Blueberry
Blueberries are so hot in Asia right now that Lohas Farm in Richmond can’t grow them fast enough to meet the demand.
Lohas Farm owner Fred Liu came up with a new product for the Asian market back in 2013.
Liu says the original idea was to create a product with a longer shelf life. He created a partnership with Leezen, a health food company in Taiwan, and created a blueberry enzyme drink with a five-year shelf life.
The fermentation process was invented in Japan and popularized mainly in Taiwan, but it’s popularity is spreading.
While not very common in North America, enzyme beverages are becoming wildly popular in China and other parts of Asia.
Lohas Farm also exports fresh berries, but its Berry Legend line of beverages is now dominating his shipments.
Liu ships about 3,000 kilos of fresh fruit to Asia, while the rest of his 14,000 kilo crop is sold frozen with a shelf life of two years.
When it’s processed as an enzyme beverage, Liu says the fruit gains a five year shelf life; important in countries where frozen storage is not as common as in the West.