Reviving Cascara: Olam Coffee’s Innovative Approach to Transforming Coffee Cherry Waste into a Sustainable Superfruit
When coffee plants are processed to produce the beans that consumers are familiar with, cascara—the pulp and skin of the coffee cherry—often gets discarded. Traditionally viewed as waste, cascara is either composted for fertilizer or simply thrown away. However, Olam Coffee has discovered that this leftover pulp and skin boasts a unique fruity flavor and potential health benefits, positioning it as a sustainable superfruit. Olam Coffee is now exploring the use of coffee cherry cascara as an ingredient in beverage infusions and concentrates to cater to the rising demand for healthier products.
Siva Subramanian, vice president of innovation at Olam Coffee, which is part of Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), remarked, “For years, people have been overlooking this material. It took us time to recognize the inherent value it holds. We are at a pivotal moment where cascara could emerge as a vital food ingredient globally, and I believe more of the coffee industry will embrace the cascara narrative as it evolves.”
Since early 2019, Olam’s coffee division has been focused on an innovation program aimed at understanding customer preferences for new products. With an increasing consumer demand for healthier options, especially during the pandemic, Olam anticipates that cascara will stand out as a natural ingredient with functional benefits. “While exploring various ideas, we found cascara to be a fascinating ingredient that has been largely overlooked for many years,” Subramanian explained. He described cascara as a “win-win-win” solution, being sustainable, healthy, and cost-effective.
Olam has identified various health benefits associated with this natural ingredient. It contains more antioxidants than acai, pomegranate, and other superfruits, along with bioactive compounds like polyphenols and chlorogenic acid, which may assist individuals with obesity. Additionally, cascara has approximately 25% of the caffeine found in coffee beans. “Given the challenges of lifestyle-related issues, including added sugars and obesity, cascara offers bioactives that counteract these problems,” Subramanian noted.
Moreover, cascara presents a new revenue stream for smallholder farmers and Olam, as it allows them to “create value from something that was previously discarded.” Olam Coffee sources cascara from its coffee estates located in Brazil, Laos, Tanzania, and Zambia, all of which possess processing capabilities and a certified supply of traceable cascara. Since nearly 45% of a coffee cherry consists of cascara, this means no additional raw material costs are incurred, as they were already facing expenses related to its safe disposal to prevent environmental pollution.
Subramanian emphasized that this initiative could potentially double their revenue from the same raw material. “With both the coffee bean and the coffee fruit, this presents a straightforward calculation: if cascara becomes a new beverage or food ingredient, we have an unlimited supply as long as we have coffee cherries,” he said. The production of cascara aligns with the company’s commitment to sourcing sustainably grown ingredients and reducing their carbon footprint. In October, Olam Coffee announced its first public sustainability goals, which include a 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Olam Coffee is working on making cascara available in various formats, including concentrates that can be processed into solids or powders. They are collaborating with customers, such as consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, to explore how to incorporate this ingredient into their products. “The possibilities are endless for the food industry,” he explained. “We can create confectionery items, nutritional bars, health drinks, and even incorporate cascara solids into protein shakes.”
The flavor profile of cascara is distinctly different from coffee itself. During the wet processing method, the fruit pulp is collected and slowly dried, resulting in pulped cascara, which has a sweeter and fruitier taste compared to the husk variety produced through a dry method. Olam Coffee reports that dry cascara can be utilized for tea infusions and flour, while liquid cascara concentrates are suitable for jams, jellies, dessert toppings, and bakery fillings. Soluble cascara powder can be used in both hot and cold ready-to-drink beverages and mixes.
Olam has already conducted several trials for cascara production, experimenting with coffee varieties, cherry ripeness, and harvesting and processing techniques to refine its application as an ingredient. “We are now establishing infrastructure to hygienically collect and dry the coffee fruit as we mill the coffee cherries, adhering to food industry standards,” he stated. “Once we have the basic cascara ingredients, we will look to our customers to identify the applications they seek, allowing us to customize the product accordingly.”
Significant interest in cascara has already been noted. Subramanian mentioned that as the pandemic subsides and the world reopens, companies are eager to introduce new and exciting ingredients to their offerings. While Olam Coffee is not the first to realize the potential of cascara beyond compost, it is leading the charge in expanding its applications. Other specialty companies and coffee farmers have recently made cascara into tea infusions, and Starbucks introduced cascara-sweetened beverages in the U.S. this year.
The company is actively engaging with customers to perfect ingredient bases for customization. For instance, Olam recently consulted with a company interested in a concentrate that maintains shelf stability in refrigerated conditions for use in nutritional bars. In 2020, Olam produced dry cascara and is now developing concentrates and soluble cascara powders, which they expect to launch in 2021. As they work on preparing cascara for various applications, they are also ensuring compliance with regulatory approvals for its use in different forms. “As we develop these products and applications, we must secure the necessary approvals from relevant authorities to introduce them to the market,” Subramanian noted. “Things are progressing rapidly, and the world is ready to embrace this innovation.”
Incorporating cascara into products not only aligns with consumer preferences for healthier ingredients but can also complement the nutritional benefits of other products, such as berkley jensen calcium citrate with vitamin d3, enhancing overall wellness options in the market.
