綠色果蔬汁流行 消費者會花多少錢買健康飲料?大綱

As much as $10 and sometimes more. At least that's the belief of high-end grocers like Whole Foods Market and a spurt of small juice companies trying to move the cold-pressed-juice craze from small-batch to mass-produced.

高達10美元甚至更多。至少這是Whole Foods Market等高檔食品超市和一批發展迅猛的小型果汁生產商的信條，他們正試圖將狂熱的冷榨果汁潮流從小批量變成大規模生產。

A 16-ounce bottle of BluePrint Red, containing beets, carrots and ginger, among other ingredients, goes for $10 at some retailers. And Whole Foods customers are paying $9 for a bottle of celery-based Twelve Essentials vegetable juice, one of the top-sellers from Suja, an 18-month-old juice brand based in San Diego. Suja co-founder Annie Lawless says customers understand the high cost of what goes into the bottle, including organic produce that is cold pressed and then preserved using a process that leaves most of the nutrients intact. 'When you buy a bottle, you're getting all the goodness without any of the effort,' says Ms. Lawless, a 26-year-old former law student and yoga instructor. The company says it generated $20 million in revenue in its first year.

BluePrint一瓶16盎司（約合454克）的Red果汁在某些零售店售價10美元（約合人民幣60元），其中含有甜菜、胡蘿蔔和薑汁等原料。在Whole Foods超市，以芹菜爲主要原料的Twelve Essentials蔬菜汁售價9美元（約合人民幣54元）一瓶。這是 地亞哥果汁品牌Suja銷量最好的一款產品。該品牌創立僅18個月。Suja聯合創始人安妮・勞雷斯(Annie Lawless)說，消費者明白成本高在哪裏，包括使用的有機農產品，它們經過冷榨並使用可保留大部分營養的方法進行儲藏。勞雷斯說：“買這樣一瓶飲料，毫不費力就能獲得所有的精華。”勞雷斯現年26歲，之前是法學專業學生，並擔任過瑜伽教練。公司表示第一年營收爲2,000萬美元（約合人民幣1.2億元）。

Just as carrying a Starbucks coffee cup has become a celebrity fashion accessory and a slung-over-the-shoulder yoga mat can signify a certain devotion to spiritual fitness, porting a clear bottle of green vegetable juice has evolved into a status symbol. Initially, the juicing market was supported mostly by people doing liquid-only cleanses, marketed as a way to rid the body of toxins and bloat. Now, more consumers are drinking juice as a meal replacement, a quick infusion of vegetables or to convey the impression of superior health and discipline.

就像端一杯星巴克(Starbucks)咖啡已經成爲明星時尚配件、肩上挎個瑜伽墊標誌着某種對精神健身的忠誠一樣，帶一瓶清澈的綠色蔬菜汁也已經演化成一種身份象徵。最初，果汁市場主要受到液體 化排毒者的支持，它被宣傳爲一種清理身體毒素和水腫的方式。現在，越來越多的消費者將喝果汁作爲餐食的替代品、快速攝取各類蔬菜的方式或者爲了給人以優越健康和自律的印象。

Suja's product line is a slate of fruit-and-vegetable juices meant to dose the body with a palatable concentration of nutrients from organic produce. For people doing a liquid-only cleanse, Suja sells packages on its website. A three-day supply costs $225, including shipping on ice outside of California. It has flavors such as Glow, which contains apples, cucumbers, mint, kale and other ingredients, and Green Supreme, with apples, kale and lemon.

Suja的產品線是一系列各色果蔬汁，爲的是給身體提供可口的來自有機農產品的濃縮營養。對於進行液體 化排毒的人，Suja在其網站銷售套裝。三天裝價格爲225美元（約合人民幣1,350元），包括冷凍送貨至加州以外地區。口味有Glow和Green Supreme等，前者含蘋果、黃瓜、薄荷、甘藍等成分，後者含蘋果、甘藍和檸檬。

Health experts say the vegetable drinks have many beneficial nutrients, although some ingredients, like apples and carrots, can add a lot of sugar. Consumers should be careful to get enough fiber in their diets, since the process of cold-pressed juicing extracts the juice from the fiber-rich leaves and stems. Good sources of fiber can include whole grains and nuts, which aid digestive health.

