Chinese Drinking Habits Changing
Posted - November 1, 2008
From Tea to Wine and Coffee
By Mark Muzhuo - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2008
Tea is the most common daily drink in China. But for the upscale, highly educated consumer, things may be changing. Coffee and wine are finding strong acceptance, among affluent young professionals influenced by western lifestyles. Even though China produces the “robusta” coffee variety and imports some from Vietnam, the well known “arabiga” variety grown in Colombia, Peru and Brasil, may find an interesting niche at luxury hotels, restaurants and gourmet stores.
According to Coffee Festival, 2008 coffee consumption in China has increased by 15% every year. The coffee market is expected to grow by 70% in total volume sales between 2003- 2008 to reach 11,073 tones. Moreover, as tariffs on coffee imports go down, and more affluent Chinese consumers enjoy the taste, coffee may gradually become an integral part of the Chinese lifestyle in a few years.
With growing health concerns, and an emerging middle class, wine is seen as a healthier drink, taking over white spirit and beer, the traditionally prefered drinks by the Chinese.
“China already operates a remarkable vineyard area with more than 400,000 hectares,” says Henry Muehlbauer, sales manager of Riegel Weinimport, leading European organic wine distributor. “There are already some really good organic wines from China in the market”, he says.
The giant country of over 1.3 billion people and a growing demand for western products, is definitely opening up opportunities for imported wines. “Red wine –known to be healthy for the cardiovascular system – is quite popular in Asian countries”, says Muehlbauer.
During BioFach China, Riegel Weinimport forged contacts with buyers from the whole Asia-Pacific region to launch trials with an assortment of organic wines. And even though most Chinese consumers are not familiar with wine, or do not know how to distinguish good wine, the effort to train their palates is a chance companies like Riegel Weinimport may find rewarding. The wine market in China is growing over 15% per year with a high margin of 30-50% for high-end brands.
Around the world, organic wine represents only 2.3% of all vineyards, half of its production concentrated in Italy, France and Spain. But it is a booming segment, as witnessed during the past Biofach fair in Nuremberg, where 336 wine exhibitors from 21 nations presented an ever growing number of quality organic wines. And with the growing number of Chinese interested to disrupt their daily intake of tea with a cup of organic and specialty coffee or at least a glass of organic wine per week, there is a promising potential for organics in the largest market in the world.
Cocktails
Posted - May 1, 2008
Organic Twist in Cocktails
By Adrian Larose - as printed in O.W.N. Summer 2008
To reach a generation addicted to the fast energy of sugary drinks, conscientious firms are offering organic, better-for-you beverages to appeal to fun-seeking young adults.
Many popular energy drinks are a nutritionist’s nightmare, with synthetic ingredients and uncertain health effects. Even worse, some are regularly mixed with alcohol despite packaging labels that warn against it.
Such alcohol consumption is quite common amongst the young. Almost 40% of US adults aged 18-25 engage in binge drinking - consuming more than 4-5 drinks quickly - according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. In Britain, alcohol-related hospital admissions among the under 18 rose 20% between 2000 and 2005, the BBC reported, to reach 7,500 in 2004-2005.
What organic products do beverage companies offer up that are healthier, tastier and appealing to such a market? Voelkel’s organic Pina Colada, a pineapple and coconut blend, won the 2008 BioFach Jury Award. The fruit-filled drink is a sure bet for health-conscious youngsters. “It was a new and ground-breaking idea to bring out an organic cocktail without alcohol in a longneck bottle,” says Roswitha Kutzner, with Voelkel’s marketing department .”Particularly young people like this.” The Germany-based firm is a leading producer of “direct juices” fresh-squeezed from fruits and vegetables.
Also in Germany, and now coming to North America, is BIONADE. The dynamic firm produces a non-alcoholic, bubbly brew in longneck bottles. Available in flavours like Lychee and Herbs, the organic drink has a light sweetness instead of alcohol. “BIONADE appeals to young and old, children and health conscious and it is a great mixer”, says Eike Buschmann, sales director. Targeting mainstream, hip markets with attractive packaging, rather than focusing on only health food markets, was key to BIONADE’s success in the general European market.
In North America, Costco Wholesale Corporation is a giant of mainstream retail. The USDA organic energy drink Sea2o is now sold in its stores, as well as at Whole Foods Market. Sea2o’s organic conversion came after Costco suggested an earlier version of the drink would sell better as certified organic, says Kent Lindor, executive vice president of Sea2o Inc.
Sweetened with agave for a slow energy boost and flavoured with organic fruit, the product’s demographic is usually left out of energy drink marketing: women 35-54. “We’re bringing people into the energy drink market that never would have gotten there before,” says Lindor.
Also seeking mainstream markets is The Organic Beverage Company. Its agave-sweetened Syzmo energy drinks tested a 30 on the glycemic index in a Canadian lab, says Jeff O’Neal, company president. Colas test about a 60 on the GI scale. Lower numbers indicate slower, healthier sugar digestion.
“It’s important to go after the mainstream market, because that’s where the obesity is,” O’Neal says. Syzmo’s energy rush comes from organically-extracted tea caffeine. The drink is sold in 3 flavours in the United States, with Canada likely to launch later this year.
Infinite Energy drinks and Infinite Wellness drinks from Kaboom Infinite are based on natural fruit juices without carbonation. USDA certified organic, “we don’t spare any expense in terms of the ingredients we source,” says company President Richard Symington. The Wellness line comes in attractive frosted glass bottles, while Energy comes in tall, slim cans lately associated with hip drinks.
Focused on purity is Frützzo’s line of high-antioxidant fruit juices, sold in organic and all-natural qualities in innovative, rounded bottles. All contain no artificial ingredients, nor added sugar. Leading the trends in super-fruits, its juices include the appealing hues of pomegranate, blueberry and yumberry. Frützzo’s has hit the shelves of large retailers including Costco and Whole Foods Market.
The certified organic variety of wines, beers and spirits is also expanding, as seen at BioFach and Expo West this year. Try an organic pint from Neumarkter Lammsbraü, an almost 400-year-old brewery that has followed eco-friendly methods since the late 1970s. The brewery launched Europe’s first certified organic beer in 1992, gluten-free and an alcohol-free beers and all products are now certified organic. The total production of about 6 million litres makes this Europe’s largest organic brewery.
For a more exotic tipple, try organic cachaca. Fazenda Santa Rosa is introducing Canaan Organic Cachaca, a fermented drink from organic certified molasses. The Brazilian firm handles every production step, including growing the sugar cane. An if you get a craving for a Pisco Sour, 300-year-old Peruvian firm La Caravedo has the world’s first organic Pisco, certified since 2004.
With more organic choices like these at the main fairs and retail shelves, consumers can relax with a tasty drink and rest assured the organic brew does both their health and the environment good.
Beyond Corn Syrup
Posted - September 1, 2007
Save Us from Corn Syrup:
Try Low-Calorie Natural Sweeteners
By David Giovinazzo - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2007
A visitor to our planet viewing the six o’clock news couldn’t help but seeing that in many countries, huge waste-lines and diabetes are big problems. The American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that, in the past 15 years, the number of people suffering from diabetes II has more than doubled. The culprits? Certainly two are refined sugar and corn syrup. Many think high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the main cause.
HFCS raises insulin levels higher than refined sugar. And it causes the liver to make triglycerides - a bad cholesterol. In the past years, with sugar tariffs up, and corn prices down, HFCS use has boomed. Now you can find it in almost all processed foods, from breakfast cereals to canned foods - much to the detriment of those suffering its consequences.
What can be done? Several low-calorie, natural sweeteners have come to the rescue. One of the most popular is stevia -a plant related to the chrysanthemum and sunflower. Three hundred times sweeter than sugar, it was first discovered 200 years ago by the Guarani people in Paraguay. But both the US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada have banned it as a sweetener, only allowing it to be advertised as a dietary supplement.
The European Union has also banned it. But, given the need for sweeteners to replace refined sugar and corn syrup, why hasn’t more research been done on stevia? At least one lobby group in the European Stevia Association (EUSTAS) founded in 2006 wants just that. EUSTAS’ goal is the compilation of an application for the permission of the sweet contents (steviol glycoside) of the plant Stevia rebaudiana as food additive to be submitted to the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) of the European Commission.
