A wellness company enhancing a lesser-known superfruit
A little-known berry from the Midwest has the potential to be the next major superfruit. With the ability to increase immunity, aronia is the main component in a line of health beverages that Tohi Ventures, based in Kansas City, offers. According to co-founder and CEO Shari Coulter Ford, fresh discoveries, brand alliances, and emerging research are anticipated to raise consumer awareness in the upcoming year.
The aronia berry has been used medicinally for a long time because of its high antioxidant and anthocyanin content, which has been connected to lowered blood pressure and a lower risk of disease. According to studies cited by the brand, flavonoids—plant components included in the fruit—have a beneficial effect on cognition.
Ms. Ford and her co-founder Elma Hawkins, PhD, took cues from profitable single-ingredient companies like POM Wonderful, LLC, who were the first to market pomegranate juice as a popular health component. A few years ago, their research revealed the aronia berry to be an unexplored business prospect.
Ms. Ford stated, “I discovered all of this clinical academic research regarding the miraculous health benefits of aronia because of its distinct plant compound composition.” However, when you look for consumer goods that contain aronia, you don’t find any. Saying, “This is this unique, native-to-North America superfood that’s totally under-commercialized yet has this growing awareness,” was the epiphany at that time. In the Midwest, there is a core group of growers. This was the ideal chance to declare, “This is it.” This is the component around which we wish to construct this platform.
A selection of ready-to-drink, carbonated-free beverages that have been subtly sweetened with monk fruit make up Tohi’s initial product line. Original, blackberry raspberry, ginger lime, and dragon fruit are among the varieties. The products can be found on several recently introduced internet platforms as well as in roughly 500 physical stores.
“We didn’t want to hide the berry in an energy bar or granola or something like that because we’re trying to do consumer education around a new ingredient,” Ms. Ford stated. That would not have aided us in introducing a novel, distinctive element to consumers. It thought that the ideal method to introduce and launch a first product was as a ready-to-drink beverage.
The Tohi team has been concentrating on developing new products over the last year. The company intends to introduce single-serve powdered beverage mixes with aronia berries and carbonated soft beverages. According to Ms. Ford, the stick pack formulas also include extra useful elements that promote digestive health, vitality, and healing. Tohi is looking into other uses for aronia berries, such as edible.
“Consumer research shows that millennials and Gen Z prefer their supplements in the form of gummies,” Ms. Ford said. “Aronia is a perfect application for this.”
Another possibility is offering aronia powder as a colorant to manufacturers of meat alternatives, she said.
Interest in ingredients associated with immune health has exploded over the past year, supercharging demand for elderberry.
“We get compared a lot to elderberry, which primarily comes from Europe, and there has been a shortage of elderberry,” Ms. Ford said. “We have had inquiries from people looking for alternatives to elderberry for that reason.”
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Research on the effects of aronia supplementation on stress resilience and human performance is being conducted at the University of Connecticut. Furthermore, Tohi established a partnership with Brightseed, an artificial intelligence-based company based in San Francisco that investigates plant compounds. The collaboration will help predict the potential health benefits of the small chemicals found in aronia berries.
“We believe that will assist us in communicating with customers, but I believe it will also guide our efforts in product development, where we should be concentrating our efforts with this science in relation to the kinds of products and ensuring that it supports our ideas about the greatest and most beneficial applications for aronia-based goods,” Ms. Ford stated.
To further raise awareness of aronia, the company has partnered with collegiate and professional athletes.
Customers might wonder why they’ve never heard of the aronia berry, which has a complex, drying flavor akin to wine, given all of its alleged benefits, Ms. Ford said. The supply chain is disjointed, for one thing. According to Ms. Ford, Tohi sources from several small producers. However, that can soon alter.
With our achievements, we are locating producers willing to commit significant funds and resources to it,” she remarked. “I believe the time has finally come.”