​It can be difficult to keep healthy during the long, cold and dark days of winter. If you are planning to develop and sell a healthy fruit-based snack to help people boost their immune system and fight off coughs and colds during the winter months, then you will need to have the help of a well-established and trusted fruit concentrate supplier such as JC Dudley.

A big part of staving off illnesses and staying healthy is by maintaining a strong immune system. People can do this by ensuring they eat a healthy diet that includes natural, vitamin-rich foods and drinks that can give their bodies all the nutrients needed to fend off winter bugs. This is why it is so important that people keep up a steady and sustained intake of fruits and vegetables. However, many people don't want to live on fruits and vegetables alone and will be grateful to add healthy and tasty fruit-based snacks to give them more variety.

Healthy fruit snacks
There is a huge consumer demand for healthy fruit snacks, both for their health-giving benefits, but also for their convenience. Many parents like to pack healthy snacks like natural fruit snack bars into their children's packed school lunches. These healthy snacks are a perfect compromise between eating fresh fruit that may otherwise become bruised or go off in the lunch bag, or giving their child an unhealthy chocolate bar. Many schools now frown upon parents packing lunches that contain sweets or chocolate bars, so a healthy fruit snack bar is a perfect alternative.

Another factor in keeping healthy and making sure to get the 'five-a-day' is that fruit-based snacks will usually have a much longer shelf-life and hold onto their nutrient content when compared to fresh fruit, which will start to lose its nutritional value the longer they are stored before consumption.

Modern technology and preserving techniques used by the professional suppliers of fruit concentrate supplier used by JC Dudley means that you can successfully develop a tasty snack or treat that contains all of the goodness of fresh fruit, giving your customers the best of both worlds.

You can give your customers the choice of looking after their health in a convenient and desirable way without them having to think about it!

Concentrated Goodness in Fruit Puree
JC Dudley have perfected a process that delivers you an all natural, real fruit puree that you can use in your baked goods or fruit snack products that are proving so popular in the snack food market at the moment.

With our wide variety of high-quality pure fruit-based purees, the sky is the limit withthe flavour combinations you can incorporate into your product. You could go on to create a wide range of different fruit flavours to keep your customers excited and engaged with your products.

Help and support from JC Dudley
Not only can JC Dudley be your number one fruit concentrate supplier, we can also assist you with our professional technical support too!

You can benefit from the industry knowledge of our new product development team and more:

•           New supplier development
•           Market development and penetration
•           New product development
•           Technical support
•           Logistical support
•           Competitive, sensible and strategic options
•           Just in time deliveries
•           Extra eyes and ears for your Sales and Purchasing departments

With our years of experience and industry knowledge, we can supply you with the key ingredients and support to allow you to develop your new healthy fruit-based product or snack lines. Our natural fruit purees offer you a level of stability and supply consistency that is vital for both small or large-scale production.

Contact our friendly team today for more information about our many and varied product ranges or support services. We are here to help!

Drink trends come and go, but what we are seeing as a nation is more health-savvy consumers moving away from traditional favourite drinks, such as sugar-laden cola and other fizzy drinks, and instead choosing beverages that contain more healthy and natural ingredients.
 
Such is the ever-surging demand for healthier drink options in the marketplace, now has never been a better time for those with a great new drink idea to get their beverage into the mainstream drinks marketplace.
 
Health conscious consumers are looking for more well-balanced, nutritional drinks that can support their active lifestyles. However, they are also looking for drinks that are convenient and easy to carry and use. Although convenience is a big selling factor for any new drink line, health-conscious customers are not willing to sacrifice the taste or health-giving properties of the drink for the sake of convenience.  This is why it pays to work with a tried and trusted food ingredient company such as JC Dudley if you want to develop and launch a brand new health drink.
 
Meeting a new trend with quality ingredients
Sports and energy drinks used to be the domain of serious fitness enthusiasts whose second home is the gym. However, energy drinks have now gone mainstream, and there are a wide range of options to choose from for the health-conscious consumer, whether they hit the gym every day, play sports or simply enjoy a daily walk.
 
What has been happening over recent years is that people are moving away from these high-sugar sports and energy drinks and choosing more natural fruit-based beverages with recognisable ingredients that they can actually pronounce!
 
This is where JC Dudley can help you meet the market shift in demand to more natural ingredient based drinks.
 
