, and Taura Natural Ingredients have created a breakthrough partnership that means inclusions produced from Welch’s famous Concord Grape Juice and Purée will be available to manufacturers of products such as nutrition bars, confectionery, bakery products and breakfast cereals for the first time. To be marketed as FruitWorx®, the new inclusions will contain all the taste and goodness of the Concord Grape for which Welch’s range of premium juices are famous.
Under the terms of the deal, Taura Natural Ingredients will create concentrated pieces and pastes from Welch’s Concord Grape Juice and Purée using its URC® process at its factory in Mount Maunganui. FruitWorx® pieces and pastes will initially be available in Welch’s key markets of North America, Japan and South Korea, with other geographies set to follow later. Production volumes are set to be in the region of several hundred tonnes in the first year, with significant growth forecast in subsequent years.
Peter Tinholt, GM of Taura Natural Ingredients New Zealand, said: “This is great news for Taura Natural Ingredients but also for Mount Maunganui’s economy and New Zealand’s export market. Our US-based team did a fantastic job to make the deal happen and our local technical and operations teams here in New Zealand should be congratulated on the hard work they put in to demonstrate to Welch’s that Taura Natural Ingredients would be their perfect partner.”
The agreement represents a significant technological development. The slip skin and large seeds of the Concord Grape make it difficult to use as an inclusion. However, using Taura Natural Ingredients’ technology to create FruitWorx® opens up a world of new opportunities with unlimited potential. Innovative concepts now available include Welch’s Concord Grape Juice and Purée pieces enrobed in chocolate to make tasty treats, or combined with ancient grains to create exciting and nutritious new breakfast cereals. FruitWorx® pieces and pastes, with their natural fruit sugars, are also perfect for delicious snack bars.
American consumers have been enjoying Welch’s Concord Grape Juices for more than 140 years. Behind the Welch’s brand are approximately 1,000 committed family-farmer owners and the distinctive Concord Grapes they have grown for generations. This one-of-a-kind dark purple grape is bold, delicious and delivers natural plant nutrients called polyphenols, similar to those found in red wine. In fact, Welch’s 100% Grape Juice, made with Concord Grapes, has a greater concentration of polyphenols than many other commonly consumed juices. In addition, research shows that Welch’s 100% Grape Juice can help support heart health by promoting healthy circulation.
Developed by Taura Natural Ingredients, URC® (Ultra Rapid Concentration) is a unique process of concentrating the taste, texture and natural goodness of fruit into pieces, flakes and pastes for use in a wide range of exciting formats – either alone or in combination with other fruits, and blended with grains including ancient grains such as chia.
