Page 22 - Food&Drink magazine July 2022

HEALTH & FUNCTIONAL FOODS
The brain food berry
Made with a variety of blackcurrant, the nootropic beverage Ārepa is said to enhance mood and cognitive function. Kim Berry speaks to founder Angus Brown.
THE Ārepa is a native berry to New Zealand and a variety of the more well-known blackcurrant. The beverage company of the same same launched in New Zealand
more than five years ago and brought its Ārepa drink to Australia last year.
QAngus, what is Ārepa? Ārepa is a brainfood technology company. We produce scientifically proven and neuroscientist designed beverages and supplements, created to help improve mental clarity, increase performance and fight against fatigue and brain fog.
QWhat has been the response in Australia?
We had a successful soft launch in Australia
through Coles in 2021, expanding into more of its stores, Harris Farm,
and independents throughout the year.
We have just announced ranging in Woolworths, with two exclusive 90 millilitre shots being stocked in 247 stores.
It is the first time our Ārepa Brain Shot for Protection will be available in Australia, featuring a patented formulation and a new super-power ingredient, Bacopa. Used for centuries in India as a stalwart Ayurvedic herb, Bacopa is clinically proven to have properties that positively impacts cognition and memory, as well as having neuroprotective effects through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanism.
We are predicting that Australia could be a $20 million-plus market for us in the next few years.
One of Australia’s top neuroscientists Professor Andrew Scholey also joined us as our chief science officer and we have established two human clinical studies at leading universities in Melbourne and Sydney.
QWhat are neuroberries and why are they so powerful? Neuroberries are a variety of blackcurrant found in New Zealand that have some of the highest levels of anthocyanins (the antioxidant in berries responsible for their colour) and Vitamin C out of any berry grown on earth.
One serving of neuroberries contains 108 per cent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C, 16 times more than the equivalent serve of strawberries, and 56 times more than an acai berry.
What makes the neuroberry so interesting is its ability to increase mental performance under fatigue. It also inhibits the MAO enzyme from oxidising much needed neurotransmitters responsible for mood and neurological function.
Q
The berries require very specific conditions to grow and are harvested within a two-week window each summer. We have on-farm AgTech and breeding work underway to produce an even higher bioactive berry for therapeutic research.
We process the berry in different ways depending on the product. While our processes are our trade secret, we measure the bioactivity of ingredients before bottling and in the final product at the end of shelf life.
want everyone to have better brain days. ✷
Where/how do you source
and process the berries?
Q
We have partnered with the largest grower of neuroberries in the southern hemisphere, Waipuna Farms in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island, and have the exclusive rights to harvest and use neuroberries in our patented formulas.
What is the next goal?
Our plans are to make brains work better worldwide. For every year we can add to brain health through science backed food, we can save the world up to half a trillion dollars’ worth of economic burden. We
22 | Food&Drink business | July 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au