We do more than source and supply fruit-based options for your drink ranges, we also source and prepare many other healthy ingredients that are in great demand, such as:

• Fruit Juice Concentrates
• NFC Fruit Juices
• Fruit Puree Concentrates
• S/s Fruit Purees
• Vegetable Juices and Purees
• Fruit Pulp Concentrates
• Oils, Essences, Dried Herbs and Spices, Powders and more...

 
Moving away from sugary drinks
Consumers now want to be delivered with drinks that meet with their high expectations for flavour, appearance, and naturally sourced health-giving nutritional ingredients. The capability to deliver exactly what your end customer wants will come down to the skills and knowledge of your food ingredient company.
 
With growing consumer demands for lower-sugar products, the sales of cola and sugar-laden fizzy drinks are now in decline. Drinks manufactures now are turning more towards creating and supplying highly sought-after fruit-based drinks (or drinks with beneficial vegetable extracts) that can deliver exactly what health-conscious consumers want.
 
You can do this too by working with JC Dudley as your partner. We are a well-established family business that has been working in the food industry since 1983. We specialise in the supply of natural and healthy raw food ingredients, as well as fully finished consumable products to food and drink companies. We work with all sorts of different companies within the Retail, Food Service and Product Manufacturing sectors, both at home in the UK and all over the globe.
 
Our changing relationship with the EU – why work with us? 
What makes working with JC Dudley special is that you will be partnering with an extremely hard working team of of varied experience and background – some of our people have been working with us for over 30 years!
We can therefore not only help you with the supply of high-quality drink ingredients, but we will also be a safe pair of hands when it comes to managing the changes around our new relationship with the EU. 

We can help you with:

• The management of an increasingly complicated supply chain in order to facilitate where necessary local stockholding and just in time deliveries
• Competitive, sensible and strategic options
• Being the extra eyes and ears for your Sales and Purchasing departments
• Market development and penetration
• New product development
• New supplier development
• Technical support

 
If you want to discuss your new drink product or drinks ranges with us, do not hesitate to contact our friendly team. We would love to help you get your new product ideas off the ground.

Come and join us at our exhibition at Food Matters Live from the 20th - 22nd November. 
​Food Matters Live is a global community where food, health and innovation meet.
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Bringing together like-minded people working in food, drink and nutrition, this show provides a platform to share game-changing ideas, innovations and insights. The ambition is to change the future of food and drink, and the health of the planet for the better.

Food businesses like JC Dudley, have an important role in helping people make healthy and sustainable choices, including shifting to more plant-based eating.
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​​Over 800 organisations will exhibit at Food Matters Live 2018, including a host of innovative food and drink producers exhibiting a range of nutritious, ethical and better-for-you food and drink.  From challenger brands and start ups to iconic household names, meet the innovators setting new trends.

The Food Matters Live Exhibition hosts the largest gathering of ingredients companies in the UK, showcasing the latest innovative ingredients for food, drink, nutraceutical and functional product development.

We will participate in this exhibition at stand 440 with a range of our products including:
Fruit Concentrates, Puree Concentrates, Pulp Concentrates, Green Plantain, Ripe Plantain, Yuca and Yuzu Juice. 

Join us to be part of a better food future. For more information on the event visit us here.

Manufacturing baked goods that appeal to consumers can be a fine balancing act. Firstly, you need to make your baked goods appealing in looks, taste and texture, but you also need to keep in mind that consumers these days are more health conscious than ever.
 
These days, savvy consumers are more keen to read nutritional labels, so will be more likely to pick out and buy those baked goods that have less sugar and no strange chemical names that they find hard to pronounce. Modern consumers are attracted to labelling and ingredients that can claim to be natural or wholesome.
 
This is why it is important to include natural food ingredients in your baked goods. You can do this by sourcing from a reputable food ingredient supplier such as JC Dudley. We are a family business that has been established since 1983, and we specialise in the supply of a varied range of cost-effective natural food ingredients to many high-profile food and drink companies within the Retail, Food service and Manufacturing sectors both here in the UK and Overseas.
 
Why more consumers want to buy 'natural'
It is the quality of the food ingredients that go into baked goods that really make it or break it. The quality of the ingredients is the real difference between an OK product and a really great baked item that keeps people coming back for more.  This is why you should ensure that you use the very best natural ingredients that you can find.
 
