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Sugar Sweetened Beverages under further scrutiny
And robot-squeezed lemons, lower production in Brazil, movers and shakers, and yes, another report about the decline of citrus in Florida.
Jan van Iperen
January 09, 2025
For Professionals in the Juice and Citrus industry
I had to plow through hundreds of Dry January articles, topped off with a heap of posts about how Non-Alcoholic is going to be an (even more) hype in 2025. And more publications picked up the story about the Surgeon General asking for warning stickers…
Please be happy that you only see curated news here, because some days it is really a struggle to not be repetitive in topics.
Here we go.
In Today's newsletter:
This woman does not exist.
🧃 Juice News
Safety Shot (NASDAQ: SHOT) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Yerbaé Brands Corp., a plant-based energy beverage company that generated approximately $12 million in revenue in fiscal year 2023. The transaction, valued at $15.2 million in equity value and $19.7 million in enterprise value, will be executed through a share exchange where Yerbaé shareholders will receive 20 million SHOT shares, representing approximately 24.2% ownership of the combined company.
Steel, plastics, Florida orange juice on Canada's list of potential retaliatory tariffs against U.S.
The source said many of the steel products that are being considered for tariffs are produced in the key swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. A tariff on orange juice from Florida aims to send a message to Trump's adopted state, and the new centre of American power.
The study reveals concerning trends in sub-Saharan Africa, where SSB-related health problems increased significantly between 1990 and 2020. The region experienced the largest rise in SSB-attributable diabetes and cardiovascular disease cases, with increases of 8.8% and 4.4% respectively, coinciding with aggressive beverage industry marketing in emerging markets.
Demographics play a crucial role in sugary drink-related health outcomes. Men generally face higher risks than women, and younger adults show greater vulnerability compared to older populations. Urban residents demonstrate higher rates of SSB-related health issues than their rural counterparts. Education levels influence consumption patterns differently across regions, sometimes correlating with increased sugary drink intake and sometimes showing inverse relationships.
Victor Guardiola remembers the aguas frescas his mother made when he was a child, particularly the horchata and pineapple varieties. The 26-year-old, who was born in Monterrey, Mexico, moved with his family to Texas when he was two and subsequently traveled frequently between the two countries. This binational existence gave him a strong connection to his roots, and especially to Mexican food and drink.
He translated that bond into his company, Bawi, a line of canned sparkling aguas frescas he launched in 2019 in Austin.
To highlight yuzu, Monin has developed Monin yuzu puree. The puree is made with fruit particulates and no artificial ingredients, Monin said. It may be used in such applications as savory cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, marinades, sauces and others.
Tial, founded in 1986 in Visconde do Rio Branco (Minas Gerais), describes itself as a producer of ready-to-drink fruit-based beverages made with natural ingredients and no chemical additives. The company has an annual production capacity of 96 million liters. Currently, it offers 51 products, including nectars, 100% juices, other fruit-based beverages, and coconut water. In addition to domestic sales, the group exports to countries such as the United States, Japan, and Portugal.
Note: small group study, yet with promising outcome.
A clinical trial published in the journal Nutrients found that drinking 12 ounces of elderberry juice daily for a week causes positive changes in the gut microbiome and improves glucose tolerance and fat oxidation.
Elderberry, a small dark purple berry found on elder trees native to Europe, is commonly used as a medicinal plant and supplement to promote immune function. Its other potential health benefits are poorly understood, however.
Mindful drinking trends are reshaping social norms and consumer preferences.
Non-alcoholic beverages with adaptogens and nootropics offer purpose and enjoyment.
Celebrity-backed alcohol alternatives are gaining popularity and are redefining the social drinking culture.
The signature smoothie flavors include Mango, Strawberry-Banana and Berries. The 100% juice options include:
An energizing blend of orange, guava, and ginger.
A green juice made with pineapple, apple and nopal (tender cactus).
A not-from-concentrate orange juice.
🍊 Citrus News
Squeezing 2,000 lemons a day was such a pain for staff at Chick-fil-A Inc. that the company enlisted an army of robots to do it. In a plant north of Los Angeles, machines now squeeze as many as 1.6 million pounds of the fruit with hardly any human help. The facility, larger than the average Costco store at roughly 190,000 square feet, then ships bags of juice to Chick-fil-A locations, where workers add water and sugar to whip up the chain’s trademark lemonade.
