Exporting superfruit juices to Europe

The European Union is the world’s largest market for superfruit juices, with an estimated share of more than 40% of global imports. The Netherlands is the largest re-exporter of superfruit juices and superfruit juice ingredients. France, the United Kingdom and Germany are the most innovative countries in the sector, with the largest number of superfruit applications in fruit juices and fruit based drinks.

1. Product description

Superfruit is a marketing term that refers to fruits with exceptional nutritional qualities. European legislation does not have an official definition of superfruit, so this term is used by many manufacturers as a marketing tool to create consumer demand.

The term superfruit usually refers to types of fruit with high levels of antioxidants and anthocyanins. However, many producers and traders of juices and juice ingredients are trying to broaden the perception of superfruit in the European market, applying the term superfruit on a growing number of fruits.

The main application for superfruits is in the production of fruit juices and beverages. They are also increasingly used in dried forms and as ingredients in dietary supplements and the cosmetics industry.

Various raw materials are used for the production of superfruit juices, such as: concentrated fruit juices, fruit puree and fruit powder. Superfruit juices are often used as ingredients in mixed juices instead of single strength juices. Ingredients in powdered form are also used in the production of other types of beverages, such as smoothies and soft drinks.

Some promotional campaigns also refer to coconut water as a superfruit juice. However coconut water is not part of this study, as it is discussed in a separate study about exporting coconut water to Europe.

The following list represents the most common types of superfruit juices and juice ingredients on the European market:

Please keep in mind that this list is not exclusive and that the number of fruits promoted as superfruits is constantly growing.

Product specification

Quality

The basic quality requirements for juices are defined by different parameters. In imports, the most important parameters are:

• Brix level (sugar content of an aqueous solution), which varies depending on the type of juice. The European Union Fruit Juice directive does not define minimum brix levels for superfruit juices, except for blackcurrant (11) and raspberry (7).
• Percentage of solids, which is important for some superfruit juice raw materials such as pulps and purees.

Additional quality requirements

The level of specific functional ingredients is important for certain types of superfruit juices and juice ingredients, especially if they are intended for the dietary supplements market. Examples include:

• Vitamin C content in concentrated Acerola juice (usually 17–25% of dried matter);
• Anthocyanin content in bilberries concentrate (usually 10–25%);
• Proanthocyanidin content in cranberry concentrate (up to 50%);
• Flavone content in raspberry concentrate (usually 5%);
• Ellagic acid, polyphenols and punicalagins content in pomegranate concentrate.

Labelling

The product must be labelled as a fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice. If water or sweeteners are added to a fruit juice product, the EU Fruit Juice Directive 2012/12 states that it must be labelled as a nectar and not as fruit juice. Nectars must declare the percentage volume of fruit juice on the packaging:

• For black, white and red currants, sea buckthorn berries, acerola and pomegranates: 25%;
• For gooseberries and cranberries: 30%;
• For bilberries and raspberries: 40%;
• A minimum content of 25% of fruit juice for all other types of superfruit nectars containing acidic juice that is unpalatable in its natural state.

In the case of retail packaging, product labelling must comply with the European Union regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. This regulation defines nutrition labelling, origin labelling, allergen labelling and legibility (minimum font size for mandatory information).

For export in bulk packaging, the required information must either be placed on the container or be given in accompanying documents. The ‘type of juice or concentrated type of juice’ and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer must appear on the container. The product specification often includes brix and acid levels.

Packaging

Packaging used for superfruit juices must protect the organoleptic and quality characteristics of the product. It must also protect the product from bacteriological and other contamination, including contamination from the packaging material itself, as well as from moisture loss, dehydration and potential leakage, as far as technologically practicable. Packaging should not pass any odour, taste, colour or other foreign characteristics to the product.

The most common export types of concentrated fruit juice packaging are: aseptic or sterile filled bag-in-boxes, plastic containers, steel drums, plastic drums and stainless steel containers. When it comes to retail packaging, most fruit juices on the European market are sold in cartons (59%), followed by plastic (32%), glass (8%) and other packaging (1%) in 2017.