There are many companies within the food industry that can churn out cheap, low-quality baked good that don't even come close to being able to claim to be 'natural'. Most cheap baked goods are loaded with sugar, poor quality vegetable oils and artificial flavourings and colouring. Consumers can see through this and there are an ever-growing number of them that are trying to avoid all these unhealthy ingredients these days, choosing to leave them on the shelves in favour of buying baked goods that contain more natural ingredients, even if they are more expensive.
 
Natural food ingredient supplier
It used to be quite difficult for a baker to find a consistent source of fruit and vegetable based natural ingredients for their baked goods. Very often they were affected by poor supplies because of the seasonality of the fruit ingredients then wanted. However, working in partnership with JC Dudley has resolved these issues for a lot of baked goods manufacturers.
 
Using our state-of-the-art food ingredient processing techniques, we are able to retain the taste, texture, colour and natural goodness of our food ingredients without you having to resort to artificial substitutions.  This means that you can have a consistent supply of high-quality natural food ingredients that can make all the difference to the taste and desirability of your baked goods.
 
Excellent customer insights and services
No matter how good your ingredient supply quality is, you also need to be reassured that you are backed up with excellent customer support and advice. Food ingredient products for professional bakers need to be of the highest quality, easy to source and simple to incorporate into your baking recipes.
 
JC Dudley are here to help you with your food ingredient needs. We have done our research and worked with many industry leading food manufacturers to develop ingredients that are stable during baking, are packed in a convenient way that is suitable for your needs, are easy to store, and require no messy preparation from your end that can hamper or delay your baking procedures.
 
JC Dudley, food ingredient supplier, is a member of Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange. Our dedicated and knowledgeable team are here to help you with our range of services:
 
·         New supplier development
·         Market development and penetration
·         New product development
·         Technical support
·         Logistical support
·         Competitive, sensible and strategic options
·         Just in time deliveries
·         Extra eyes and ears for your Sales and Purchasing departments
 
Why not contact our friendly team today? We are here to help you!

JC Dudley is proud to be involved in supporting the Soil Association with the promotion of 'Organic September' for 2018.
 
What is Organic September?
 
For the whole month of September, the Soil Association is running a promotion to help raise the profile of Organically grown food throughout the UK. The campaign is especially geared up to highlight and appreciate the hard work and contributions made by Organic farmers and producers to deliver their goods – just as they should be!
 
Organic September will help to raise the awareness of organic foods and help consumers to recognise Organic products by identifying the Organic symbol used and displayed when on sale. This shows shoppers which products have been produced with the highest of standards and are using ingredients grown with fewer artificial additives, preservatives and pesticides.
 
Sourcing Organic produce
 
JC Dudley ensures that you can work with a juice supplier that selects Organic produce direct from trusted sources. We understand that for your juice product to be allowed to be labelled as Organic, it must meet with a very strict set of standards to meet with labelling laws. This means that the factories we work with to source our Organic juices comply with current European laws for Organic standards, and are inspected at least once per year to ensure they meet all requirements.
 
Organic September also aims to encourage consumers to eat Organic for the whole month. This can be very beneficial to their general health and well-being, and as a result many consumers choose to keep on buying Organic products over their usual conventional choices.
 
The Soil Association have taken a very proactive approach to Organic September and offers a complete toolkit of useful materials to help retailers to join in with the month-long promotion. The toolkit is available in both print and digital versions for download from their website.
 
Organic September Saturday
 
On the 15th September, 'Organic September Saturday' will be happening. This is the day that hundreds of independent retailers across the UK will be throwing open their doors to showcase their ranges of Organic goods. Lots of shops are planning to hold special events, including live cookery demonstrations, fun competitions and free product sampling, as well as in-store discounts for purchases made on that day or for certain Organic products and ranges.
 
Are you taking part in Organic September Saturday?
 
According to data collected by Nielsen Scantrack on behalf of the Soil Association, Organic September 2017 saw a sales growth of 7.1% during the weeks running up to the 30th September. Each year the promotion is growing and the word is spreading with more retailers keen to get onboard.
 
More consumers are willing to try going Organic because of the positive effect that Organic September has on them and the increased media coverage the event gets each year.
 
If you are planning on taking part in Organic September this year, then why not get in contact with us as soon as possible to ensure you favourite Organic juice supplier can deliver your Organic raw materials and ingredients in time for your Organic promotion.

Smoothies are huge at the moment and for good reason.  All you need is a decent blender, three or four ingredients and you can make a personalised nutritious drink.  Key to most smoothies are fruit and fruit juices but how do you know which ones are the best for your smoothies?
 
