How a Patented Sugar Removal Process Is Reshaping B2B Ingredients — The Growth Playbook Behind It (Ep. 8)

Kim Anderson, Director of Business Development and Sales and Marketing at NewTree Fruit, joins The Ingredient Marketing Podcast to talk about how a patented sugar-removal process is opening up new formulation possibilities for B2B food and beverage brands.

 With NewTree Fruit's breakthrough technology — removing 100% of the sugar from fruit juice while keeping the full nutrient profile intact — Kim shares how the company helps R&D teams, brand marketers, and procurement leaders move from "we can't use fruit juice because of the sugar" to clean-label, nutrient-dense formulations without compromise.

 In this conversation, Jake and Kim cover:

• How NewTree Fruit's patented process works — and why it unlocks categories that couldn't use fruit juice before
• The applications winning right now: canned cocktails, beer, fruit snacks, baked goods, and acidified dairy
• How deals actually start — flavor houses, beverage developers, and the sweetener partner that opens doors
• Why prototyping (not just samples) is the secret weapon for closing B2B ingredient deals
• The growth playbook: LinkedIn, targeted PR, trade shows like the Beverage Forum, and platforms like Keychain
• What's next: a 10x capacity expansion, a 2.0 reduced-sugar puree line, and new facilities on the East Coast and Europe

 Whether you're a B2B ingredient supplier trying to break into new categories, a brand formulator looking for clean-label solutions, or a marketing leader trying to reach decision-makers in the food and beverage industry, this episode is packed with practical takeaways.

 🔗 Connect with Kim Anderson / NewTree Fruit: newtreefruit.com

 🔗 Connect with Jake Oliver / Blueprint Digital: blueprintdigital.com

 If you would like to chat with us about your marketing needs, grab some time on our calendar: https://blueprintdigital.com/contact/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Ingredient Marketing Podcast, the show for food and beverage ingredient suppliers and manufacturers focused on driving awareness, interest, and demand. Each episode, our host, Jake Oliver, talks with ingredient brands and industry experts about what's actually working in B2B ingredient marketing today. Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Hello. Most of our listeners are B2B food and beverage ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, the teams building products behind the brands. Today I'm joined by Kim Anderson, Director of Business Development and Sales and Marketing at New Tree Fruit Company. Kim, thanks for joining. Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Absolutely. So for listeners meeting New Tree for the first time, what does New Tree Fruit do and what do you sell as a B2B ingredient solution?

SPEAKER_02 0:51

So New Tree Fruit Company has developed a patented technology that removes sugar from fruit juice while maintaining the nutrition profile of the original juice. For instance, we would take the goodness of tart cherry juice that has lots of antioxidants and flavanols and other polyphenols in it. We would remove 100% of the sugar, and what would remain is all that same nutrient profile.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Very cool. And so who's who's your ideal customer? Is it RD, innovation, procurement, or brand? And what categories tend to be the best fit for you?

SPEAKER_02 1:27

All of the above. We can be used in a variety of beverage uh formats, but also in the food space as well. So we work with RD, we work with marketing, procurement. It's really a team effort to get our products included in a formulation.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Very cool. And so where does Nutri win the best? Like what applications do you feel the strongest fit? I'm seeing on your website beverages, gummies, candies, dairy, frozen. Could you elaborate a little bit on what you feel like are really the best applications right now?

SPEAKER_02 2:00

So we remove 100% of the fruit juice, but the the formulator is really their discretion on how they want to use it. Right now, I think our best clients are in the canned cocktail and beer space because it's a natural acidifier. There's no browning, and there's also no secondary fermentation, which is a problem in beers that use fruit purees. But also, you know, we we're in a product that's a zero sugar lemonade. So it's kind of however the client wants to use it. We've spent a lot of time in the food categories in the last 18 months. You mentioned the fruit snacks. We do have a fruit snack in market called Fruit Farm. A partner of ours has developed that to be a very similar product to a Welch's, but way healthier. Also can be included in baked goods. The dairy space, it's really good for acidified dairy. So things like yogurt and kefir.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

But also we can you be a prep for the bottom of the cup yogurt, the fruit, fruit inclusion. So there are really a lot of ways that it can be used, but the clients that use it the best are really looking for a nutrient inclusion, a clean label, a clean ingredient. And so that's what where they look to for us.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Very cool. And sounds like a lot of new innovation is still happening. So very excited to see where that goes. From your seat in business development and sales, how would you say deals typically start? Is it a sample request, a spec review, like a co-development conversation? What does that typically look like?

