Mile Fruits NR, new signings EnWave Licenses Six New Product Categories to Milne Fruit Products Inc. and Signs New Collaboration Agreement for Pineapples, Bananas and Apples
May 8, 2013
EnWave Corporation (TSX-V:ENW | FSE:E4U) (“EnWave”, or the "Company") announced today that it has amended the existing license agreement (“the License Agreement”) with Milne Fruit Products Inc. (“Milne”) to include the right to produce six new product categories, including strawberries, cherries, pomegranate, peas, corn and carrots, on a commercial basis using the Company’s Radiant Energy Vacuum (“REV™”) technology. EnWave furthermore signed a new collaboration agreement (“the Collaboration Agreement”) with Milne to conduct formal product development work for pineapples, apples and bananas in order to determine the commercial feasibility of these attractive new product areas.
Prior to this announcement, Milne conducted extensive market and product development work to gauge the commercial potential for the new MicroDried® fruit and vegetable product lines. These supplementary products are expected to bring new momentum to the growing success of the MicroDried® brand and are now available in whole, fragmented and powdered form making them suitable ingredients for a wide variety of applications in the snack, cereal, beverage, soup, supplement and health and wellness markets.
Milne entered the dried fruit market positioning MicroDried® products as pure, healthy alternatives to sugar-infused offerings, with comparable nutritional retention to freeze-dried products, but offering a more unique puffed appearance, richer colors and diverse textures. After an extensive product and market development effort, Milne’s MicroDried® products have been gaining traction with a growing network of customers, introducing new innovative healthy products through some of the biggest brand names in the grocery, snack food and fast food industries. Recent new commercial products have emerged in three distinct categories:
- Pure whole berry-based, chewy and crunchy snack items;
- All-natural berry powders for a growing number of market areas including bite-size snack products, salad dressings, smoothies and nutraceuticals; and
- Wholesome berry flakes, pieces and powders for the baking and cereal markets, including a unique new healthy snack bar with berries being introduced to the pet food market.
The addition of the six newly licensed fruit and vegetable products, combined with the collaboration opportunity for MicroDried® bananas, pineapples and apples, has broadened Milne’s product offerings for their established commercial market segments, while opening up new opportunities in the snack, baking and soup industries for MicroDried® vegetable pieces and powders.
“It’s a revolutionary process producing revolutionary results,” stated Michael Sorenson, President and General Manager of Milne Fruit Products. “Our MicroDried® products are pure and healthy, retaining a more natural appearance than other dried fruits and vegetables.”
“Milne is an innovator in every sense of the word,” stated Dr. Tim Durance, Chairman & Co-CEO of EnWave Corporation. “Their commitment to bringing these new high-quality product lines to the market is opening up many new market channels for REV™ technology in the United States and around the world.”
About Milne Fruit Products Inc.
Founded in 1956, Milne Fruit Products is the industry leader in creating fruit juices, concentrates, purees and custom blends from 25 different fruit varieties for the industrial food and beverage markets. Dedicated to using new technologies, Milne recently introduced an innovative line of MicroDried™, natural whole fruit pieces and powders offering high levels of beneficial nutrients to provide customers with healthy fruit and vegetable products that are 100% natural to meet the needs of a diverse consumer marketplace. For more information on Milne Fruit Products, please visit www.milnefruit.com.