Ocean Spray and Amai Proteins partner to create the first protein-sweetened reduced sugar cranberry juice

As Ocean Spray continues to focus on health and wellness, the new beverage aims to feature roughly 40 % less sugar while still delivering a delicious, classic taste

As part of Ocean Spray’s commitment to bringing healthy and delicious products to the market, the agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 farmer families has announced a partnership with Amai Proteins in an effort to incorporate healthy, sweet proteins into the product portfolio. Through joint development agreements, Ocean Spray and Amai Proteins plan to develop cranberry juice with at least a 40 % sugar reduction, offering consumers more ways to incorporate the cranberry into a healthier lifestyle.

Amai Proteins’ innovative sugar-reduction solution is a hyper-sweet protein that is thousands of times sweeter than sugar. Through computational protein design, Amai Proteins has redesigned sweet proteins to fit the requirements of the market including temperature and acid stability for better shelf-life, great taste and affordable cost. The resulting designer proteins are 100 % protein, and expected to be a healthy, tasty sweetening solution.

Ocean Spray is partnering with Amai Proteins in this ground-breaking designer protein research to continue to provide great tasting and lower caloric solutions for people worldwide, leveraging the best that technology has to offer.  The reduced sugar cranberry juice offering will continue to extend Ocean Spray’s tradition of bringing good tasting and healthful products to consumers without compromising the goodness and bold taste of the cranberry.

Additionally, Ocean Spray and Amai Proteins are excited to continue their partnership to develop and apply learnings to additional Ocean Spray products in the future.  This is a significant milestone for Ocean Spray and the beverage industry.  Many other companies are working to remove sugar and maintain taste but tend to fall short on flavor.

“Ocean Spray is proud to partner with Amai Proteins to bring consumers additional options for changing habits and lifestyles,” said Katy Latimer, VP of Research and Development at Ocean Spray. “We will continue to develop options that showcase the incredible health benefits of the cranberry while highlighting our commitment to health and wellness.”

“Amai Proteins offers the sweetest protein in the world as a tasty and healthy significant sugar reduction solution,” said Ilan Samish, CEO of Amai Proteins. “We are excited to be working with Ocean Spray in bringing our sweet proteins to the iconic cranberry cooperative as a healthy option for consumers to enjoy their favorite cranberry flavor.”

About Ocean Spray
Founded in 1930, Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. The Cooperative’s cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, nutritious products in over 100 countries worldwide. Leading by purpose, Ocean Spray is committed to the power of good—creating good, nutritious food that has a direct and powerful impact for the health of people and planet. All for good. Good for all.

About Amai Proteins
Amai Proteins fixes our food system one protein at a time. The first line of products are hyper-sweet designer proteins that are healthy, tasty, and affordable thus enabling significant sugar reduction without compromising taste.  Amai (means ‘sweet’ in Japanese) fits proteins to the mass food market by learning how life adapted to extreme environments. Such adaptation mechanisms are applied via computational protein design followed by environmentally-friendly and sustainable production in a brewery using yeast or other microorganisms. The resulting GMO-free delicious protein is inspired by sweet proteins that sweeten exotic fruits found along the equatorial belt. Market launch is expected in 2022.