Aloe Fruit Burst

A shop stocked with fine foods can let itself down if the drinks chiller is filled with run-of-the mill refreshments, especially fizzy ones. While a drinks chiller is important and provides a footfall through the shop on warm days especially, an imaginative selection of cold drinks will remind the customer that this is a place of pleasant surprises.

While you will no doubt be familiar with various ranges of artisan juices and smoothies which are available, what you may not have come across yet are aloe vera based drinks. Importer Mike Dodds has given himself the task of making these drinks as popular here as they are elsewhere and his Aloe Fruit Burst range is now available in the UK.

It was in Vietnam, where he was “chasing passion fruit” (because “Vietnamese passion fruit is the best in the world”) that he teamed up with Eurasian Agricorps and became involved in the aloe vera drinks business. “The people I was dealing with said they had another side to their business and that they actually processed the passion fruit juice and created aloe vera drinks with it. So we had a tour of the factory, which was found to be properly certified and up to scratch.”

The product which caught Mike’s attention in the Far East is now available here in the UK. There are seven flavours in the range, which is a tropical/traditional mix comprising pineapple, lychee, lime, strawberry, cranberry, natural and grape, along with their premium, passion fruit juice. But it is, of course, the aloe vera itself which makes this range unique. The drinks contain 15% aloe vera pulp, giving the product, Mike says, “a very different texture and a slightly thicker consistency.” Although the drink is packaged and promoted to have across-the-board appeal, it’s quite likely that aloe vera’s digestinal tract-aiding properties may have appeal for the health-conscious, too. With this in mind, Holland and Barrett have been one of this importer’s first ports of call.

And are these new drinks likely to add revenue at the point of sale? Mike Dodds says they will. “After research, I put them in at a recommended £1.49,” he says, “looking at a cost price to the retailer, depending on volume, of 60p or 62p, so there’s a good margin to be had.” It also helps stockists that the drink, which has an 18 month post production shelf life, does not have to be refrigerated. This means it won’t hog too much of their cold-storage space. Mike reports a good response to his market testing. “I’m now looking for distributors to pick it up and build it as part of their portfolio,” he says. Currently, Mike is stimulating interest by offering a free home delivery service on orders of 12 or more bottles. Going forward, his plans are to bring other aloe vera products to market, such as a 95% aloe vera with green tea extract. He expects also to sell aloe vera in 500g and 1kilo vacuum packs, for use in salads, yoghurts and desserts.