Welch’s Global Ingredients Boosts Beverage Offering with Their New Niagara Grape Juice

22 Apr 2016 --- Welch’s Global Ingredients Group has strengthened its product portfolio with 100% Niagara grape juice – a unique golden American superfruit juice that delivers a sophisticated flavor profile and naturally nutritious polyphenols.

Crisp, sweet, light and refreshing, Niagara grape juice joins the iconic deep-purple Concord grape juice in the Welch’s Global Ingredients Group juice range, giving beverage, confectionary, dairy and alcohol brands, as well as contract manufacturers, access to a choice of two contrasting but equally delicious fruit juice concepts.

Niagara grape juice contains no added sugar, colors or flavors. It is available globally to companies, and offers bolder and more floral flavor notes than other white grape juices. Nevertheless, the Niagara grape juice taste remains light enough that it is perfect for blending with other juices in a way that complements them, rather than overshadowing them.

In common with its Concord grape cousin, the Niagara grape is unlike ordinary table grape varieties. It has a thick skin and crunchy seeds that provide naturally occurring plant nutrients, which act as antioxidants and can also contribute to health. To preserve this inherent nutrition in the Niagara grape juice, Welch’s squeezes the whole grape, including the skin and seeds, to release these plant nutrients, or polyphenols, straight from the grape and into the juice. The result is a 100% juice like no other white grape juice on the market.

100% Niagara grape juice packs in more nutrition than many other beverage options. Just one delicious 8oz glass counts as two servings or one cup of fruit, making it a perfect fruit juice choice for the whole family. What’s more, its beautiful golden hue means it looks just as exquisite as it tastes.

Niagara grape juice will make its debut at the forthcoming Ingredients Marketplace 2016 Expo in Orlando (booth K27). Wayne Lutomski, Vice President of International & Welch’s Global Ingredients Group, said: “Forget Batman v Superman – the true superheroes this spring are Concord and Niagara. These spectacular juices are like nothing else on the market. Beverage and juice companies looking for a truly innovative juice proposition need look no further.”

Just like the Concord grape, the Niagara grape is grown by the nearly 1,000 family-farmers who own Welch’s Global Ingredients Group. Niagara grapes are difficult to source because they have a very short harvest season and grow only in specific regions of North America. They are also extremely delicate and without the right care they do not travel well. Welch’s juice-making expertise ensures they are picked and squeezed using techniques that preserve their special characteristics in the end product.

Niagara joins Concord in the Welch’s FruitWorx inclusions range
Welch’s Global Ingredients Group has also added the Niagara grape to its FruitWorx range of real fruit inclusions for bakery, nutrition bar, confectionary, snack and breakfast cereal applications. The new launch follows the successful introduction of FruitWorx Concord grape inclusions a year ago.

FruitWorx inclusions contain the goodness that Concord and Niagara grapes are renowned for. They are created using URC (Ultra Rapid Concentration), a unique process that concentrates the taste, texture and natural goodness of fruit juices and purées into pieces, flakes and bites. FruitWorx inclusions can be made using a single type of fruit or in combination with other fruits, or blended with other ingredients – including ancient grains such as chia. The pieces can also be enrobed in chocolate to create a delicious and wholesome treat.