Kamut Drink
Posted - May 1, 2007
Doves Farm Foods Launches Kamut in the UK
By Lucia Lorente - as printed in O.W.N. Summer 2007
The Kamut Association of North America recently appointed Doves Farm Foods exclusive distributor of Kamut® in the United Kingdom. Kamut® is the trademark of an ancient type of wheat, a protected variety registered by T. Mack Quinn and his son Bob of Kamut International USA with cultivar name Q77 at the Plant Variety Protection Office of the USDA. Production and marketing of Kamut® takes place under strict licensing conditions and the grain is only available as organic certified.
“We have known Bob Quinn and Kamut® for many years and are delighted with this formal agreement”, says Clare Marriage, co-founder of Doves Farm Foods. The company, established in 1978 by Mrs. Marriage and her husband Michael has gained a reputation as a supplier of quality grains and cereals. The Kamut® brand will be presented in an attractive package bearing both well known brands.
Superior in both taste and nutrition, Kamut® can be very successfully substituted for common wheat. The grain’s growing variety of products have been gaining popularity at natural health food stores in North America, Europe and other parts of the world. Sales of delicious and nutritious Kamut® grain products increased almost 13 percent globally in 2006, according to the Montana-based Kamut® Association. Italy leads the way in the demand for the product. The rich, buttery flavor of Kamut® grain products are easily digestible, have 20-40% more protein than common wheat, and are high in lipids, vitamines and minerals.
The Kamut Association is present at several shows and welcomes interested parties to visit their stand at Biocultura, All Things Organic, Sapor Bio, CHFA Expo East, Natural Products Expo East, Anuga and Natexpo.
Yerba Mate
Posted - May 1, 2007
Yerba Mate Booming as Healthy Alternative
By Tatjana Schulz - as printed in O.W.N. Summer 2007
The latest trendsetting drink isn’t Latte Macchiato, not chai - not even Paris Hilton’s prosecco so handily presented in a can. No, it’s none of those: according to People magazine, the new ‘in’ drink is Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis).
What is this concoction? Unlike many think, it is not derived from the ordinary tea plant. Instead, it comes from a perennial South American shrub that can grow up to fifteen meters in height. The leaves and stems were long brewed by the Guarani, an indigenous group in Uruguay and Paraguay.
Like coffee, the ever-popular hot beverage, mate stimulates alertness. However, unlike coffee it does not disrupt sleeping or digestion. Even though it contains caffeine, it also contains more minerals than black and green tea. The list includes calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium, vitamins A, C, E and B-complex - not to mention plenty of anti-oxidants.
As an emerging food, yerba mate is far less studied than green tea. Still, a flurry of research has been published recently. In test tubes, yerba slowed the growth of some cancer cells. Several small studies found it aided weight loss. Preliminary work suggests the South American brew may also fight atherosclerosis, and last year, Brazilian scientists found the tea slowed rabbits’ growth of arterial plaques.
At the moment, the world’s main yerba consumers are the Argentineans. 80% drink the herb at least once a week. The Middle East is the major market, in countries such as Syria and Libya.
“With consumers looking for healthy alternatives to coffee and soft drinks, more people travelling and learning about customs and traditions in different countries and easier access to exotic and sometimes forgotten or marginal products, yerba mate has found a great moment to become more than just a trendy drink”, says Ricardo Avalos of Canopy Foods, one of the first firms to introduce yerba to the United States,under the name Aviva Ltd.
The company introduced a successful program for coffee and tea retailers - shops that sell prepared drinks as well as stores that retail drink mixes - to introduce yerba alongside coffee and tea.
Mate has other uses beyond drinks hot and cold, though, says Susana Manzur, with Paraguayan mate producer and exporter Rio Itambey S.A.. Medicine and personal hygiene products are some examples. Chocolates and gum could also benefit. A perfume called Misiones has been launched recently in Argentina. The plant has great properties for natural cosmetics. An Iguazu spa applies yerba as part of an antioxidant skin mask.
“Creative entrepreneurs aware of changes of consumer tastes and expectations have developed yerba mate drinks that go beyond the traditional hot infusions to offer a growing line of healthier alternatives to conventional soft drinks”, says Avalos. Companies like Guayaki in the United States and Sol Mate in Canada have developed unique, ready-to drink mate that have done well in the direct-to-consumer market.
An important aspect is yerba’s connection to environmental issues. The way yerba is grown and harvested greatly affects the final product’s taste - and not only that. A recent study suggests shade-grown yerba contains more nutrients than plants cultivated under the spicy hot sun. This is great news for organic yerba mate grown as part of diversity conservation projects in the South American forests.
The increasing demand for healthier drinks is a great opportunity to innovate and explore alternative markets while introducing added value products, says Avalos. His partner Dan Garcia has introduced over 20 yerba flavours and presentations. Avalos, who launched a brand of traditional yerba from Paraguay, will re-launch his and Garcia’s brands under Canopy Foods. “We aim to join efforts and to work with yerba mate producers in Paraguay to enter the foreign and domestic market with better merchandising concepts and promotion like some importers and distributors have done in the United States”, he says.
But it is not an easy task, says Paraguay’s Manzur. “Over 80% of the yerba mate sold to the United States comes from Paraguay”, she says. Most producers do not care about added value when the main market is already growing.
Certainly, organic certification offers mate growers some incentive. “But in today’s market structure, the producer just makes 10% of the profit, while the exporter and importer share 15% each, the distributor and broker 25% and the retailer adds another 35%”, says Avalos. “To talk about sustainable development, the producer would need to be more directly involved”.
Still, some growers are organic certified and they get a premium. One is Brazilian Cha Mate Triunfo Ltda. It has collected yerba in eco-friendly ways for almost half a century. The company, certified by Ecocert, is located in the Iguazu Valley where conditions are great for wild shade-grown yerba. The company exports to the United States one of the finest yerba mate in the market.
From its South American origins, yerba is growing into a familiar international drink. Its diverse applications in everything from food colourings to cosmetics will only become more obvious as more and more consumers adopt yerba as a healthy - and very tasty - alternative to their morning cup of coffee.
