When a founder wanted to create value for orange growers beyond juice and fresh orange markets with a unique yeast that only converts, Helmsman Group helped develop an innovative fermented drink, which was later sold to Red Bud Brands.
The Challenge
Because fresh orange crops are a poorly diversified agricultural commodity, an entrepreneur working within Helmsman Group wanted to find a way to create value for orange growers beyond juice and fresh orange markets. Through research, our team found and patented a wild yeast to develop a fermented orange juice product, later named Sundaze.
This research resulted in product development, commercialization, and handling of regulatory requirements for this project, ultimately resulting in the acquisition of the product to Red Bud Brands.
After conducting intensive research on flora and fauna of orange orchards in Spain, we were able to find a yeast that allowed us to innovate on the orange growing market in a novel new way.
Our Solution
The Helmsman Group approached the project by initially piloting extensive research on flora and fauna of orange orchards in Seville, Spain. As a result of the research, we found, named, and ultimately patented a wild yeast, which features a unique property of only fermenting simple sugars. With this yeast, we could ferment orange juice, yielding a lightly effervescent, slightly alcoholic (2.9% ABV) beverage reminiscent of a mimosa. While traditional fermentation of orange juice creates a beverage that is too acidic to enjoy, this wild yeast only converts fructose, which leaves enough sugar after the fermentation process to produce an enjoyable, low-ABV orange beverage.
This product provided opportunities for fresh orange crops. Since this beverage was novel, proof of concept was required. We partnered with an existing hard kombucha brewery Novo Brewing and became the #3 SKU in overall sales performance. RedBud Brands bought the intellectual property to produce the beverage under the name Sundaze.
Final Results
Having partnered with that existing hard kombucha brand Novo to produce the novel fermented orange drink, we ran a successful test market in Southern California and sold the patent and product formulation to RedBud Brands.
Wrapping Things Up
After conducting intensive research on the flora and fauna of orange orchards in Spain, we found a yeast that allowed us to innovate on the orange growing market in a novel new way. By leveraging our experience in food innovation and product research, we developed an effervescent, refreshing, and dynamic new product. The product’s success is a testament to our team’s ability to use research to develop viable products that consumers embrace.