Creating the perfect smoothie
 
Before you start looking at the ingredients, it is a good idea to understand how to make the perfect smoothie because there is a bit of an art to it.  The key is about the ratio of ingredients you put in it – too much liquid and you have a simple juice drink.  But too little and you have something too dense to drink.  Both are great but for the perfect smoothie, aim for the middle ground.
 
The aim of the smoothie mix is for it to be creamy, full of flavour and filling.  That means balancing the fruit, protein and a little healthy fat with enough liquid to make it into a drink.  For the fruit, go for one cup of fruit per single portion.  You can use fresh or frozen but if you go with frozen, don’t add any additional ice.
 
Three-quarters of a cup of liquid will make for a great ratio.  There are lots of different options for water and milk to fruit juices.  Don’t be afraid to go to a Fruit juice supplier to get something a little different from the standard orange or apple juice and bump up the nutrition.
 
A tablespoon of something like a nut or seed butter or one-quarter of an avocado can add those healthy fats if you want.  Even adding something like chia seeds can be an option and doesn’t alter the consistency of the drink.
 
Finally, if you haven’t used frozen fruit but you want a chilled smoothie, add a cup of ice.  Crushed can be better than ice cubes if you don’t have a high powered blender so you don’t have to wait for ages for the lumps to melt.
 
Best fruit for smoothies
 
Any fruit is good in a smoothie and you can combine them in ways to create the kind of flavours you like.  A classic is something like strawberry and banana while a tropical option might add pineapple, coconut and mango.  Here are some of the crucial fruit smoothie ingredients to try:
 
·         Berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry)
·         Banana
·         Apple
·         Mango
·         Pineapple
·         Peach/Nectarine/Apricot
·         Melon (including watermelon)
·         Cherries
 
Green ingredients can also add a huge amount of nutritional goodness to your drink and if you combine them with fruit, the fruit masks the less tasty elements of the greens.  Top green ingredients include:
 
·         Kale
·         Spinach
·         Avocado
·         Cucumber
·         Cauliflower
 
Other ‘green’ ingredients that aren’t actually green that can be added to smoothies include carrot and pumpkin.  These add their nutritional stuff to the drink and the fruit helps with their flavour.  Unless you like the flavour, then don’t worry about the fruit!
 
Smoothie bowls
 
If you want to make your smoothie for breakfast but aren’t a big fan of a liquid meal, then another option is to make a smoothie bowl.  These work the same as smoothie drinks only you change the balance of ingredients a little to make them thicker.  Then you serve them in a  bowl and eat with a spoon just like a breakfast cereal.  They are also a great option for kids and can be made to look pretty and come in fun colours that will inspire them to eat.
 
Making smoothies is an easy and tasty way to get those 5-a-day that we all hear so much about.  You can add your favourite fruits, use them to mask nutritious but less tasty greens and even transform them into a sit-down breakfast for the kids.

For more information about fruit options from a fruit juice supplier like JC Dudley, feel free to get in touch today!

When you visit the supermarket you will often see products that are labelled ‘organic’ – and notice that they usually cost more than the non-organic versions.  But most of us are a little unsure about what makes an organic product.  Then there is the question of whether these products are healthier than non-organic versions.

What is organic?

According to the Department for Agriculture and Rural Affair (DEFRA), organic food is produced by a farming system that avoids the use of man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives.  There is also a ban on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that apply to most foods.
The aim of organic agriculture is to create a system of food production that is environmental, socially and economically sustainable. It uses approaches such as crop rotation, animal and plant manures, biological pest control and even hand weeding in some cases.

What this means for the product

The overall aim of the organic approach is to farm with a closer attention paid to nature.
This means fewer chemicals used that can leak into waterways or cause other types of pollution. It is an approach that also encourages wildlife and biodiversity, restoring the countryside to what it once was while still producing the food that we need.
Another big focus is avoiding veterinary medicines such as antibiotics when raising livestock. There is a big emphasis on animal welfare, requiring animals to be kept in more natural conditions such as free-range chickens.

