Rise of natural fruit pieces

Peter Dehasque, chief executive of Taura Natural Ingredients, a processor and supplier of natural fruit pieces, claims the company’s sales of real fruit pieces have risen by 7.9% in the US and are estimated to be worth $7.3bn a year, as a result.

He attributes the boost to increasing consumer interest in single-serve healthy snack foods, as well as a rise in new companies entering the healthy snack-food sector.

“There’s been huge growth in the number of entrepreneurs moving into US healthy snacks with premium concepts that meet consumers’ needs by offering natural, health and wellness, convenience and great taste,”​ Dehasque says.

Rise in demand ​

A rise in demand for foods free-from genetically modified organisms had also contributed to Taura's sales boost, he claims.

The Europe-based firm uses an ultra rapid concentration (URC) technique in the production of its fruit pieces, which concentrates the flavour and texture of its products, he adds.

Pieces of fruit the size of a quinoa grain have been manufactured by Taura Natural Ingredients using the URC technique, which it claims can be used in multiple products.