SPEAKER_02 3:28

So it could be a sample request from a brand or a developer. Our best relationships have really come through labor houses or the beverage developers that might be independent. And also, we brought on a sweetener company called Apura, and they are a supplier to many of the big beverage brands in the market for sweeteners, whether they be high capacity, zero calorie, natural, and flavor modifiers. So they make a lot of introductions for us to those brands to help with the formulation. The other thing that we have found to be really significant is not only do we provide samples of our de-sugar concentrate, which doesn't have anything added to it. It just they use it as an ingredient in their formulation. But we've done a lot of prototyping in many categories so that we can actually provide those customers with sample formulation, something to build from samples that they can actually taste. So I recently worked with the chocolatier to do a dark chocolate candy with a raspberry sauce, zero sugar raspberry sauce, of course, inclusion in that. And handing those out at events has been, it's incredible to just to see people's faces when they bite into it and find out that the inclusion has zero sugar.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Yeah, I love having conversations with brands with such an innovative product or process that they've they founded. So yeah, just really excited to see what applications you hold in the future. So this process, it's a patented process. Where can people learn more about the technology and how the process works?

SPEAKER_02 5:11

So it's a patented process. So we don't give away all the special sauce, but there is more information on our website, um, new treefruit.com, or they can reach out to me and we can set up a call to discuss in further detail.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Yeah. So I want to speak about growth a little bit and how New Tree has grown to this point. So what has driven that traction? Is it been trade shows aside from the partnership that you've spoken about? Have you invested any marketing? Do you get new clients coming in through your website? Can you speak about your different growth channels?

SPEAKER_02 5:43

Sure. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn, trying to build the brand and awareness about what we do. Because we have such a wide audience, it's difficult to do any direct marketing. But we are exploring things, platforms like Keychain, because there is an opportunity to do outreach there. But we just also sponsored the Breakfast at the Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach, California. And that is driven by LA libations owners and brings together retailers, brands, investors. And we shared our products at the breakfast both mornings. We're still seeing how much opportunity that brings. So for instance, we had the Fruit Farm Fruit Snacks and also CBEB's new brand, Grow, which is a 30% reduced apple juice juice box for school systems. We had their products there as well. So it's a little early to see the total return on investment, but we're hopeful.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

That's great. And your website, I really was impressed by your website. I think the story that you're telling is very clear. It feels very mature in that sense in promoting the different applications. I'm seeing now here the patented the information about the process and just very well organized in how you're telling your story. So well done there. Have you started to see any fruit come from the website in terms of real solid leads, good conversations?

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Yes, we do. It really depends on how much PR we've done. We have done quite a bit of PR releases on things like we secured investment money back in October. I I did a release then. Um the Grow launch also we did a news release for that. So the more we're out there in front of the brands and the media, the better that is turns into.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

So looking forward, what do you see as the next phase of growth for you, or maybe some of the biggest growth challenges, whether that's marketing or operational, um, facing your brand in the next couple of years?

SPEAKER_02 7:50

So right now we're trying to finish our second line, which would be a 10x increase in capacity. That has been a little bit of a challenge. We've been sold out quite a bit this year. So once that happens, we'll be in a much better place. But our next piece of growth is really going to be our 2.0 reduced sugar purees that can be used in things like fruit sauces, applesauces as a thickener in a lot of products. We've created some jams and jellies with that. So that will be our next phase of growth. And then also we're currently looking for space to put up lines three and four in North America, probably on the East Coast where there's a lot of fruit juice manufacturing, and then beyond into Europe.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

A lot of problems around supporting the growth that you're that you're facing.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

And we're a small team, so we're all hustling.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Yeah. And do you feel like you know at this point through your LinkedIn effort? Do you feel like you are in touch with your your audience enough to be able to get the word out effectively about these new product lines?

SPEAKER_02 8:50

I mean, you you can always be better. I think the news releases have been a stronger piece than the LinkedIn, but also you have to be really, really frequent on LinkedIn, which I need to do a better job on. So I think there's a couple of things there.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

And have you, has your company invested in any advertising or, you know, outbound, kind of outside of LinkedIn to get in front of new customers?

SPEAKER_02 9:13

A lot of PR first to start with, and we choose where those outlets go. So really specific um publications that hit the beverage industry. Going forward, we're going to expand that into more of the confectioner and baked goods category as well. Yeah, I mean, we have so many clients that could be potential that it is hard to reach so broadly, I would say.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Right, right. That makes sense. Well, Kim, this has been a great episode. I think a lot of tidbits, first off, I think our listeners will really love to hear about the product and the new product lines, but a lot of tidbits in here as well, as far as effective growth strategies. So thanks so much for coming on and sharing. And where should listeners go to learn more about Nutrifruit?

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Nutrifruit.com, or they can reach out to me directly on LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

And is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners before we wrap up?

SPEAKER_02 10:02

No, I mean, we're just super excited to be in the space. Right now, there's so much focus on healthier eating and more nutrient-dense foods and beverages that we're really where we believe we're where we need to be, that it's just there's nowhere to go but up from here.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Awesome. Well, thanks again, Kim, for joining, and thanks everybody for listening. Take care.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

That's it for today's episode of the Ingredient Marketing Podcast. If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to subscribe for more insights on marketing, food, and beverage ingredients. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.