By TBY | Azerbaijan | Jun 26, 2014
Innovative juice producer AZNAR has gone to great lengths to preserve the nutrients in its fruit juices through research and investment in innovative processing facilities.
AZNAR’s non-waste philosophy has prompted it to innovate by employing nanotechnology, through which it now derives secondary products, such as pomegranate seed oil. AZNAR is the first in the world to produce this oil, which is used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, on an industrial scale. This breakthrough is the result of a significant investment of time and resources in the research of a new technology that avoids the use of traditional presses in the processing of seeds.
In addition to the oil, AZNAR has other specialty products, such as its famous Narsharab (pomegranate salad sauce), which is produced based on a traditional Azerbaijani recipe of jams, compotes, and syrups.
AZNAR’s core business, however, is juice production under the brand name Grante, which is produced both for the FMCG sector in its ready to drink (RTD) form, and for the hospitality (HoReCa) sector in the form of 220 liter aseptic bags. The company predominantly produces pomegranate juice, although it also has apple, quince, and grape varieties, as well as mixes of these fruits. Attention to detail starts early in the process of production, with the fruit plantations. Thus, AZNAR acquired 1,100 ha of plantations on which its staff planted and re-cultivated pomegranate trees until it obtained a harvest of 600,000 trees, all producing superior-quality fruit.
But prime raw materials are only part of AZNAR’s recipe for success. Other factors include its 42-year experience in the field, its ambitious expansion to markets like New Zealand, Russia, and the US, and its $55 million investment in state-of-the-art processing and research facilities. All these are different expressions of AZNAR’s dedication to preserving all the nutrients, physiologically active ingredients, and organoleptic properties of the pomegranate fruit through the production process. In recognition of the quality of its products, AZNAR was awarded the “Innovations in the Structure of Product” award at Prodexpo in 2009.
Looking ahead, AZNAR has set ambitious goals for itself, which include exporting its products to new countries, the installation of a 10-ton cooling storage facility for fruit, as well as innovations in the packaging of products and the extraction of tannins from fruit skin.
