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Infinite Splendor and Wellness of Acai
U.S. demand for acai while still incalculable, due to its relatively inchoate status in the marketplace, is indisputably qualitatively measurable by its overwhelming appearance, and attention the little berry has received in the last two to three years. More than 500,000 hits appear when acai is plugged into search engines like yahoo.com.
Merchandising and marketing opportunities for acai abound in retail stores, vitamin shoppes, health foods merchants, and internet business. More and more consumers can purchase acai products in stores and online.
Why is the until recently unknown berry currently being hailed the new superfood? While it doesn’t hurt to have the mass media support and admiration of celebrities (for example, Dr. Nicholas Perricone appeared on Oprah in 2004 to promote his book “The Perricone Promise: Look Younger-Live Longer in Three Easy Steps” where he rated the Acai Berry as No. 1, calling it one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world) research and personal testimony from people from all walks of life have provide this little berry with stamina that will eclipse any suggestion of a fad.
In the last few years studies regarding acai’s nutritional value and functional capabilities have appeared in scholarly journals. Early this year in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the University of Florida, one of the first institutions outside of Brazil to study acai, was featured (Talcott, University of Florida News, 2006). The study “showed extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested.” (Talcott, S. University of Florida News, University of Florida’s Institute of Food of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 2006)
“Products made with processed acai berries have only been available for about five years, so researchers in many parts of the world have had little or not opportunity to study them.” (Talcott).
Another University of Florida study investigating the effect of acai’s antioxidants on healthy human subjects is slated for completion this year (Talcott).
Burgeoning interest coupled with increases in healthful, organic, functional and nutritionally conscious foods have created opportunity for acai to penetrate the U.S. food industry.
Producers, manufacturers, marketers and distributors of beverage, snack food, cereal and nutritional and dietary supplements, for instance, have taken notice of acai.
Industry proponents of acai feature a variety of marketable attributes – rich antioxidant content, cholesterol and weight reducing, skin revitalization, and optimum energy source – which thus far have been received with much success.
Growers like Ivan Hitoshi Saiki of C.A.M.T.A, (website) a tropical fruit processor at the edge of the Amazon forest in Brazil in the state of Para, understands why overseas interests are making their way through the rainforest in search of acai. In addition to acai pulp (frozen and pasteurized), CAMTA exports other fruit pulps, including acerola, cashew, cupuacu, guava, graviola, passion fruit and pineapple. “Seventy percent of CAMTA production remains in the Brazilian market and 30 percent is exported to Japan and Italy,” says Hitoshi. “For us, acai consumption is a way of life.”
Sambazon (website), founded in 2000 by Ryan Black and Ed Nichols, shortly after a life-changing trip to Brazil to celebrate the new millennium, is one of the first companies to bring acai to North America. Laura Leinweber, spokesperson for Sambazon, says “Sambazon makes products with organic açaí, wild harvested through Sambazon's Sustainable Açai Project that benefits thousands of low income farmers and protects the biodiversity of the Rainforest. Today Sambazon açaí has become a daily ritual for healthy active people and world class athletes all over the planet.”
Its product line includes açai packaged products, wholesale açai puree, organic açaí product line of ready-to-drink Superfood Smoothies, frozen Smoothie Packs and “Scoopable” Pints and supplements PowerCaps™ and PowerScoop™
According to the company, Sambazon açaí has become a daily ritual for healthy active people and world-class athletes all over the planet.
Sambazon products are available at major natural grocery stores
and juice bars across North America including Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets, Vons, HEB, QFC, Vitamin Shoppe, Jamba Juice, and Juice It Up!, and online at sambazon.com.
With the opening of the opening of the world’s largest Açaí manufacturing facility located on the banks of the Amazon river in Amapa, Brazil, Sambazon is a uniquely vertically integrated in San Clemente, California with operations in the Netherlands and Brazil.
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The following is an example of companies that have spearheaded Acai in the U.S. with a diversity of product configurations.
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Sambazon website – offers organic ready to drink smoothies, ready to blend concentrates, power caps and power scoops. Its latest product is Purple Power, an organic blend of acai and blue agave.
Acai Roots, Inc website – acai retail and wholesale products
MonaVie website – nutritional functional beverage and nutritional gels
Bossa Nova Beverage Group website– acai juice and acai-mango, and passion fruit-acai
Acai-zone.com website– a division of Meditech International manufacturer and distributor of acai products including capsules, dried powder, puree, and concentrates
Vistasti. Inc. website – has developed a line of vitamin rich granola, Acai Berry Granola
Anheuser-Busch website – launches 180 Blue with Acai, an energy drink, available in 8-ounce and 16-ounce cans.
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The success companies are having with acai relates to the brand and marketing value that are intertwined with the nutritional attributes inherent to the berry.
