Baobab Foods, the South African company behind a range of snacks, has invested in a new manufacturing facility in Washington, Missouri, as part of its expansion plans in to the United States.
Founded in 2011 Baobab has built a strong reputation for its range of sustainable and socially conscious ingredients that can be used either as stand-alone products, like BaoBites, or integrated in to existing cereal, granola, nutrition bar and nutritional supplement brands.
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The new purpose-built facility is a joint venture with fruit and vegetable ingredients producer, Beyond Ingredients, and will allow Baobab to bring new products and ingredients to the market.
Stephan Broburg, general manager of Baobab, said: "Although the concept of BaoBites was completely new to the industry a few years ago, the reception has been tremendous, and we’ve been working closely with our current partners to understand how this novel ingredient can provide increased benefits to the end consumer."
The new facility has been designed to allow Baobab to easily incorporate the latest functional ingredients, like probiotics for digestive health, plant-based proteins for muscle tone and endurance, or electrolytes for natural hydration, in to a number of new product lines.
"Our new facility is unlike any other, as it allows us to easily customise the water activity, flavours and other nutritional ingredients in each bite, so the opportunities for food formulators are endless," Broburg added. He hopes to work with both existing and new food brand owners with its new site.
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By GlobalDataThe company has also announced its BaoBites Superfruit Snacks range is now available in nine new flavours, including Meyer Lemon, Tart Cherry, Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Mango, Sweet Potato, Raspberry Lemonade and Carrot Mango. This is on top of its current range of Blood Orange, Peach Mango and Pomegranate.
BaoBites Superfruit Snacks claim to have twice the antioxidants of dried blueberries and an oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of 50,000. They are vegan, gluten free, non-GMO, and free of cholesterol and allergens, including dairy, eggs, nuts, wheat and soy.