The automated plant frees up in-store staff to serve customers faster, according to the company. Squeezing lemons was a tedious task that added up to 10,000 hours of work a day across all locations and resulted in many injured fingers. Removing the chore aims to make working at Chick-fil-A more appealing – key for a company looking to add hundreds of new locations while contending with a fast-food labor crunch.
São Paulo state and Triângulo Mineiro are likely to harvest 223.14 million 40.8-kilo boxes of oranges in the 2024/25 season, for an increase of 7.36 million boxes (or +3.4%) compared to the last projection, released in September, but still 9.24 million boxes less (or -4%) in relation to the first estimate (May 2024). Therefore, the current season may be 27.4% smaller than the previous (2023/24), when 307.22 million boxes were harvested – data from Fundecitrus.
The smaller production was already expected in 2024/25, due to unfavorable weather conditions and to the citrus greening disease.
The current scenario is: very limited orange juice stocks in Brazil. Thus, in order to guarantee the global OJ supply, the next production (2025/26) would need to increase in both Brazil and Florida.
A groundbreaking development in Morocco’s citrus export strategy is the establishment of a new maritime route connecting Agadir to Dakar, marking a significant step in strengthening trade ties with West African markets. This logistical enhancement promises to streamline transportation, reduce costs, and accelerate market access across the region.
Beyond African borders, Moroccan citrus fruits have gained substantial traction in key international markets, including the European Union, Russia, North America, and Canada.
The Continuing Decline of Florida’s Citrus Industry
The threat of freezing temperatures is a constant concern for Florida's citrus growers, evoking memories of past events such as the devastating freeze of 1989 that wiped out a majority of the state's citrus. Despite these challenges, growers like Boshell and Gude remain resilient, adopting innovative strategies to protect their crops and livestock. Gude's optimism is evident as he anticipates a healthy crop yield for the upcoming Kumquat Festival, highlighting not only the economic but also the nutritional value of kumquats, which are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.
Greening: It’s an issue Fritz Roka, an agribusiness professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, is no stranger to. “Right now, it’s looking pretty bleak,” said Roka. “It’s really bleak.” About 20 years ago, citrus greening ambushed Florida farmers.
“By the time we realized it, it was already beyond the point of no return for eradication,” said Roka. “So the goal was, how can we live with it? How can we combat it?” And despite the best and brightest minds in the world trying to find a cure: “We have not been able to conquer it,” said Roka.
In line with this: Alico Inc. CEO explains shift away from citrus industry
"The data show a significant decline in citrus activity compared to the previous three seasons," the authors explained, attributing the drop to factors such as low profitability, low prices for the industry, lower volumes exported, increased production costs, and competition from other markets.”
🔬 Research Worth Reading
“We are trying to deploy a biotechnological solution that is sustainable, easy for growers to deploy and replaces the need for spraying insecticides,” said Lukasz Stelinski, an entomology professor at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center. “That can’t be done completely with the current Bt trees and thus it might require some additional, albeit reduced, insecticide spraying for adults, for example.”
“We found that the evolution of the Citrus genus followed two radiations through two routes (to East China and Southeast Asia) along river systems. Evidence for the origin and evolution of some individual citrus species was provided. Papeda probably played an important role in the origins of Australian finger lime, citrons, Honghe papeda and pummelos; Ichang papeda originated from Yuanjiang city of Yunnan Province, China, and C. mangshanensis has a close relationship with kumquat and Ichang papeda. Moreover, the Hunan and Guangdong Provinces of China are predicted to be the origin center of mandarin, sweet orange and sour orange.”
This review provides an overview of recent developments in Citrus aurantium L. (sour or bitter orange), focusing on its bioactive compounds, innovative extraction techniques, and technological applications. C. aurantium is rich in bioactive compounds such as flavonoids (naringin, hesperidin, kaempferol, quercetin), essential oils (β-pinene, limonene), and vitamin C, which represents significant biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects.