Same Berry Taste, But Half The Sugar

An Israeli startup says it’s developed technology that naturally removes up to half the sugar from blueberry, strawberry, and cherry juices, without affecting their taste or texture.

Better Juice replaces the sugar with other sweet molecules, keeping all of the nutrients without altering the taste.

It uses natural enzymes to convert sugars in juice to non-digestible compounds, like dietary fibers. 

The startup reduces the sugar content of berry juices by 30 to 50 percent, and though the sweetness is not identical, the process preserves the same natural flavors and textures.

The technology, tested with manufacturers in the EU, the US, Australia, and Brazil, can reduce up to 80 percent of the simple sugar content in fruit juices and fruit-based condiments without affecting the naturally occurring nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

“Forest fruit (berries) juices contain 10 percent or more sugar, with berry and cherry juices comprised of 10-20 percent sucrose and the remainder fructose and glucose,” explains Eran Blachinsky, co- founder and Co-CEO of Better Juice.

“Our technology reduces the loads of all three of these simple sugars. This will allow more people to enjoy berry-based juices.”

The technology works both with pulp-filled juices, pressed/squeezed juices, and juices from concentrate (fruit pulp whose water has been filtered out for transport, and then mixed with water during bottling).

Gali Yaron, co-founder and co-CEO, said: “By implementing a ‘plug-and-play’ approach, we were able to produce fruit drinks with the same nutritional value and mouthfeel as the original products, with only a slightly toned-down sweetness.

“The feedback was most promising, with several companies expressing a strong interest in continuing to work with us to bring these products to market. We are currently in advanced discussions with several major US-based fruit juice companies to install our technology in their juice production systems. We project sugar-reduced forest fruit juices will reach the shelves early next year.”

Better Juice was founded in 2018, and is headquartered in Ness Ziona, central Israel.