Gert van Manen, President of iTi Tropicals, Inc. addressed , Thailand on May 16. Mr. van Manen made the case that coconut water is a compelling ingredient with a bright future in the food and beverage market, provided that it is labeled appropriately.
Gert’s speech “Coconut Water: Fad or Sustainable Ingredient?” discussed the availability, benefits, technical challenges, market expansion, and methods of delivery. He also discuss ethical sourcing, sustainability and authenticity. iTi has been developing and importing coconut water for 9 years and believes that coconut water is here to stay. He also discussed some issues that, without proper attention, could derail coconut water’s long term success.
While consumer interest is strong, Gert expressed his concern is that not all coconut water beverages are labeled correctly. Some products appear to have undeclared added sugar. He continued “There is a big market for sugar added beverages. Much bigger than 100% juice. But make sure to label it correctly.” Consumers who don’t want added sugar will be disappointed if they find out that they are drinking a sugar added beverage. Regulators won’t be happy either. “This is why we spend so much travelling the world to select and understand supply. So we know who we are doing business with. Also, we always test for authenticity.” says van Manen
View the full presentation at: http://www.youtube.com/user/iTitropicalsInc
iTi Tropicals Inc., continues to lead the way in both coconut water and cream, offering customers numerous different options (cream, single strength water, young pulp, coconut water concentrate.). iTi Tropicals, Inc. is an independent company headquartered in Lawrenceville, NJ. Its sole business is importing high quality tropical and exotic fruit purees, concentrates. They are constantly searching the globe for manufacturers who meet their high tropical and exotic fruit standards. In business since 1988, iTi Tropicals has become one of the leading US suppliers of processed exotic tropical fruits. iTi Tropicals maintains an inventory of both frozen and aseptic tropical and exotic purees, juices, and concentrates throughout the USA. Their focus is on products such as: coconut water & cream, banana, guava, papaya, mango, passion fruit, açaí, , acerola, mangosteen, tamarind , dragon fruit. They constantly search for new, commercially viable, tropical fruit flavors.
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