(15-04-2015, 10:17 AM)leeeta Wrote: [ -> ]Talking about getting Garden fresh beyond China, it is interesting to note that in a circular dated 12th Dec 2014, Sino Grandness signed an advisory agreement with PM group for advisory services.
PM group, founded by Prayudh Mahatgisiri established a instant coffee plant in Thailand in joint venture with Nestle under their world famous brand name ~ Nescafé. The JV Quality coffee products Co. Ltd. currently shares the same office address as Nescafé (trading) Thailand co. Ltd.
Will we see loquat juice expand beyond China and SEA?
Expansion is possible so long there are chinese overseas with same taste.
To become mainstream juice like orange or apple juice is unlikely just due to the nature of the fruit. It has usually 4 poisonous seeds (quite large) which needs to be removed before juicing. Ripe fruit are also easily bruised, so hard to harvest. On top of that, the fruit is rather pulpy like plum/apricot so culinary wise is actually more suitable for making thing like jam/jelly/chutney.
These are all just technical but all these extraction difficulties would likely make it a more expensive juice to produce, unless artificial flavouring is introduced, but that would be counter to the health benefits of the juice.
And the "Pei Pa Koa" we chinese are so used to when we get sore throat/cough is actually produced from the loquat leaves as a component and not fruit.(WIKI : Pei Pa Koa is made up of a blend of herbal ingredients[6] including the fritillary bulb (Fritillariae cirrhosae, 川貝母), loquat leaf (Eriobotrya japonica, 枇鈀葉), ladybell root (Adenophora stricta, 南沙參), Indian bread (Wolfiporia extensa, 茯苓), pomelo peel (Citrus maxima, 化橘紅), chinese bellflower root (Platycodon grandiflorum, 桔梗), pinellia rhizome (Pinellia ternata, 半夏), Schisandra seed (Schisandra chinensis, 五味子), Trichosanthes seed (Trichosanthes cucumerina, 瓜蔞子), coltsfoot flower (Tussilago farfara, 款冬花), thinleaf milkwort root (Polygala tenuifolia, 遠志), bitter apricot kernel (Prunus armeniaca, 苦杏仁), fresh ginger (Zingiber officinale, 生薑), licorice root (Glycyrrhiza uralensis, 甘草),[7] and menthol in a syrup and honey base.)
Would suspect the fruit juice probably is full of antioxidants and vitamins just like other fruits like plums so nothing that special, though consumers being consumers might think that the juice is the same as the medicine.
[Image: 200px-Eriobotrya_japonica3.jpg]
Image from Wiki