2. Which European markets offer opportunities for exporters of superfruit juices?

As the European Union’s Combined Nomenclature does not include specific tariff numbers for superfruit juices, the following trade statistics provide the closest possible calculations for superfruit juices.

Some tropical or exotic juices and vegetables juices belong to the same product group as superfruit juices, but whenever possible the analysis will make a distinction. This should not influence the main trends in trade and production, as manufacturers also market many types of tropical juices under the term superfruit.

Imports

Imports of superfruit juices continue to grow

• In the last five years, imports of superfruit and exotic juices in Europe increased at an average annual rate of 7% in volume and 4% in value, reaching 496 thousand tonnes and €966 million in 2017. Since 2013 prices for superfruit juices have shown a downward trend.
• Imports from developing countries are growing more rapidly than imports from other sources.

The Netherlands is the largest acerola juice importer

• European imports of superfruit and exotic juices are dominated by a few countries. The top three countries (Germany, the Netherlands and France) account for 54% of all European superfruit juice imports. Note the data in this product group does not differentiate between superfruit juices, exotic juices and vegetable juices. There is no precise number counting only superfruit juice imports per country.
• The largest proportion of imports consists of internal European trade via re-exports, where the Netherlands is the leading re-exporter. Due to its established trading position for superfruit juice within Europe, the Netherlands offers you many opportunities to finding trade contacts.
• In 2017, the Netherlands imported a particularly high amount of acerola juice from Brazil. This made the Netherlands the largest importer of acerola juice in the world, accounting for more than 50% of world imports.
• Almost all European countries increased their superfruit juice import quantities in the 2013–2017 period.

• The largest non-EU supplying countries are Turkey, followed by the United States, Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam and Thailand. Turkey has a leading position due to its increased exports of pomegranate juice. Some other juices from Turkey are finding special niches in European markets as well. An example is black carrot juice, which is seen as a superfruit due to its high anthocyanins content. Turkey is also increasing its export of blueberry juices.
• The largest share of superfruit juice imports from the United States consists of cranberry juice. Imports from Ecuador, Vietnam and Thailand consist of different exotic juices, such as passion fruit, guava, soursop, mangosteen and lychee. The leading type of superfruit juice from Peru is passion fruit juice, but Peru also exports other superfruit juices and ingredients such as camu camu, lucuma and maca.

Exports

• The Netherlands is the largest exporter of superfruit juices in Europe, most of which consisting of re-exports, since the Netherlands does not produce large quantities.
• The largest European producer of superfruit is Poland, which is also the largest world supplier of aronia juice and an important supplier of berry juices and purees, especially raspberry puree. Austria is a large exporter of superfruit juices due to its developed fruit ingredients industry.
• Leading export destinations for European superfruit juices are the United States, Russia and Japan.

Production and consumption

There is no official production and consumption data on superfruit juices in Europe. For a general statistical overview of the European fruit juice industry and market, please review our study on Fruit Juices in Europe.

