Israeli Startup Better Juice Reduces Sugar in Natural Juices

Better Juice, GEA Join to Disrupt Global Juice Industry (Company PR Pic)

Better Juice, Ltd. is an Israeli startup which has a technology to reduce all sugars from natural juices. The company just raised $8 million in seed-round investment, led by iAngels, Israel. The company was incubated in The Kitchen Hub – Strauss Group’s foodtech and IIA incubator, and received early funding from Maverick Ventures, Israel and other global partners.

There are a number of Israeli startups which are trying to something about the world’s sugar problems and increases in the rate of diabetes. DouxMatok, an Israeli food-tech company, creates new targeted delivery of flavor ingredients. The company boasts that its new sugar substitutes and salt products enable healthier consumption of foods without compromising taste. And scientists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem may have come up with a plan for a realistic alternative to sugar.

Everybody wants to be able to eat whatever they want without the consequences. Calories free sweets that really do taste like the real thing and are sugar-free. People have learned the dangers to their health from drinking large quantities of sugar drinks like colas. But there are also problems with artificial sweeteners used in the diet version of popular soft drinks. So some people drink all natural fruit juices instead. These are advertised as not having any added sugars. But they still have a great deal of natural sugars in them which are still very fattening.
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So what’s the big deal, you may ask? Isn’t orange juice healthy and good for you? Well oranges are, but when you eat tan entire piece of fruit it comes with other nutrients that help the body to properly absorb the sugars. These nutrients are not included in the fruit juices. Also, how many apples or oranges can you eat in one sitting? Now think about how many oranges are in just one glass of fresh orange juice.

Founded in 2018 by Eran Blachinsky, in collaboration with the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Better Juice Ltd. is the first foodTech startup to introduce innovative technology to reduce all types of sugars in orange juice. The company boasts that it reduces juice sugars by 30%-80%.

Better Juice’s patent-pending technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert monosaccharides and disaccharides (fructose, glucose, and sucrose) into prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers and sugars, while keeping the beverage’s juicy flavor.

Better Juice Team (Credit: Lotem Friedland) (PR Newsfoto/Better Juice)

The start-up’s enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules. Reducing up to 80% of all sugars, Better Juice’s non-GMO technology is designed to target orange juice’s specific sugar composition to naturally create a low-calorie, reduced-sugar product with a delicate sweetness.

“We are excited to complete this investment round with the support of leading venture capital and CPG companies from around the globe,” says Eran Blachinsky, PhD, founder and CEO of Better Juice. “This investment will enable us to accelerate our growth and expand into other product lines, such as ice cream, soft drinks, and jam.”

“We are very proud of this achievement, which reflects the investors’ trust in our technology,” adds Gali Yarom, co-founder, COO, and VP of Business Development for Better Juice. “There is a significant need in the beverage industry to effectively reduce sugar and we anticipate bringing our solution to market in just a few months.”

“I feel lucky to be involved in this journey since day one,” notes Amir Zaidman, VP of The Kitchen Hub. “I am very impressed by the technological and commercial milestones achieved by Better Juice and the can-do attitude of its management. Over consumption of sugar is an enormous challenge for humanity. Better Juice is a key pillar in overcoming it.”