Meanwhile, the giants Cargill and Coca Cola have joined to “refine” stevia, to reduce it’s aftertaste that some users have complained about. The two giants have described rebiana, the processed stevia, as “the industry’s first natural, zero-calorie sweetener.” But the rebiana is processed, so not so natural. And, with stevia’s two hundred-year history, neither is a natural, zero-calorie sweetener new.
Nor is stevia itself the only natural, low-calorie, sweetener. Wholesome Sweeteners, a Texas-based company, has come out with “Organic Zero”, made from organically grown sugar, but without calories. Seventy percent as sweet as sugar, and with a glycemic index of zero, consumers can use it in baking. Glycemic indexing ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on blood sugar levels - so is vital to diabetics and other with metabolic disorders. Karen Stevenson of Wholesome Sweeteners explains, “Organic Zero is also highly digestible - important for people who prefer calorie-free, low glycemic-index sweeteners as many of the others on the market cause significant digestive distress.”
Another natural sweetener is banana syrup. “As far as we know” says Daniel Orlich of Florida Products, of Costa Rica, “we were the first company developing banana syrup as an alternative natural sweetener that blends well with milk.” The syrup, he adds, is good at masking unpleasant flavours in some foods, and is rich in potassium. A company also busy making low-glycemic syrup is New York based Organic Nectars. It makes one from the agave plant, known for its lowest glycemic index of all natural sweeteners.
And then there is panela a “peasants food” Latin America, also common in Asia and India. It is a granulated, yellow-brown caramel product that you can eat as is, or dissolved in liquids. It is sweet, but has more nutrients than sugar, such as vitamins A, C, D and E and glycolic acid, according to Juan Manuel Duran of sugar cane farm Lucerna in Colombia.
Meanwhile, growers are cultivating stevia in South America, China and Canada. While the Coca Cola Cargill project is recent, smaller producers have promoted it for years. Cindy Levington, who, with her husband Paul, runs Suede Hills Organic Farm in Savona, British Columbia states “The farm first grew stevia about four years ago, starting with 400 plants. Now, we plant about 15,000 annually.” But the market for stevia shows its growth in her e-mail box. “I receive e-mails daily, from those who want to buy not only my product, but also my entire crop!”
In 2006, Global Industry Analysts have reported that the global sweetener market is growing at 3.7%. Where health improves, profits follow. With refined sugar and corn syrup - and certain artificial sweeteners, showing themselves far from ideal, little doubt the market for low-calorie, truly natural sweeteners like stevia will boom. And hopefully, many waste lines will bust.
Quinoa Beverage
Posted - September 1, 2007
First Quinoa Drink on the Market:
“I was tired of all the high caffeine energy drinks”
By Sebastian Velásquez - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2007
Nowadays, it is possible to find a processed product made of quinoa, which fits perfectly in the mass markets: Quinoa Gold. A canned beverage that comes with all the nutritious characteristics from organic grains, and in addition brings the flavor and the shape to become a product of high consumption. Quinoa Gold, an American company based in Newport, Rhode Island, was founded only one year ago, and with an energetic development after trying with different laboratories, finally got this smoothly canned beverage 100% organic. Quinoa Gold is sweetened with agave syrup, known as very low in calories, is gluten-free, rich in vitamins and minerals and contains high levels of magnesium & manganese, two great anti-oxidants.
Quinoa Gold founder Marcus Edwards fell in love with the grain while living in Ecuador, for several years, and decided to concentrate all efforts in the formulation and design of a unique delicious and nutritious quinoa beverage. “I knew as years passed that quinoa grain would be discovered and gain popularity,” Edwards said. Quinoa Gold does not need refrigeration a desirable feature for distributors.
The past April, Quinoa Gold was launched along the United States and soon hopes to enter Whole Foods Market and then natural stores. With a suggested retail price of $3,49 per 16-oz glass bottle, Quinoa Gold plans to offer the drink to schools and provide children three tasty flavors, berry, mango and pinacolada. ” Consumers are looking for convenience and healthy alternatives.,” he says. I knew a beverage would be the best presentation to fulfill this request” Edwards continues.
The Quinoa Gold grain is supplied by Inca Organics, an American company that trades directly with indian cooperatives from Ecuador, running under strict policies of fair trade and social responsibility with the native people and their communities.
Exotic Juices
Posted - September 1, 2007
Exotic Juices Drive the Market
By Adriana Michael - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2007
Consumers are worried about what they drink. No wonder, given the market’s profusion of high-glucose drinks contributing, according to recent research, to making more of us obese or diabetic. In the past decade, new exotic fruit and fruit drinks have come on the markets of industrialized countries. Consumers are also seeking more variety of flavors and drinks that promote well-being and anti-aging. And the market for organic juices, though very competitive, has had its pioneers who have done well.
Ten years ago, who would have put acai, pomegranates, goji berries or schisandra on their shopping list? Take Brazil’s acai. From 2005 to the present, the US market for acai has gone from three to $14 US million. And Data Monitor, covering the US market, reports that the number of new products containing pomegranate jumped from 31 in 2003 to 190 in 2005. In Europe, between 2001 and 2004, organic exotic fruit was a main driver behind the 26 percent growth in the organic food industry. Juices with fruits that naturally boast a wealth of nutrients, especially antioxidants, are perceived as desirable promoters of health and wellness.
A report by San Francisco’s Centre for Culinary Development says that consumers find exotic fruits popular as they are attracted to foods that are healthy, trendy and adventurous. Marie-Helene Molyneaux, president of the US Natural Marketing Institute, says that consumers are eager to discover new flavours and willing to try out new products regardless of brand. Of special interest are those high in antioxidants that may be helpful in fighting a wide variety of diseases from premature ageing to certain types of cancer.
The organic fruit juice market is tough to enter. First, the competition is great. In Europe, around one hundred firms share the organic juice market. In North America, a few large conventional beverage firms dominate the market. Second, small companies lack the means to distribute their product widely. The solution: Product differentiation, suggests Organic Monitor, a research firm based in the UK. New flavours, state-of-the-art technology, unique processing to keep the fruits in their most natural state possible, attractive, convenient packaging, merchandising and promotion tend to ensure a product’s success.
Amongst others, four pioneers have shown the way. Award-winning Frutzzo is introducing the yumberry juice, one of the trendiest new exotic flavours to watch this fall. Frutzzo was the first company to bring organic acai and pomegranate to the US market, starting a trend in new exotic-fruit drinks. Bionade, formerly a German brewer, has introduced the first fruit-based, organic-certified, non-alcoholic soft drink developed from beer-brewing principles on the market. Bionade has been a hit in Germany and started distribution to other countries. Canadian company Sol Mate, has produced the world’s first organic-certified, yerba-mate energy drink. At Expo East this September, Zana is being introduced as the first marketable schizandra functional drink made from fresh (not dried) organic schizandra berries.
Mexican Coffee
Posted - September 1, 2006
Mexican Organic Coffee Growers:
Small Producers Go Big Time
By Tanja Goedecke - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2006
What is the world’s second biggest commodity? Coffee. What is the world’s largest producer of organically grown coffee? Mexico - with 147,000 ha under organic cultivation. Mexico is a big producer with almost wholly small producers: small farms with less than five ha. Three million Mexicans depend of the coffee trade. Most are in the far south, many in Oaxaca. Most live in dire poverty.
But there are three ways to make things better: cooperatives, organics and fair trade. In 1990, some small-scale coffee growers organized themselves into production communities so circumvent middlemen, so getting better prices. Today 110 of these associations have 6,600 grower-members.
At the same time, Germany’s Naturland and the US-based DANA association, spread the word to small growers about organic farming, organic certification and finding export partners in the US and Europe. Today, Naturland Association has 60 members in Mexico with 15,000 small holders producing organic certified coffee. Almost all are small grower associations - only five own larger plantations.
One organic producer doing moderately well is Jesus Galguera Gomez. In 1988-89, Naturland certified Galguera Gomez, who owns two plantations of about 100 ha each. But exporting is perilous. Recently, his biggest importer in Europe switched to FairTrade certified coffee only. But FairTrade told Galguera Gomez that his plantations were too big to get their certification. Meanwhile, mainstream European importers will only accept bigger crops of unroasted beans larger than those he can produce. Galguera Gomez’s plantations, too big and too small, lead him to roast beans for the local market. He can now sell 70% of his coffee to chain stores like Pitico in Oaxaca. And he already has his eyes on the export market for roasted beans.
