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Welch's launches Niagara grape juice

26 Apr 2016

Welch’s Global Ingredients Group has strengthened its product portfolio with 100% Niagara grape juice which it describes as a unique golden American superfruit juice that delivers a sophisticated flavour profile and naturally nutritious polyphenols.

Welch’s Global Ingredients Group has strengthened its product portfolio with 100% Niagara grape juice which it describes as a unique golden American superfruit juice that delivers a sophisticated flavour profile and naturally nutritious polyphenols.

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

Niagara grape juice contains no added sugar, colours or flavours. It is available globally to companies, and is claimed to offer bolder and more floral flavour notes than other white grape juices. Nevertheless, the Niagara grape juice taste is said to remain 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, Welch’s says 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.

According to the company, 100% Niagara grape juice packs in more nutrition than many other beverage options. One 8oz glass counts as two servings or one cup of fruit.

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 said to be 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 says that its juice-making expertise ensures they are picked and squeezed using techniques that preserve their special characteristics in the end product.

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

FruitWorx inclusions are claimed to 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.