It is a product that has only been on the market for two months, but Queensland-based Sunfresh is already planning to double production of its non-browning Avocado pulp. The company says its world-first product has already hit several countries, where interest has been "very strong".
"It's already in Hong Kong, China, Macau and Thailand; it will be going to Singapore and Malaysia soon, and we have interest in the Philippines, Mongolia and Taiwan," Deputy General Manager Evan Heidemann said. "Basically they are preparing us to have to double our fruit volumes to meet demand. That's probably going to be a request early in the piece. The Asian market is health focused; there is a lot of interest on the no preservative, no chemical, no additives. That really resonates with them."
It is only available overseas exclusively through selected food service distributors, but the company has not ruled out hitting the Australian markets in the future. Sunfresh says the new avocado pulp, has opened up doors to countries, which due to biosecurity laws were previously unapproachable.
"We have made the decision to keep it off-shore into markets that we were restricted to by protocols," Mr Heidemann said.
Mr Heidmann says it is the new technology that makes it revolutionary. The company has also recently begun using its newly developed, purpose built equipment to allow it to process avocados and pack in vacuum-sealed bags. The pulp is sold in a frozen packaged format, where it keeps for one year. It can store for 30 days in the fridge and has a shelf life of 7-10 days once opened. But the company says it has not impacted taste and freshness.
"It's the closest thing to a natural, fresh, ripe avocado that you can get," he said. "It is natural, no preservatives, no additives way with nothing added to it to stop the browning of avocados. It has been validated by three different laboratories to make sure it’s safe and does work. So the technology is locked up under IP and other agreements."
The company has been working on the product since February 2016, but its official launch was on May 25 at its Coolum processing facility.
"We are a growers’ co-operative, with growers all over Australia," The Deputy General Manager said. "We plan to capture that regional calendar that provides, which is 12 months. So we have access to every growing region in Australia. We will be manufacturing all year around, and that will run alongside our already running business of fresh fruit."
For more information:Evan Heidemann
Sunfresh
Phone: +61 7 5446 3783