Some cooperatives have done well too. In the early 1990s, small-scale Oaxaca coffee growers founded the Yeni Navan cooperative. It now has 1100 small-scale farming members. Naturland and FairTrade certified them. This provides the farmers with a secure incomes as the FairTrade partners guarantee to buy all of the coffee they produce at $1.41 US. In good years, the cooperative spends a peso (about $0.11 US) for each pound of coffee on improving transport, streets and warehouses. The cooperative produces about 500 tonnes a year, selling 85% to Europe and roasting 15% for the local market.
But organic producers in Oaxaca offer more than organic coffee. Naturland’s Peter Granz, instructs Oaxaca’s farmers in organic growing and exporting. Says Ganz, use the right coffee plants and the right by-vegetation; shade-trees, for example, can protect the plantation from insect pests. What works for coffee plantations works for other organic crops: vegetables, fruit, herbs, and producing honey and Mezcal. Cooperatives, fair trade and organics are bearing fruit in Oaxaca.
Water Nutrients
Posted - September 1, 2006
Bringing Clarity to Water Quality
O.W.N. News Network - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2006
For years, several types of water based products, including wellness drinks have been coming to market.
The question is whether these drinks provide the vitality and health benefits that they claim to? According to Dr. Joerg von Oertzen of the recently established German company Biophox, there is a way to test for the vitality of water - by using biophotonic applications.
“Biophotonic testing methods are so sensitive that you can distinguish water from different springs. Even tiny microbiological contaminations can be easily detected”, says Dr. Oertzen.
Biophotonic testing methods have been in use for some time now, but recently Biophox begun working to make water-testing technology more widely available. We started to transfer the devices from the prototype status to market-ready applications.
One biophotonic water-testing method is a spin-off of experiments designed to determine the germination capacity of seeds. It was discovered that some water leads to better germination of seeds than others. The test is sensitive enough to easily distinguish, for example, between filtered tap water and natural spring water.
In combination with other testing methods developed at the International Institute of Biophysics in Germany biophotonic testing can help form water profiles. The devices used can also be hooked up at water pipes to control the quality of water in real-time.
The company’s goals are to develop products that recognize water contamination instantly, to distinguish high-quality from low-quality food and to achieve considerable progress in medical diagnostics and therapy. Market groups that could benefit from this state-of-the-art technology include beverage manufacturers, waterworks, laboratories, manufacturers and commercial enterprises of the food sector as well as health professionals, clinics, therapists and research establishments.
Dr. Oertzen says that the company also plans to develop versions affordable to consumers.
Clean Water
Posted - February 1, 2005
Drinking Water Needs Cleaning:
Which is the Best Water for the Organic Sector?
By Dr. Sabah A. A. Jassim - as printed in O.W.N. Spring 2005
Research shows that drinking water, including bottled water, contains impurities that can cause health problems and infections that can resist typical antibiotics.
Drinking water contaminants include microbial, inorganic or organic substances, or residues of human drugs. These contaminants don’t often threaten immediately the health of most people. However, people with weakened immune systems - HIV/AIDS, patients receiving chemotherapy or who have had organ transplants, the elderly and infants - are more vulnerable to infections and allergy to such contaminants.
Some pharmaceutical compounds - which have been excreted in urine - are resistant to standard water-treatment processes. According to research, 80% of a typical dose of a pharmaceutical is excreted in urine: on average, people retain only 20% of a dose. Thus, some medicines can remain in the water supply for long periods of time.
Consuming water with residual pharmaceuticals over time can pose significant health risks. Bacterial or viral strains highly resistant to antimicrobial agents could emerge.
Other contributors to dirty” water are upswings in human and animal population density. The results are elevated levels of microbial contamination in drinking and recreational water. Microbes in drinking-water remain a major cause of illness and death worldwide, particularly in developing nations.
There is undoubtedly a need for a rapid inexpensive microbiological approach for bacterial identification and detection in water industries - in particular ones that can detect and identify important human pathogens, and microbial biofilms.