• Poland is Europe’s leading producer of superfruit juices from domestically sourced materials, such as blackcurrant, sour cherry, raspberry, blackberry and aronia. The largest pomegranate juice producer in Europe is Spain.
• Juices are usually produced in concentrated form and exported for further reconstitution with water. They are also used as an ingredient in the production of nectars, fruit drinks, carbonated drinks, yoghurts, as well as in the confectionary industry and even the dietary supplement industry, such as cordials.
• The largest fruit juice bottling country in Europe which uses superfruit ingredients from imported materials is Germany.
• General consumption of fruit juices and nectars in Europe has declined in the last eight years in almost all categories, except the not from concentrate (NFC) juices, which show constant growth in the same period. This means a positive outlook for the consumption of many categories of superfruit juices produced with cold pressing.
• In addition to NFC juices, the consumption of flavoured waters, energy and sports drinks is also growing, both in value and quantity. This offers you opportunities, as superfruit ingredients are often used in those types of beverages.
• Due to physical characteristics or a high level of acidity, many kinds of superfruit are not suitable for the production of 100% superfruit juices for human consumption. Because of this, they are usually blended with other juices such as apple, grape or orange, or produced as nectars with the addition of water and sugars (preferably natural sweeteners such as stevia) to improve their taste.
• Although superfruit juices are not among the top five flavour categories of juices in Europe, they are particularly popular in some markets. For example, berry flavours are well ranked in the Austrian market (4.3% market share), Sweden (1.4%), United Kingdom (4.3%), Czech Republic (8.1%), Finland (0.1%), Ireland (7.9%), Norway (1.3%), Slovakia (5.7%) and Slovenia (5.4%).

3. Which trends offer opportunities on the European market for superfruit juices?

You can find a general overview of the most relevant market trends in our study on trends for processed fruit and vegetables.

• The range of juices on the European market that are promoted as superfruit juices is expanding. It now includes examples of lesser-known tropical fruit juices such as mangosteen, golden berry or gac fruit, but also well-known juices such as grape juice.
• There is a growing consumer demand for small fruit juice packaging (usually up to 100 ml) with various superfood ingredients. These drinks are usually called juice shots. They combine different superfruit juices with functional ingredients, such as probiotics and medical herbs, as well as spicy ingredients, such as ginger and turmeric.
• The European market is witnessing a rise in the introduction of fermented beverages, which are also considered a new type of superfood drinks. Fermentation allows for natural processing and can be considered a counter trend to the artificial carbonated soft drinks that currently dominate the market. European consumers increasingly consume fermented drinks such as kombucha, kefir, lassi and naturally fermented lemonade drinks.
• As there is no exclusive list of superfruits, marketing campaigns try to introduce new products on the market as superfruits. Recent attempts include baobab pulp (from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi), schisandra berry extract (China, Korea and Japan), noni juice (Tahiti), physalis extract (Peru) and gac fruit puree (Vietnam, China). Growing consumer awareness and demand for healthier products are pulling this wave of new products to the market.
• There is also an increasing interest in healthy vegetable juices, due to their nutritional values.
• Young consumers in Europe are among the most likely to seek functional benefits in juice. Weight loss, energy boosting and getting healthier looking skin are very present in the minds of young consumers, while functional claims relating to bone and heart health are more relevant to older consumers. With one of the fastest-growing adult populations, Germany has been a particularly strong market for adult-focused flavours.
• The retail environment for juice is expected to fragment and change dramatically in mature markets. Even today, in a traditional supermarket, there are successful points of sale in coolers next to fresh produce, and lagging points of sale at the back of the store where juice presently gets a lot of shelf space that is going to be increasingly hard to justify. On the other hand, premium juice is going to enter non-traditional environments such as gyms and yoga clubs — places where it is easier to reach health conscious shoppers.
• The impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on the European market is increasing. Particularly the markets for fair-trade, organic and functional foods are growing.

4. What are the requirements for superfruit juices to be allowed on the European market?

For a general overview of European buyer requirements, please refer to our study on buyer requirements for processed fruit and vegetables.

For superfruit juices specifically, you can consult the EU Trade Helpdesk where you can find products under the HS codes 20098979 and 20098999.

For information on commonly requested standards, check the International Trade Centre's Sustainability Map, an online tool that provides comprehensive information on over 170 voluntary sustainability standards and similar initiatives, covering issues such as food quality and safety.

Legal requirements

The European Fruit Juice Directive covers the composition and quality of fruit juices, including superfruit juices. This directive stipulates the specific characteristics of fruit juices and fruit-based drinks, to guarantee that the best possible products are put on the European market. It defines the composition of the various products that can be produced, including not only fruit juices, but also dehydrated fruit juice and fruit nectars. The Directive also specifies the criteria with which the various products must comply, including which fruits can be used, their minimum content, what ingredients can or cannot be added and how these products must be designated on the label. As an example, the label must clearly indicate when a product has been sweetened or when it has been obtained from concentrated juice.

