Better Juice, Limited., the first foodtech startup to develop innovative technology to reduce all types of sugars in orange juice, announces its patent-pending technology is now scaling up. 

The startup is installing a semi-industrial pilot plant that also will be available for future testing at global partners’ plants. This plant features the company’s sugar reduction process in a continuous flow technology that ensures a consistent, safe, and effective enzymatic process.

The company developed an enzymatic technology that uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules. 

The company’s new pilot plant system marks a significant milestone in the startup’s commercial scale-up timeline.

 It is able to reduce up to 80 per cent of simple sugar in orange juice at a rate of up to 50 liters/hour. Better Juice’s non-GMO technology is designed to target the specific sugar composition in the orange juice to naturally create a low calorie reduced-sugar product that has a delicate sweetness.

 It is accomplished without using sweeteners or other additives to replace the sugars in the juice.    

Eran Blachinsky, PhD, founder and CEO of Better Juice, said, “We’ve signed collaboration agreements with several global juice producers so far. Our goal is to attain full industrial scale and supply to the market within a year. Soon, you will be able to see natural juice beverages with more favorable Nutri-Scores.”

 Nutri-Score is a new food label system that converts the nutritional value of products into a clear letter and color code on the packaging in Europe.

“Juice and beverage manufacturers are increasingly aware of the need to reduce the sugar levels in their products before new labeling initiative goes into action. By using Better Juice technology, this will be easy to achieve,” added Blachinsky.

Maintaining juice quality through scale up 

The fruit juice industry, like any other, is constantly seeking ways to improve profitability. Adding a new procedure to the juice manufacturing by definition add costs. It uses a continuous flow technology that will only slightly influence the incremental costs to the overall price. 

One of the major hurdles in continuous flow reduction of sugars in natural juices is keeping the process contamination-free even through large-scale production, without damaging the enzymatic activity.

 The company developed a new device crafted from stainless steel, with aseptic fittings and welding, together with a unique process that guarantees a continuous, safe flow for its enzymatic sugar-reduction process for weeks at a time without interrupting the sterilization stage.

Gali Yarom, Partner, COO, and VP of Business Development for Better Juice, said, “The scale-up pilot plant is designed for smooth implementation into the standard procedures deployed by the juice industry.”

“Better Juice’s new tech process is cost-effective by virtue of its ability to maintain the continuous flow stage. This is a key factor for beverage manufacturers seeking to affordably reduce sugars naturally while maintaining the juice quality and clean label attributes, a real game changer for the juice industry,” added Yarom.