COPENHAGEN, Denmark— BITE, the Danish culinary beverage brand on a mission to create the most sustainable, uniquely flavourful non-alcoholic beverages, announced breakthrough research that can make the industrial production of organic, non-alcoholic beverages more viable.
Together with food scientists from the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University, BITE is launching a 4-year project to develop a scalable, sustainable solution for enhancing the quality and shelf stability of non-alcoholic organic beverages. The 8.5 Mil DKK (1,17 mil USD) study funded by the Danish Ministry of Agriculture will run from January 2024 to December 2027.
As the demand for non-alcoholic drinks, including wine and champagne, has increased by 50% in Denmark, industrial beverage makers are challenged by limitations in shelf stability and flavour degradation. Consumers want an alcohol-free version of their beverage of choice with the same taste, but it is currently extremely difficult to achieve that.
“The problem is that when beverages are ‘de-alcoholized,’ the process that removes alcohol also removes a large fraction of the flavour,” explains Roberto Ferro, Chief Technology Officer at BITE. “One of the benefits of alcohol is that it’s a fantastic solvent to extract flavour from plant-based ingredients, while also preventing spoilage from mould or bacterial contamination. We want to find an alcohol-free equivalent that can deliver similar characteristics.”
The organic certification process makes that more challenging, since it does not allow the use of many common stabilizers and additives that non-organic alcohol-free beverage makers use to deal with the lack of alcohol. These compounds mitigate flavour degradation by helping preserve its structure, adding thickness and body, and keeping anything from growing once the product is packaged.
The Danish research team will focus on mapping the flavour compounds extracted from organic plant food waste or byproducts and matching their molecular affinity with natural stabilisers, such as pectin, hemicellulose, alginate, carrageenan and β-glucan. This will allow for the production of organic alcohol-free beverages with colours and more intense flavours that last longer in the package.
This circular solution will result in more efficient use of Danish organic agriculture due to the reduced waste. Plus it will boost the use of organic agriculture as more beverage manufacturers will be able to enter the market and make organic alcohol-free drinks.
“People want great-tasting, non-alcoholic beverages made sustainably. To be able to meet that demand, we need to rethink current production methods,” Ferro says. “We believe the answer lies in nature, and we can’t wait to share our findings with the world.”
About BITE
Starting in the iconic meatpacking district of Copenhagen in 2017, BITE crafts organic beverages for alcohol-free cocktails, sodas, lemonades, and coffees. Its mission is to create unique beverages together with leading industry professionals, focusing on sustainability for the planet, the partner’s business, and the guest’s culinary experience.
About Copenhagen University
The Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH FOOD) carries out research and education that help to solve the global challenges in relation to food. Research involves the development of new foods and ways of producing them.
About Aarhus University
Research and teaching activities in the Department of Food Science at Aarhus University encompass the entire food system with focus on sustainability and health-promoting properties of foods and food constituents. The department holds extensive state-of-the-art research infrastructure and research outcomes underpin various educational programs, talent development and policy advice to the Danish Ministries.
For More Information:
https://bitedrink.com/