Thursday, 07 May 2020 10:02

NZ blackcurrant sales surge

Written by  Nigel Malthus
CurraNZ co-founder Fleur Cushman says NZ blackcurrant sales have surged in the UK in the wake of COVID-19. CurraNZ co-founder Fleur Cushman says NZ blackcurrant sales have surged in the UK in the wake of COVID-19.

A UK-based company, believed to be the single biggest exporter of New Zealand blackcurrant product, has seen “very strong” sales as consumers in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic seek healthy dietary supplements.

CurraNZ produces blackcurrant extract capsules marketed as a dietary supplement, and for sports nutrition, performance and recovery.

“We have seen very strong sales up here in the UK, New Zealand and Australia as well,” the company’s co-founder, New Zealander Fleur Cushman told Hort News.

The company says its antiviral and antimicrobial supplement is shown to boost the immune system, and Google Trends have “unsurprisingly” shown that searches on boosting immunity have peaked to record highs in the last few weeks.

However, Cushman is at pains not to be claiming blackcurrant as a cure for coronavirus.

“What we have seen is good science that has come out of Japan and Iran particularly. High-impact recent papers are showing that blackcurrant does have anti-viral effects and it does support the immune system.”

Cushman explains that the dark colour of blackcurrants comes from a class of antioxidants called the anthocyanins. High levels of both polyphenols and anthocyanins are linked to New Zealand’s – especially Canterbury’s – high summer UV levels and cold winters.

“We only use a specific variety of New Zealand blackcurrants because they have particularly high levels of anthocyanins, and the climate has an awful lot to do with that.”

Cushman says New Zealand fruit is of such high quality that they can produce an extract of 35% -- so 105mg of each 300mg capsule is guaranteed to be anthocyanin – which she adds fruit manufacturers elsewhere in the world struggle to achieve.

Cushman says she first went to Britain to follow a career as a horse racing journalist, although the family business in New Zealand “kept calling me back.”

Her now late father Mike Cushman, who founded the Clinicians Supplements range of dietary supplements, first alerted her to the potential of blackcurrants, as shown by early Plant and Food findings. Subsequent work at the University of Chichester showed their potential for sports nutrition, recovery and performance.

With a UK partner, she launched the company in the UK in 2014 and in New Zealand in 2017. It now also has a distribution base in Australia.

CurraNZ product is sourced from a co-operative made up of about eight of New Zealand’s dozen or so growers.

For commercial reasons, Cushman won’t reveal where the extraction is carried out, but final production of the capsules is done in the UK. She says it’s not feasible to do it in New Zealand because, with elite sportspeople including Tottenham Hotspurs and High-Performance Sport NZ among their customers, it has to be done at sports-accredited facilities to avoid falling foul of anti-doping rules.

Meanwhile, Cushman said research into blackcurrants was now moving from sports nutrition into the health sciences. 

She said research into anthocyanin was taking on a life of its own.

“It’s no longer me trying to door knock and trying to garner interest from scientists based on a small amount of evidence – now we field research requests from all over the world.” 

More like this

Boost for hort exports

The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.

Kiwifruit sector's big night out

The turmoil and challenges faced by the kiwifruit industry in the past 30 years were put to one side but not forgotten at a glitzy night for 400 kiwifruit growers and guests in Mt Maunganui recently.

Ideal weather for growers

Specialist horticulture and viticulture weather forecasters Metris are reporting near ideal spring start conditions for fruit growers this season.

Red meat sector battles on

It's a bloody tough year for sheep farmers, but the worst may be over, and the future looks optimistic.

Featured

Massey Research Field Day attracts huge interest

More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.

Expo set to wow again

Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.

A year of global challenges

As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.

National

Scanning data at your fingertips

A partnership between two technology companies in Hawke's Bay is making orchard data more easily accessible to growers using new…

Machinery & Products

NH unveils specialty tractor

New Holland recently showcased its new-generation T4.120 F specialty tractor, giving New Zealand customers a closer look at the winner…

Combining track and tyre

While the last fifty years has seen massive evolution and development of the humble tractor tyre, the last two decades…

Croplands goes nuts with Nelson

Croplands and Nelson Manufacturing Company Inc, a California-based manufacturer of air-blast sprayers, has announced a new distribution partnership to deliver…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Review SOEs!

OPINION: NIWA has long weathered complaints about alleged stifling of competition in forecasting, and more recently, claims of lack of…

Bank reset

OPINION: Adding to calls to get banks to 'back off', NZ Agri Brokers director Andrew Laming has revealed that the…

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter