By Laura Baumgartner
The idea for Caribé Exotic began when Luis Solis and Cristian Robiou were attending school in the United States. They noticed the juice offerings did not match the quality of flavor or experience they had grown accustomed to while growing up in the Dominican Republic. They had always enjoyed natural, fresh-tasting, nutrient-packed tropical juices. Not fans of simple orange or apple juice, Solis and Robiou wanted to bring the exotic to the U.S. in the healthiest and freshest way possible.
In addition to bringing the exotic flavors from the Caribbean to the U.S., they also wanted to create opportunities and economic stability for their treasured island, the Dominican Republic.
For Caribé Exotic, this process starts with local and small farmers.
“On a trip home to the Dominican Republic after college, I noticed that many farmers were leaving their tropical fruits in the field to rot or selling them roadside for pennies,” says Solis. “But, in the United States, these fruits sold for several dollars apiece.”
By purchasing fruit directly from the farmers, Caribé Exotic gives them access to different markets they otherwise would not be able to reach. It also aids in financing specific food and beverage certifications for the farmers, such as an organic certification.
After creating sample flavors and taste testing with friends, the duo did more research and found out about a new technology called HPP that preserves the juice without killing the freshness nor the nutrition.
Caribé offers exotic flavors that a lot of immigrants grew up with, but are not available in fresh form in the U.S. Some of the exotic flavors are: passion fruit, starfruit, guava, and acerola, which is the fruit with the highest amount of Vitamin C and antioxidants on the planet. Caribé Exotic beverage company includes two tasty juice lines — Lite and Cana. The Lite line is full of nutrition yet low in sugar and calories, and only features five natural/organic ingredients. The Cana line uses raw pressed cane juice as a base.
Caribé Exotic recently came out with a new coconut water line. The coconut water is never heated and they are able to do this by using lime juice as a natural preservative. Solis and Robiou want to market this line as a natural/fresh alternative to highly processed and chemically enhanced sports recovery drinks. Visit http://www.caribejuice.com/.
