iTi Tropicals unveils six custom coconut water and coconut milk blend prototypes

iTi Tropicals, Inc. (www.ititropicals.com), a leading supplier of bulk tropical fruit juices, purees and concentrates, has announced the availability of six custom coconut water and coconut milk prototype blends designed specifically to stimulate research and development and to initiate a creative dialogue.

iTi's goal is to encourage manufacturers to experiment with these special ingredients, discover new formulations and functions, and collaborate with iTi product development scientists for insights and assistance.

Displaying coconut ingredients, the prototypes include an organic coconut water 100% juice beverage, two coconut milk beverages, a light culinary coconut milk, an apple-coconut water blend and an orange-coconut water blend. They are all packaged in shelf-stable 330mL Tetra Prisma boxes. The coconut beverages highlight powerful ingredients for use in products including juice, tea, coffee and soda, to mention a few. The coconut milk beverages can contribute mouthfeel, electrolytes and label-appeal to such foods as ice cream, yoghurt, soup, dressings and sauces.

'iTi product development scientists, the lifeblood of our state-of-the-art Innovation Center, are proud to offer our customers new and innovative ways to succeed with these ingredients,' said Gert van Manen, President, iTi Tropicals, Inc. 'Strengthening our commitment, this is the first time we've actually secured time at a commercial pilot plant to create unique shelf-stable prototypes intended to spark creativity and stimulate creative conversations with our customers.'

The six prototypes include

• The Organic Coconut Water, 100% juice prototype, is a pure and natural isotonic beverage featuring five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no added sugars, and is fat-free, cholesterol-free and preservative-free. It can be incorporated into many beverage applications and is often described as a natural sports drink.
• The two Coconut Milk beverages, Coconut Milk beverage made from 33% Coconut Water from concentrate and Coconut Milk beverage made from 100% Coconut Water from concentrate, are formulated with reconstituted Coconut Water from concentrate and coconut cream. Health benefits include a lower fat content (similar to reduced fat 2% milk) and appreciable amounts of electrolytes (potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium) from the coconut water. These creamy products are light white in colour and have a pleasant taste without any added sugar. The use of coconut water in place of regular dilution water provides added body, a bolder flavour, and a pleasant texture. Further, the coconut water content of the Coconut Milk beverage made from 33% Coconut Water can be labelled as 30% juice, and the Coconut Milk beverage made from 100% Coconut Water can be labelled as 91% juice.
• The Light Coconut Culinary Milk prototype is a 6% fat coconut culinary milk designed predominantly for cooking. A vegan ingredient, it is dairy, gluten- and GMO-free. It is ideal for making vegan soup bisques.
• The Apple-Coconut Water and Orange-Coconut Water beverages are ingredient blends that showcase 100% juice products having 25% fewer calories versus all apple or all orange juice. This is accomplished because coconut water has a single strength of only 4.2 degrees brix. The coconut water provides juice content without interfering with the characteristic flavour, texture or colour of other fruit juices.

New prototypes are planned for May 2015, including

• Coconut water diluted to either 3 degrees or 4 degrees brix and with 1% sugar added
• Coconut water and passion fruit blend with 100% juice content
• Coconut water and acerola blend with 100% juice content
• Coconut water, spinach, mango and blueberries with 100% juice content
• Coconut water, red beet, passion fruit and carrots with 100% juice content
• Toasted coconut water with 100% juice content
• Cranberry and coconut water with 100% juice content
• Grape-coconut water with 100% juice content

'Our mission is to be our customer's partner in innovation,' said Mr van Manen. 'The objective of our new prototype programme is to get the creative juices flowing and help them translate inventive ideas into successful new products.'