Professor Dr. Sabah A. A. Jassim. Department of Microbiology, Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. profjassim@yahoo.co.uk
Water Solutions
Posted - February 1, 2005
Solutions for Improving Drinking Water Are Available
By Staff - Organic & Wellness News - as printed in O.W.N. Spring 2005
Not satisfied with the effectiveness of conventional tap water purification methods, researchers have embarked in a fascinating journey studying the behavior and structure of water.
The discoveries are amazing. Agroisolab GmbH confirmed that the structure of water changes depending on the region where it comes from, leaving a geographic fingerprint in all organic matter. This natural labelling offers reliable food traceability.
IBE Techno Co. Ltd. has conducted several studies on pi-water, which is the water that normally flows in vegetal and animal tissues. Pi-water has high antioxidant properties, eliminates free radicals, enhances antibody activities and improves cell absorption. Knovo Beteiligungs and Hemo Trade introduced the concept of pi-water to the West. They have compiled evidence of pi-water improving crops and the processing of food, beverages and cosmetics. Grander and Ojas also offering systems that improve tap water. Ojas uses it in its line of food & beverages.
Health by Nature AS introduced VIVATAP, a tea-bag like sachet that purifies and improves tap water. Bio-Quelle has found the way to recycle household wastewater for reuse in irrigation. Time to drink cleaned water!
Vivatap Sachet
Posted - September 1, 2004
New Vivatap “Teabag-Like Sachet” Purifies Tap Water On The Go
By O.W.N. - News Network - as printed in O.W.N. Fall 2004
Increasing consumer interest and demand for convenient solutions for improving health and wellness, and the growing volume of consumers always ‘on the go’ inspired chairman Einar Ager-Wick and his team at Health by Nature AS to develop Vivatap. This new development is a ‘teabag-like sachet’ which transforms tap water into tasty chlorine-free water at a fraction of the cost of bottled water. The sachet is made of rice paper and is filled with a carefully selected natural mixture of coral algae from the clear seas off Norway, and shell-sand, calcium ascorbate and chitosan.
“Coral algae is an organism with potent cleaning qualities. The treated coral algae and shell-sand mainly contain calcium carbonate (CaCO3), caustic lime (CaO), various minerals and trace elements that dissolve in water in a low pH”, explained marketing director Thor-Egil Eik.
This powerful combination includes ingredients like acerola powder rose hip powder, rutin and lemon oil that allow Vivatap to neutralize chlorine and stabilize the pH towards 7.5, remove pesticides thanks to the action of the vital natural trace elements, inhibit bacterial growth and improve smell and taste. With Vivatap there are no more expensive and heavy bottles to carry. Transportation of bottled water increases fuel use and costs, causing air pollution, while Vivatap comes in an easy-to-carry pack with 18 sachets, enough to purify up to 36 liters of water. Each outer case or retail box contains 20 Vivatap consumer packs inside enough to supply 720 liters of purer fresher tasting drinking water at at a cost sometimes ten times less than a bottle of water, depending on the local economy.
A health practitioner interested in the research on the important link between water and wellness, Mr. Ager -Wick and his team began research over a decade ago. “In most countries chlorine is added to tap water to cleanse it and keep it free from bacteria. However, once the water has left the tap, chlorine is no longer necessary. It not only adds an unpleasant taste to water, but it is one of the most toxic substances with by products that are linked to disease like cancer. With Vivatap it is possible to drink tap water without chlorine and still bacteria free.”
Vivatap is available in the United States and Northern European countries and was just launched in the UK in June via major distributor Brunel Healthcare. Shoppers in England are currently spending more than £1 billion a year on bottled water, the same amount they spent on organic food in 2003, according to the Soil Association.
Health by Nature AS is looking for distributors and parties interested in a licensing program. “We will make a major investment at the end of 2004 that will allow us to increase production capacity and drop our prices to ensure that Vivatap can be within reach of as many people as possible around the world”.
Fresh water, our major natural resource, is scarce. Eco-friendly initiatives to protect it and avoid waste, while enhancing its properties, is part of the mission at Health by Nature AS and its unique easy-to-use Vivatap.
