From gin to nutrition: New Zealand’s plum-gin maker receives cash tonic to fund nutrition research A New Zealand firm producing gin from Damson plums is expanding into the functional health foods space and has received funding to research and develop nutrition products based on its high amounts of anthocyanins.
Hawke’s Bay-based company Foot Steps Limited recently received a development grant of NZ$50k (US$35k) from the High-Value Nutrition (HVN) National Science Challenge to study the bioactive components of the plums.
The company currently owns a Damson plum orchard consisting of 400 plum trees.
Just this year, it commercialised its first consumer product, which is a gin product made using the plums.
A development grant for $50,000 has been awarded by the High-Value Nutrition Ko Ngā Kai Whai Painga National Science Challenge to Foot Steps Limited in Karamu, Hastings. The grant will support a six-month project to explore the bioactive compounds .
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