Vitamin cocktail joins war on bugs
Mune Healthy Water contains vitamins B3; B5; B6; B9; B12; C and D3. Topping up that cocktail, it also boasts several ingredients traditionally consumed to bolster the body's immune system, including black elderberry; montmorency cherry; manuka honey; lemon; ginger; the prebiotic inulin; and beta glucan. And it contains 50% of the recommended daily allowance of zinc. Additional components include banana extract and agave nectar.
Husband and wife team Derek and Lucie Sanders, who formed Hertfordshire-based company Healthy Secret, created the recipe for the drink. "We have two partners," said md Derek Sanders. "One handles the ingredients sourcing and blending and one does the packaging."
The 500ml beverage has secured listings at select Nutri Centre outlets within p Extra stores as well as a host of independent health food outlets. Sanders said he wanted to build support from that sector before considering courting business with chain stores and supermarkets, whose mainstream customers might not suit the brand's target market.
He said the product followed on from Healthy Secret's earlier creation of Mune Healthy Boost 50ml shots, which are being relaunched in December.
The inspiration for the product came from a traditional eastern European recipe containing onions, honey and lemon, he said. "Parents chop them up and children eat the mixture to prevent colds. Our first product was made with onion. We tried to get the taste out, but we couldn't, so we went with black elderberry instead, which has a very high antioxidant content. We brought in active manuka honey to balance the elderberry, cherry and lemon, which are all very tart."
In addition, the product adheres to the clean label trend and contains no added sugar, artificial sweeteners or preservatives. It would be followed up next March with the launch of Mune Healthy Boost Revive in shot format in March and 500ml Mune Healthy Water Revive in April, said Sanders.