Vitamins and minerals can be added to fruit juice (Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006), as well additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008). Other allowed ingredients include restored flavour, pulp and cells.

In the latest version of the European Fruit Juice Directive, the European Commission sought to align its directive more closely with the Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Fruit Juices and Nectars. New amendments can be expected, after the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food formally adopted a new proposal to reduce maximum levels of lead in fruit juices and nectars from 0.05 to 0.03 mg/kg.

The description of nutritional and health benefits is now regulated by the Regulation on nutrition and health claims, which is especially important for superfruit juices. This regulation requires that no nutrition claim or health claim may be used if it has not first been approved. In the future, it will also specify nutritional criteria or nutrient profiles that products need to respect before making a health claim.

New juices that were not on the market before 1997 require a pre-marketing authorisation after the assessment of their safety. This is regulated by the EU novel foods legislation. Alternatively, a novel food or ingredient may be marketed through a simplified procedure called notification. The European Commission prepared an information guide to assist businesses when a product does not require authorisation. A Novel Food Catalogue has also been developed, listing products of plant and animal origin and other substances subject to the novel food regulation. The list is non-exhaustive, and serves as orientation on whether a product will need authorisation under the novel food regulation.

In the event of repeated non-compliance of specific products originating from particular countries, stricter conditions will be imposed for the importation of these products. For example, they may have to be accompanied with a health certificate and an analytical test report.

The most common problems that European importers face when importing superfruit juices and their ingredients from developing countries are:

• the presence of norovirus and hepatitis A in frozen raspberries, blackberries and blueberries;
• unauthorised novel food ingredients, such as camu camu, noni or schisandra berries;
• pesticides residues in goji berries and sea buckthorn;
• unauthorised or too high azorubine colour levels in pomegranate juices.

Labelling Requirements

The European Union Regulation on food labelling forbids misleading consumers. Claims that a food can prevent, treat or cure human diseases cannot be made. Allergens must be highlighted in the list of ingredients. Requirements regarding information on allergens now also cover non-packed foods, such as those sold in restaurants and cafés. However, superfruit juices are not on the obligatory list of allergens.

Nutritional information is mandatory for most products.

Common and niche requirements

European importers often request food safety certification. The most common certification schemes accepted in the European market are IFS, FSSC 22000 and BRC. Environmental protection, organic and fair trade certification schemes are also becoming increasingly more important. For organic production, consider the IFOAM standard.

European organic food regulation lays down rules for the importation of organic products from non-EU countries. Organic food can readily be imported from non-European countries whose rules on organic production and control are equivalent to those in the European Union — currently Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Tunisia, Switzerland and the United States. For all other non-EU countries, importers can have their organic products certified for import into Europe by independent private control bodies approved by the European Commission.

In the European fruit juice industry, the most recent development is SGF certification, which certifies fruit processing companies, packers and bottlers, traders and brokers of fruit juices, as well as transport companies and cold stores in almost 60 countries worldwide. SGF certification has a particular focus on authenticity and safety checking for conformity and food fraud by analyses and traceability checks. Already more than 80% of imported fruit juice products in Europe are coming from production sites with SGF certification.

5. What is the competition like in the European superfruit juices market?

 Read our top 10 tips for doing business with European buyers.

The implementation of food safety systems and regulatory laboratory testing of superfruit juices is just the first step to entering the European market. There is already a lot of competition in the market from substitute products and other companies, which you should acknowledge.

Product competition

Major substitute products for superfruit juices are other beverages that are increasingly popular on the European market, such as bottled waters, carbonated drinks, no sugar added dilutables, sport and energy drinks, ready-to-drink teas and fruit yoghurts.

