"US: Cherries on way to "superfruit status"
Orange and apple still enjoy the domination of the top spots, but cherry does now feature in 7% of all juice and juice beverage drinks launched last year, a rise from 4% just five years ago.
Many of these drinks are blends, within which cherry is just an ingredient. However, there are an increasing number of pure cherry products on the market. These are increasingly even specifying what variety of cherry is being used in the production.
"Cherry juices are clearly increasing in popularity and increasingly carrying a 'superfruits' branding in wake of a growing body of research linking sour cherries to a whole range of health benefits," said Lu Ann Williams, research manager for Innova Market Insights. "This, combined with their unique sweet-sour taste properties, looks set to boost demand and carry cherries still further up the rankings in terms of soft drinks flavor use."
Source: www.foodbusinessnews.net
