Dive Brief:
- Coconut water maker Harmless Harvest has developed a proprietary multi-step microfiltration process that enables the company to reduce the use of PET in its bottles by about 24% while maintaining flavor and safety of the product.
- Harmless Harvest has linked the processing to an aseptic filling and packaging system. The company formerly used high-pressure processing (HPP).
- The new processing method has extended the shelf life of the coconut water, but the products now require chilled distribution.
Dive Insight:
Harmless Harvest told Packaging Digest that it believes its proprietary microfiltration method could be applied to other beverage and product categories beyond coconut water and low-acid juice beverages if the processing is tailored to that particular product.
The company said it's filing for a patent for the technology, but microfiltration is a method already used in a variety of industries. Manufacturers looking for this type of solution could develop a way to make a microfiltration-based processing method work, whether internally through R&D or by contracting the technology from a third-party (such as Harmless Harvest, should it ever choose to license the tech).
Manufacturers have been trying to find other processing methods that don't involve high heat, as heat pasteurization can destroy nutrients, change the flavor of the product, and potentially require chemical additives that would prevent the product from having the clean label consumers demand.
HPP, which Harmless Harvest previously used, is increasingly common, particularly for cold-pressed juices and cold-brewed coffee. But the technology is still cost-prohibitive for major manufacturers producing at a massive scale.
It's unclear whether a large-scale manufacturer could realistically adopt this method and maintain profitability. The other issue is the change in distribution from ambient temperature to chilled, as that can also increase costs for the company.