• Bottled waters were the fastest-growing soft drinks category in the European market in the last year, as consumers look for hydration without calories.
• Carbonated drinks are increasingly consumed in Europe, especially during the summer months. For most consumers, fruit juice is not their drink of choice in hot weather, so the fruit juices sector has failed to benefit from the hot summers. Carbonated drinks with low calories and no added sugar are growing in popularity.
• Sport drinks such as isotonics, hypetonics and hypotonics, including coconut water, and energy drinks with the addition of caffeine, vitamins and different herbal extracts, are also on the rise. The marketing of energy drinks focuses on their stimulant effects and perceived benefits, such as increased performance, attention, stamina, and weight loss, although many of these effects are still unproven.
• No added sugar dilutables have greatly improved the sector’s image, as have premium high juice variants, although rising commodity prices have made these more expensive. Newer, premium, ‘adult’ dilutables such as raspberry and lemon cordials have tapped into the growing consumer taste for quality and for natural, healthier ingredients. They have helped broaden the sector’s customer base. Dilutables offer affordability, which has become ever more important as household budgets have tightened.
• Ready-to-drink teas are another competitor for superfruit juices. However some of them use superfruit extracts. Ready-to-drink teas that incorporate superfruit extracts such as pomegranate and mangosteen are currently being introduced to the market.
• Fruit yoghurts are, according to Mintel data, seen as a guilt-free snack by 56% of Western European consumers. This can be easily explained by their perceived health benefits and wide variety of flavours. Yoghurt’s shift from being solely a breakfast or dessert option to a snack product happened thanks to its versatility and successful combination with healthy ingredients such as cereals, grains and nuts. In spoonable yoghurt, there is a shift from flavoured to fruited and plain yoghurt, because the latter two types are considered healthier. Plain spoonable yoghurt is even expected to see the best performance within yoghurt and sour milk products.

Company competition

You should be aware of your main competitors from leading supplying countries such as Brazil, the United States, Poland and Peru.

6. Which channels can you use to put superfruit juices on the European market?

Figure 9: Common trade channels for Superfruit juices on the European Union market

Most superfruit used in the fruit juice and fruit based drinks industry is processed into concentrated fruit juices, purees or pulps, which are sold in the original puree form or dehydrated and sold as powders. Concentrated juices are used directly in the fruit juice and soft drinks industry, but also as ingredients in other industries such as the confectionary, milk drinks or breakfast cereals industry. Fruit purees or fruit powders are also used as ingredients in fruit based drinks and as nutraceuticals in the food supplement industry.

Some examples of different trade channels for superfruit juices in the European Union include:

• Importers, wholesalers and ingredient suppliers: SVZ, Prodalim, David Berryman, Ariza, Global Fruit, Cobell;
• Bottlers: Juiceburst, innocent, The Fruit Lab, Vegesentials, Pomegreat.

7. What are the end-market prices for superfruit juices on the European market?

Calculating margins according to final retail prices for superfruit juices is not indicative. Based on final prices alone, developing country exporters can only gain a very rough general overview of price developments. Prices also vary among producing countries. The best way to monitor prices is to compare your offer with the offer from your largest competitors.

In 2018, typical retail prices for the most common superfruit juices in Europe were in the following ranges:

• Açaí berry juice: €6–€15 per litre — prices for organic juice and puree are typically higher;
• Acerola juice: €25–€32 per litre;
• Aronia juice: €10–€30 per litre;
• Black currant juice: €25 per litre — black currant juice is commonly mixed with other ingredients, such as apple juice, or sold as nectar, but rarely as 100% juice;
• Blueberry juice: €7–€20 per litre;
• Cranberry juice: €10–15 per litre;
• Goji berry juice: €6–€20 per litre;
• Noni juice: €15–€25 per litre;
• Pomegranate juice: €6–€10 per litre;
• Raspberry juice: €5–€10 per litre.

Table 2 below shows an approximate breakdown of the prices:
Table 2: Fruit juices price breakdown

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