Amazon Origins has begun a campaign to push a new superfruit, the camu camu berry, in the mainstream U.S. market. 

Although the South American rainforest berry remains relatively unknown for consumers, the creators of Amaçari supplements seem confident that the camu camu's impressive nutritional content will lead it to become the next big thing in the nutraceutical industry.

The fruit will be sold in the form of a capsule supplement, under the name Amaçari, since the berry itself is far too sharp and acidic to be eaten without processing.

Amazon Origins medical advisor Dr. Derrick DeSilva told www.freshfruitportal.com that vitamin C constitutes an astounding 2-3% of the total weight of a single berry.

"There is nothing else that comes even close. And we've done the analysis on this, it's university data. The amount of vitamin C in one berry is equal to the vitamin C concentration of 60 oranges."

One may wonder why such a remarkable berry has not already gained a widespread reputation and strong position in the health food market. DeSilva explained that its relatively low profile could be attributed to a lack of publicity and no previously viable method of rendering the berries consumable.

"It is likely because of the fact that there hasn't been the publicity, and there's always an issue with supply and an issue with quality," he said.

Amazon Origins has managed to develop a method of processing the berry into a pink powder, while preserving around 85% of the nutrients.

The camu camu is found throughout the entire Amazon River Basin, which includes Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia, although Amazon Origins sources its berries specifically from Brazil.

It is typically harvested between December and May, depending on the river levels, and is picked from canoe or small boat directly from the river or river bank.

The camu camu berries are flash frozen in the Amazon, after which they are transported to the U.S. A highly proprietary process is then used to evaporate only the water, leaving most of the nutrients and antioxidants unaffected.

The company sells this power in capsules, to be consumed as a supplement to a regular diet. DeSilva said that although the powder could almost definitely be used as an ingredient in other foods, it seemed wise to make it as simple as possible in order to increase mainstream appeal.

"I wanted to make things easy with people so they are more compliant. If you’ve got to open something and put in into a shake, you got to do this, you’ve got to do that, I think people are a little less compliant."

Amazon Origins claims that the potential health benefits from consuming the supplement are extensive, ranging from helping with joint aches to improving mental clarity.

DeSilva said that almost everyone could gain in some way from the camu camu berry, to counter negative effects of widespread consumption of impurities in modern diets which often lack essential nutrients.

"There are very few people that don’t have something wrong, whether you’re 20 years' old or whether you're 80 years' old, you have got inflammation in your body. It is that obvious and it is that common.

"Because of the diets that we consume today, because of pollution, because of the toxic elements in our food, because of processing, due to the lack of nutrients, minerals and amino acids, there are so many people that are nutrient deficient today."

"As far as benefits are concerned, it would be mental clarity, it would be a whole host of things related to just overall better health. I think it comes to literally feeling better, joint improvement, joint health, and energy," he added.

Despite this impressive range of ways it could improve consumers' health, it still remains a huge task to bring a new fruit to the market where very few people have ever heard of it.

Amazon Origins CEO Jeff Moats seems confident, however, that with some public education about the berry, Amaçari could fare very well and take advantage of the recent trend of health foods in the U.S.

"While this fruit is relatively unknown, there has been a strong focus in the U.S. for years now on superfruits and superfoods," Moats said.

"Camu camu has been scientifically shown to have comparable, or, in some capacities, superior, levels of certain antioxidants and nutritional compounds. As with açai before it, camu camu will continue to gain awareness in the general population simply because of its amazing natural properties.

"Our goal is to help educate consumers, health professionals, and others about the fruit, and let the quality of our product speak for itself through the results that users report experiencing."

The company's ambitions do not end with bringing its new superfruit supplement to the market. Moats explained that he has future plans to expand the range of products on offer.

"We plan to develop a range of products from the Amazon region with a focus on healing properties and directly improving people’s quality of life.

"We’ve also begun work on formulating a skincare line with camu camu as a key ingredient, to capitalize on the antioxidant power of the vitamin C in the fruit."

Related story: Opinion: Camu-camu fruit offers untapped benefits

www.freshfruitportal.com