Coldpress Juice
Formed in 2008, Coldpress is a premium juice company that offers nine delicious varieties made from the freshest fruit. We caught up with Andrew Gibbs, Managing Director, to find out more about the unique selling points of this refreshingly pure juice.
Unlike other juice producers, Coldpress uses high pressure processing (HPP) rather than heat to pasteurise its juices, ensuring they are safe to drink, while extending shelf life and keeping all of the goodness found in natural fruit.
As a result, the only ingredient in Coldpress’ juices are the apples, oranges, raspberries, strawberries and passion fruit used in the production process, as well as the hint of vitamin C it adds to the apples to stop them oxidising. The resulting juice provides over 200 per cent of an adult’s daily vitamin C, while delivering a refreshingly pure taste and subtlety of flavour.
Becoming a major force
Now available throughout the UK in supermarkets (Waitrose, Tesco and Ocado), coffee shops, delicatessens, pubs and health food shops, Coldpress is becoming a major force in the UK’s highly competitive juice market, as Andrew begins by explaining the history of the company. “We noticed that juices didn’t taste enough like the specific fruit and also that they lacked the same goodness and nutritional value inherent in the fruit.
“From this, it became a quest for us to fill this gap in the market to make a pure tasting nutritional juice,” he recalls. “We discovered the benefits of HPP (high pressure processing) rather than heat pasteurising like all other juices on the market. After many attempts and recipes, our first juice was made in 2008 using this method. The result is a delicious, fresh tasting juice with a quality and purity unrivalled by other juices on the market”.
In December 2010, the decision was made by Coldpress’ Australian owner to formally launch into the UK market, as Andrew continues by telling us. “In September 2011, we launched into Waitrose, which was obviously a major achievement for the brand. Cold pressure is our competitive advantage as heat boils away all of the goodness in other juices. We wanted to emphasise that our juice is unlike all other juices and that no heat is involved. Indeed, Coldpress is the closest you will get to freshly pressed fruit”.
Brand power
“We have taken a rational approach to the brand,” Andrew asserts. “We understand the intelligence of the consumer; we don’t have any gimmicks, instead, we prefer to promote the facts – cold pressure equals pure taste. The hexagonal bottle also has a fantastic presence on the shelf. Indeed, it is also the most efficient shape for our HPP process, so we can fit as many bottles in the HPP machine as possible”.
At present, Coldpress juices come in nine delicious varieties, all made from the freshest European fruit (save for the passion fruit, which is ethically sourced from Ecuador). These are: Braeburn Apple, Granny Smith Apple, Golden Delicious Apple, Pink Lady Apple, Apple & Strawberry, Apple & Raspberry, Apple & Lemon, Apple & Passion fruit and Valencia Orange. With no preservatives; concentrates; added sugar; colours; or flavours, Coldpress juices are 100 per cent natural, as Andrew continues by highlighting the initial reaction to the brand.
“People are really surprised when they taste our juices at just how much they taste like the fruits they are sourced from. People seem to really embrace the fact that Pink Lady Juice tastes and smells just like the apple and the same with Braeburn, Granny Smith and all the other flavours,” he notes. “From starting three lines in Waitrose in September 2011, we have gone to five lines and our new 750ml line at Waitrose was their fasted selling new chilled line ever!
“We are now available in Tesco and also won the Best Innovative brand at the 2011 www.foodbev.com awards, so we feel that the initial reception has been fantastic,” Andrew affirms.
Taste the difference
Having quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the UK’s juice market, Coldpress is one of those rare beverage companies that practices what it preaches. And as Andrew continues by elucidating, global demand for juice has enabled Coldpress to illustrate the quality of its products. “The gap in price of concentrate juice to premium juice has narrowed due to price increases by Brazilian producers and, simultaneously, the demand from China.
“Everyone knows that fresh juice is much better for you than concentrate, so this is a major factor in our success,” he explains. “Consumers are becoming more discerning and aware of what is going on in their bodies and how a glass of fresh juice can contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Also, once you drink fresh juice it is difficult to go back to a concentrate and now with Coldpress we have pushed the taste and nutritional value of juices to an even higher quality, without the risk of wastage due to the extended shelf life.
“In my mind there is absolutely no question that taste is our major selling point,” Andrew clarifies. “Juices that finally deliver the taste and nutrition of fresh fruit with little or no wastage is our USP and the public seems to have really taken this on board. In this respect, our most popular flavours are Pink Lady, Valencia Orange, Apple & Passion fruit and Apple & Strawberry, based on sales figures from Waitrose and Tesco”.
Fruitful future
Because of Coldpress’ processing technology, the production process is particularly unforgiving – a fact that many of its competitors do not have to worry about. However, rather than penny pinching, Coldpress has put an infrastructure in place to ensure it always sources the best quality and freshest fruit to guarantee its juices have the best taste. Indeed, all of its fruit, with the exception of passion fruit, is sourced from Europe, which is another factor behind the great tasting flavours of the juice.
With regards to the future, Andrew is unsurprisingly bullish about the brand’s potential for growth. “Expanding our product range is something we are already striving towards,” she concludes. “In the next fruit season, we are starting with English UK varieties, such as Cox and a British Braeburn, which we’re really excited about.
“Ultimately, we want to be a successful and sustainable supplier of excellent juices. We would like to dramatically increase our distribution in the UK and, furthermore, we would like to be the first choice for consumers of premium quality juices”.
Visit: www.cold-press.co.uk
Twitter: @ColdpressJuices
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ColdpressJuice
