iTi Tropicals, Inc. (iTi), a U.S.-based bulk tropical fruit juice purees and concentrates maker, recently opened a new passion fruit production facility in Vietnam, according to a press release.
"We're excited to work closely with our customers on developing and showcasing new passionfruit-based formulations, flavors and product line extensions," iTi's in-house Innovation Technologist Kyra Appleby said.
The new venture, led by passion fruit industry leader Quicornac, will facilitate budgeting and stable production processes, and offer a greater range of product offerings, applications and other components.
"Quicornac and iTi have been in partnership to bring passion fruit to the U.S. market for 32 years. We first started with the plant in Ecuador, opened in 1989,” Gert van Manen, president and founder of iTi Tropicals said. “Then, in 2008, Quicornac opened their plant in Peru and now a new plant in Vietnam to further diversify the sourcing. This helps mitigate environmental concerns and crop fluctuations, providing our customers with the supply confidence they need.”
The new production plant in Vietnam will be subjected to the same food and product safety regulations as its peer plant in Peru and Ecuador. The requirements include BRC third party safety audit and processes.
“The new Vietnamese facility will produce purple passion fruit, offering an additional choice to broaden your palette,” a recent press release explains.
Based in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, the company has offered its catalog of tropical fruit purees, juices and concentrates in bulk for more than three decades.
The exotic tropical fruit product company’s slate of ingredients includes acai, acerola, banana, coconut cream, coconut water, coconut milk powder, virgin coconut oil, guava, mango and passion fruit. Its passion fruit is available in single-strength juice and 50 Brix concentrate from all three regions.
“The smaller, sweeter purple passion fruit functions as an additional alternative to bakery, jams and jelly applications, providing a broad spectrum of flavors and taste, offering greater flexibility. This new facility expands upon iTi's current supply, increasing overall availability of both yellow and purple passion fruit.”