The addition to its Topfil range includes wild berries sourced from the Baltic forests such as blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries and mixed berries. Puratos has been able to directly source the fruit through Latvian company Pure Food that it acquired in 2011.
The fillings contain 60% fruit and can be used in a range of dessert items including patisseries, Danish baked goods and cheesecakes.
Anh Thai, product manager for fruit fillings at Puratos, said the move to use wild berries in the line was in response to consumer desire for nutritionally balanced but tasty baked goods.
She told BakeryandSnacks.com that wild berries fitted this because of their well-known antioxidant properties and flavor supremacy over cultivated berries.
“These berries offer really different features and quality. They have a much more powerful taste than cultivated berries that contain more water… There is a world of difference between the tastes,” she said.
All berries are high in antioxidants but some research has indicated wild berries may have additional benefits. Bilberry and lingonberries have been flagged as holding potential for eye health and lingonberries have also been linked to weight gain prevention in mice.
Wild berries on trend
Simone Baroke, contributing analyst for Euromonitor International, said in a recent report that, "berries are the uncontested success story of the ongoing superfruits trend".
Thai noted that in China, for example, blueberries have featured in a host of food and drink items, supplements and beauty products.
The Topfil wild berries line will be launched globally, but specifically target emerging markets, she said, where the fruits are still considered exotic.