Company and Fruit Industry News

At iTi Tropicals,  we’re excited about coconut water’s versatility as a low-calorie base for 100% juice blends.  How about reducing your 100% red Concord grape juice from 170 calories to 67 in a blend with coconut water or being able to introduce a 100% cranberry juice/coconut water blend at 42 calories?

Take a look at how coconut water reduces calorie counts for the following juices when blends in a 75% coconut water 25% juice mixture.

Calories per 8 fl oz serving:

The opportunities are plentiful. The opportunity for a cranberry/coconut blend is particularly interesting as a 100% cranberry juice is not possible due to its inherent tardiness but blending it with coconut water presents a very interesting low calorie, healthy product. Also blending high calorie products like apple and red concord sharply reduce per serving calories while coconut water imparts minimal flavor.

Health benefits aside, what makes coconut water (CWC) so compelling is that the standard for CWC is 5 brix. Thus a 60 brix concentrate can be diluted from 6.436 solids to 0.424 solids per gallon. This equates to one gallon of concentrate to 15.2 gallons of single strength. The equivalent of 100 truckloads of pineapple concentrate result in approximately 600 loads of single strength juice while 100 truckload of CWC result in approximately more than 2 ½ times this or 1,500 loads of single strength juice.

Aside from the fact that it will blend easily due to its gentle flavor and translucent color, CWC has a very low caloric load and well known nutritional benefits.

Coconut water is the translucent, free flowing liquid obtained from the inside of a coconut. For years, coconut water has been used as a natural source of nutrition, wellness, beauty and hydration. Coconut water is nutritious, low in calories, fat fee and has no cholesterol. It is also a very good source of potassium and a good source of magnesium. Barely processed, containing no refined sugars, and with only one ingredient on its ingredient list, coconut water is nature's own miracle sports drink. Coconut water can be safely labeled as 100% fruit juice.

The health benefits of coconut water are widely known. 100% natural coconut water is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a natural isotonic juice and a natural source of essential electrolytes. The "water or fluid of life" which has a similar chemical makeup to human blood plasma naturally provides effective hydration & mineral replenishment for aiding bodily and muscular functions.

In 2004 at an IFU conference in Stuttgart, Paul Zwicker, head of the IFU codex task force, confirmed that the IFU has decided that coconut water is a fruit juice and is therefore subject to the regulations of Codex. The new Codex General Standard for Fruit Juices and Nectars was  adopted by the end of 2005.

Because we believe so strongly in the potential of CWC, we are offering exclusive product formulation services to our customers. iTi's research and development technologists can help you develop formulas. We are equipped to provide samples as well as present seminars and demonstrations in order to educate our customers about coconut water and other exotic fruits they are curious about.

iTi would also like to extend an invitation to visit our test kitchen for a hands-on demonstration of our products and applications which may be relevant to your business. You can work side-by-side with our R&D staff in the preparation of prototypes using your formulation or relying on our library of prototype formulas as a starting point for your product. Let us help you take the guesswork out of your development and move your new product along to market introduction. Please contact our R&D staff to discuss your project and to make an appointment for your visit.