Organic labelling

For most people, when we encounter organic it is through the labelling on the products that we buy. This is very strict with regulations that the Food ingredient company stick by to ensure that when something is called ‘organic’ it truly is.
For composite foods such as those containing a mixture of animal and plant products, something can only be called organic if at least 95% of the ingredients come from organically produced plantsor animals. This is an EU rule that means such foods need to be approved by an organic certification board before it can be used.
There are other labels you may see that help you understand what the food is. The Soil Association is a gold standard of organic labelling for example. You will also see that any non-organic ingredients will be listed because some things are unavoidable. Organic foods also ban all artificial colourings and sweeteners.

Is organic food healthier?

The question of whether organic foods are healthier or not is still one that hasn’t been determined decisively either way.  One case for it is that they are based on the way they are produced as well as being kinder to the environment and the livestock themselves.
A report back in 2009 from the Food Standards Agency said there was no clear difference in health terms between organic and non-organic foods.  But, since then, a number of smaller reports have shown this might not be the whole picture.  For example, some organic produce has a slightly higher content of vitamins and minerals.  And these foods have lower levels of pesticide residue and heavy metals due to their production methods.

A personal choice

Opting for organic is completely a personal choice.  Here at JC Dudley, we offer a number of ingredients in organic variations so that if our customers want to offer this to their customers, we can help.  For people who are concerned about their impact on the environment then organic definitely has its plus points. Even from the view of being potentially a little healthier, there’s evidence that organic could be the way to go.

To find out more about JC Dudley as a food ingredient company, get in touch today.

​Look out the window right now and you might see some crunchy frost glazing your lush green lawn, an icicle hanging from the skeletal tree branches or maybe even a snowman or two!
 
It’s the time of year for long dark nights full of wet, icy and freezing conditions and you are best off staying inside, somewhere warm, or even better, jetting off to a far flung sunny climate with a good beach and a pina colada!
 
What you will not see much of, is any fresh fruit or vegetable. Sure, there are some hardy plants which can brave and survive the UK climate, but they are few and far between and do not offer the varied flavour, colour and nutrients we have come to expect from our many and varied diet, and it takes a dedicated soul to work that iron-like soil to reap whatever harvest you may be able to in winter weather such as ours.
 
Since the advent of cheaper and more frequent international travel, the ‘package tour’ and jetting off for some ‘winter sun’ has become ubiquitous and a welcome relief for many who can get away from the perpetual gloom for some well needed Vitamin D. The world is a smaller place and exotic and vibrant locations around the world which we love to visit are accompanied by exotic and delicious fruit and vegetables. Along with the growth of a desire to see and taste the world, we come to expect that we will be able to eat and drink these delicious and different foodstuffs. In this the Fruit ingredient suppliers of the world have not remained idle, you can now get hold of fruit and vegetables from around the world at any time of the year to liven up any cold winter night.
 
Here at JC Dudley, we have taken on the arduous task of travelling the world to source the freshest and tastiest of produce for our customers. Since 1983 we have fostered relations with small family-run suppliers from Honduras to China to ensure you receive great produce, ethically grown in as sustainable and environmentally friendly manner as possible. For this reason, we are a proud affiliate of SEDEX and work hard to audit our suppliers regularly to ensure they conform to the highest of standards. Our standards.
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It must taste good AND be good for us
 
Of course, the world has become a much smaller place, but as a consumer we want the best of both worlds. We want delicious flavoursome food on our plates whenever we want, even though it might have to travel many thousands of miles to get there. This, on top of the fact that we all want this puts a large strain on the world of fruit ingredient suppliers. We want great taste, healthy foods as cheap as we can. No problem!
 
Since 1983 we have been striving for exactly this mix, so that we can provide the very best. We have adopted the very best methods to ensure that those Mangoes grown in Mexico taste and deliver the exact same nutritional hit as if they had just been plucked from the tree. Methods such as IQF (individual quick freezing), Aseptic packaging techniques and a vast array of preparation methods have ensured that we can provide cost effective yet innovative products for you to use.
 
In this rapidly changing climate we offer the following methods of preparation for a dizzying array of fruit and vegetables.
 
·         Concentrate
·         Juice
·         Freeze concentrate
·         Pulp concentrate
·         Puree
·         Puree concentrate
·         Oil
·         Natural colours
·         Aromas
·         Fruit powders
·         IQF Fruit/Veg
 
Some of these are also available in spray controlled or organic form to ensure you can guarantee the most sustainable products for your customers.
 
With our wealth of experience, we are always looking outside the box, and would welcome your conversation if you were looking to provide or create something entirely new with any of our products. We are always looking to satisfy and innovate and can utilise our decades of experience to do so. Get in touch with us here.