NIZO – TH Group Vietnam: Developing healthy beverages based on indigenous fruits

NIZO supported TH Group to develop new healthy clean-label TH True Herbal Drinks for the US and Vietnam market, based on natural, healthy superfood ingredients from Vietnam.

Breakthrough idea

Vietnam’s TH Group, in cooperation with NIZO Food Research, introduced TH True Herbal in August 2017. The range is made using natural ingredients including pennywort, lemon, mint, Gac fruit, passionflower, red artichoke, and black raspberries. They comprise:

• Gac fruit with passionflower
• Pennywort with lemon
• Gac fruit with red artichoke and black raspberries

Taste challenge

While gac fruit is rich in nutrients and offers health benefits, its unfavorable taste profile, attributed to certain elements, poses challenges in the development of palatable beverages.

In an 18 months project with international partners, ingredients were screened, selected, and formulated by NIZO experts:

• Upscaling in NIZO’s processing center facilities
• Sensory and shelf-life testing including assessment of stability of functional ingredients
• Hand-over to commercial USA production facilities

Significant outcome

According to Madame Thai Huong, Chairwoman of TH Group, “Whether you’re looking for protein power, energy, a vision boost, a relaxation or heart health support, True Herbal beverages can provide you with those benefits in just a few sips.”

The natural plants are grown in accordance with international organic standards.

(Source: www.minimeinsights.com)