In reviewing the companies that are promoting acai products and other related items, Dr.Güldem Gökçek, Associate Professor of Finance at New York University discusses the correlation between brand and the ongoing success of this product. She notes that success is based on the corporate's decision to brand consumers' trust and satisfaction and also consumer perception.
“From a marketing standpoint, the first decision a company must make is whether to put brand name on its product. Branding gives the seller several advantages such as the opportunity to attract a loyal and profitable set of consumers, which helps the seller to segment markets. In addition, distributors also want brand names because they make products easier to handle and allow them to identify suppliers, to hold products to certain quality standards, and to increase buyer preference.
“To the consumer, a brand name serves as a "short name" for quality. Consumer trust in and satisfaction with the brand are the two most important components of the relationship between consumers and corporate brand. Trust in a corporate brand is proportional to the level of credibility and reliability the brand has. On the other hand, customer satisfaction only results when the customer sees his or her needs as central in all this activity. They want some sign that the corporation has listened to them and responded appropriately.
“Consumer perception is also important. The value of consumer perception is based on both monetary and non-monetary prices because consumers sacrifice not only money but also resources such as time, energy, and effort to obtain products and services. Therefore, perceived value can be defined as the consumer's overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perception of what is received and what is given. Even if a product is perceived as being of high quality, to the consumer who does not have enough money to buy it or who does not want to spend the amount required or who has a budget constraint, its perceived value will be lower than that of a lower quality but more affordable product. Therefore, companies try to base price on the perceived value of their products. They see the buyer's perception of value, not the seller's cost, as the key to pricing and use the non-price variables in the marketing mix to build up perceived value in the buyer's mind. In other words, price is set to capture the perceived value. I think companies such as Sambazon, AcaiRoots, MonaVie ™, etc. are paying attention to the perceived value in order to successfully market this product.
In addition developing brand and product awareness, corporate responsibility in terms of support to back product and claims, also leads to success. Jeff Graham, MonaVie ™ director of product development, adds that there is responsibility involved in the formulation and quality control for all points of interest that the company sells.
“I first came in contact with early 2001. For first two to three years took a detailed look at the berry. We did all of the intellectual property and science behind the acai berry, in terms of chemical analysis.”
Graham notes that years ago a search on the internet would locate a few hundred articles, “now there are over 5,000 articles on acai. The general masses of audiences are aware of antioxidants.”
Despite government recommendation to increase fruit and vegetable intake, and consumer awareness that proper diet, which should include multiple produce servings, can contribute to long-term health, the general population does not consume enough.
By no means an attempt to replace healthy foods, Graham notes the growth of the functional health beverage category has benefited by providing consumers with healthy alternatives. “That is probably why the functional food category has gotten such tremendous growth.”
Other studies conducted collaborate what we already know says Graham. “I believe moving forward there should be collaboration. The functional beverage will be such a strong industry. If we had the discipline to eat the amount of servings recommended disease would be significantly less.
Graham discusses acai attributes. “If you look at acai it contains 130 calories per 25 grams. Most important, in terms of simple sugars, it has only 1 percent for every 100 grams. This is a fruit that is basically undetectable for simple sugars. It is rich in vitamins A, D, E, B1, B3,6,12, folic acid, iron, lots of minerals, and it is very rich in beta carotenes . We detect all 21 amino acids, which also makes it a complete protein. The fruit is very low in cholesterol and sodium levels are low. Its fatty profile similar to that of olive oil, and we have found that it has the highest ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) score that has been tested to date from the standpoint of an antioxidant.”
Jerry Giebieg, JET Distribution (website), an independent MonaVie distributor, Emilia Island, FL, says, “It has changed people’s lives. People are feeling a difference.”
“I found acai and got involved with MonaVie in 2005. Acai basically became very popular with Dr. Perricone, who rated acai as number one among the top 10 most nutritious foods. I have been a marketer of nutritional supplements, and I’ve never seen the kind of results and testimony from people who are taking this.”
“I gift it to people and I let them try the product particularly if I hear people having problems with aches, pains, low energy. I have two customers that are cancer survivors. It’s an exciting time. We have a product that’s working for people. Their stories are more stimulating than the profit.”
Giebeig adds, that once individuals have an opportunity to taste the product, they become “loyal repeat customers. MonaVie products include seed, skin flesh from to vine to bottle and there is no added water. MonaVie is a synergistic blend of science and good nutrition.”
Cherly Roth, co-founder Organic Works Marketing (website), affiliated with BossaNova acai) and Sambazon comments:
“Acai has been around for quite some time, but people didn’t appreciate its value. It was a slow climb as people didn’t understand the properties, couldn’t pronounce it. But in there has been such a growth spurt in the last 18 months.”
With so much commercial support, industry players liken acai’s recent and steady marketing success to POM Wonderful’s pomegranate. Roth adds, “I believe acai will have that kind of staying power.”
By Alexandra Salas
Photos courtesy of Sambazon
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