Black Bear and Leopard Cat Fruit Sparkling Wort Pop-Up Launch, Great Value-Added Potential for Off-Grade Produce

Amid frequent reports this year of fruit supply-demand imbalances, "Extra Agro-Products" has partnered with "Taiwan Bar" to launch an alcohol-free drink called "Black Beer Wheat-Made Fruit Sparkling Wort," using off-grade Taiwan fruits including Golden Diamond pineapple, Old North banana, Eureka yellow lemon, and Fengxiang strawberry, combined with Taiwan Bar IP (intellectual property) characters, hoping to solve fruit overproduction and raise young people's awareness of Taiwan agriculture.

Off-grade produce made into fruit sparkling wort, Taiwan Bar creates character images

"Extra Agro-Products" was founded in 2015, making good use of "off-grade produce" from growing regions to create processed goods, and this year it has crossed fields to collaborate with Taiwan Bar, targeting young people. Lin Ya-wen, co-founder of Extra Agro-Products, explained that this time jam made from off-grade produce is combined with wort, with no artificial flavorings added, maintaining its natural taste; in a whole bottle of fruit sparkling wort, the fruit proportion is about 12 to 30%. Currently, the amount of five fruits used is nearly over one ton.

Taiwan Bar product manager Hsiao Chung-chun said that Taiwan Bar character personalities are paired with different fruits to create buzz. "Black Beer" is a Formosan black bear, enthusiastic and unrestrained, curious about all things, so pineapple, a tropical fruit, represents it. "Landi" is a Taiwan mikado pheasant, calm in personality and skilled at scientific research, fitting better with the image of dragon fruit, which does not have much flavor. "Honggui" is a Formosan landlocked salmon, the only female among all the characters, fitting strawberry's sweet image. "White Rice" is a Formosan macaque; because monkeys like to eat bananas, it represents them. "Huangshao" is a leopard cat, specializing in acting cute and meowing, so it is linked to lemon through the homophone "meow lemon."

Purchased at 70% of the price of standard-grade produce, lower cost

Extra Agro-Products on average purchases off-grade produce from farmers at 70% of the price of ordinary standard-grade produce, mostly making it into jam and frozen treats. As for whether the jam pricing is relatively cheap? Lin Ya-wen said the original market positioning was to compare with additive-free handmade jam, at roughly 60 to 80% of the price of handmade jam.

Lin Ya-wen then added that if it is jam with large production volume and low price, flavorings and preservatives may be added, and the actual fruit amount need not be this high; combined with automated production, the cost is relatively lower and the price is also cheaper. "But we have absolutely no additives, relying entirely on fruit to carry the flavor, and the amount of fruit used is relatively high, so the cost also rises." In addition, working with farmers with traceability certification makes the price higher than ordinary conventional agricultural produce.

Lin stressed that products outside the specification are meant for processing anyway, and farmers also do not want fruit of good grade and quality to be sent for processing. "Good-quality fruit can go directly to the market for sale, or even into export gift boxes, and can sell for a better price; farmers would feel it is too much of a pity to use it for processing."

Summer pop-up event attracts public attention

As for the benefits brought by launching the product, Hsiao Chung-chun hopes that through combining different topics, more people will know Taiwan Bar's character IP, and that it will drive discussion and social conversation. Lin Ya-wen said she hopes to encourage everyone to purchase off-grade produce and make it into local agricultural processed goods. "For example, we make jam, which was originally primary processing, but then we use the jam as a raw material for wort, jumping to secondary and tertiary processing; agricultural processing can have more imagination." In addition, fresh fruit exported abroad faces quarantine issues, but fruit wort can be exported directly.

As for whether long-term sales of fruit sparkling wort are being considered, Hsiao Chung-chun said this is a summer pop-up event, hoping to spark more imagination, but there are currently no plans for long-term sales. However, Yu Tzu-ang said that in the future there are plans to turn it into a long-term product through character licensing, and it may also collaborate with large events, such as picnic events, where every picnic package includes a bottle of fruit wort, so many units can be sold at once.

Lin Ya-wen stressed that through this product, not only is the diversity of agricultural processed goods as raw material applications presented, but it is also hoped to draw young people's attention to agricultural issues, which is very helpful for encouraging young people to enter farming or for agricultural marketing. In addition, the collaboration with Taiwan Bar characters also hopes to raise public awareness of the survival difficulties of some species in Taiwan.