Boosting health with berries

Chr. Hansen and the Swedish co-operative dairy Norrmejerier has entered into a new working partnership on healthy polyphenols for a variety of food applications – starting with beverages. Norrmejerier has for many years been a customer of Chr. Hansen dairy cultures, but now both enter into new turf.

Norrmejerier is one of the most important players on the Scandinavian dairy market with several strong brands. One of them is the juice drink range, JOKK, made from berries from the vast wilderness of Northern Europe and Lapland.

“The berries have been the starting point of the new collaboration between Norrmejerier and Chr. Hansen. Norrmejerier has their own press to guarantee a high quality of the final product, and Chr. Hansen has the technical know-how to extract polyphenols. We also have a strong base of research and development in the field combined with expert application knowledge. All in all a strong platform for developing more and new value added products,“ explains Sami Sassi, Business Development Manager, Phytonutrients, Chr. Hansen.

Some of the berries in focus are Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus ) and more will follow.
For both companies the collaboration will add value to their current operations.

“Consumers are quite health focused and willing to try new products. Berries have a naturally healthy image. Healthy antioxidants from the NutriPhy range make it easier to develop new and wholesome products”, says Anna-Karin Karlsson, Marketing and Innovation Manager, Norrmejerier.

Nature’s own products

Chr. Hansen’s NutriPhy™ range includes active ingredients such as different polyphenols and natural carotenoids. The phytonutrients are products from nature carefully selected for their specific properties to support health and well-being. They occur naturally in a large variety of vegetables and fruits.