健康專家說，蔬菜飲品有很多有益的營養成分，儘管蘋果和胡蘿蔔中的某些成分會增加大量糖分的攝入。消費者應注意攝入足夠的纖維，而冷榨果汁的工藝是將汁液從富含纖維的葉子和莖中提取出來的。良好的纖維來源包括全麥和堅果，有助於增強消化健康。

A simpler route to a well-rounded diet might be to eat the vegetables themselves, rather than as juice, suggests Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. 'It's a lot of money, why not have a salad?'

紐約大學(New York University)營養學、食品研究及公共衛生教授瑪麗昂・內斯特(Marion Nestle)說，更簡單的一種達到全面飲食的方法是直接吃蔬菜。她說：“花那麼多錢，爲什麼不直接吃沙拉？”

Juice companies say the high cost of the organic produce, and the expense of processing, prevent them from selling their product for less. Consumers making their own juice at home with similar ingredients would pay about the same or more, not counting the cost of equipment, they say. 'We wish we could bring the cost down,' says Zoe Sakoutis, co-founder of BluePrint.

果汁生產商表示，有機農產品的高成本和加工的開支不允許他們降低售價。他們表示，消費者在家用相似原材料自己製作果汁也要花差不多的錢，還不算設備的成本。BluePrint聯合創始人佐耶・薩考提斯(Zoe Sakoutis)說：“我們倒希望能降低成本。”

Sarah Andersen, 31, drinks about five bottles of Suja juice a week and says it leaves her feeling healthy and confident. A health-and-wellness trainer for teenage girls in Madison, N.J., Ms. Andersen says she used to make her own juice. But the time, effort and mess became onerous. Now she buys Suja, even if it means cutting back elsewhere. 'I know it's expensive but I would rather have a juice than get my nails done.'

31歲的莎拉・安德森(Sarah Andersen)每週要喝五瓶Suja果汁，她說Suja果汁讓自己覺得健康和自信。安德森來自新澤西州麥迪遜(Madison)，是一名針對年輕女孩的健身教練。她說她以前是自己榨果汁，但太耗時間和精力了，而且收拾起來很麻煩。現在她買Suja果汁喝，即使這意味着要在別的地方省錢。她說：“我知道很貴，但和做指甲相比，我還是寧願喝果汁。”

Industry experts say overall sales of cold-pressed juice aren't tracked separately. But the segment is a bright spot in an otherwise stagnant juice market, they say. National retailers like Whole Foods are devoting increased shelf space to the products, more companies are launching, and acquisitions and expansion in the industry have been robust, says Jonas Feliciano, a beverages analyst for Euromonitor International, a market-research company. 'Americans are drinking less juice,' he says. 'So what manufacturers are going for is attracting the health-conscious consumer who will pay higher costs for smaller volumes.'

業內專家說，冷榨果汁的整體銷售情況並未進行單獨追蹤，但這個領域是原本蕭條的果汁市場中的亮點。市場研究公司Euromonitor International 飲料市場分析師喬納斯・費利西亞諾(Jonas Feliciano)說，Whole Foods等全國性零售商開始增加冷榨果汁產品的貨架空間，越來越多的公司開始推出冷榨果汁，併購和擴張也很活躍。他說：“美國人喝果汁越來越少，所以生產商爭取的是吸引願意花高價購買小容量的有健康意識的消費者。”

Errol Schweizer, executive global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods, says the company was skeptical at first that consumers would be willing to pay such high prices for juice. But, he says, 'I have been surprised by the cleansing products and what people are willing to spend.'

Whole Foods全球食品執行協調員埃羅爾・施魏策爾(Errol Schweizer)說，公司起初懷疑消費者是否會願意花這麼高的價格買果汁。但是，他說：“我很驚訝於那些排毒產品，以及人們願意爲它花的錢。”

Still, Whole Foods is hedging its bets. Mr. Schweizer says he called on Suja to work with Whole Foods' product team to create a secondary line of less expensive juices and smoothies. The line, called Suja Elements, was launched in Whole Foods stores around the country this fall and retails for $5. The bottles are smaller -- 12 ounces versus the usual 16 ounces -- and the recipes tend to use lower-cost ingredients like apples and carrots.

儘管如此，Whole Foods還是在做兩手準備。施魏策爾說，他邀請Suja與Whole Foods的產品團隊合作創立了價格不那麼昂貴的果汁和冰沙副線品牌Suja Elements。該品牌於今年秋季在全美上市，零售價5美元（約合人民幣30元）。瓶身體積更小──12盎司（約合340克）而非普通的16盎司──配方一般使用蘋果和胡蘿蔔等低成本的原料。

BluePrint was founded six years ago to sell a six-bottle-a-day-cleanse product that costs $75 a day. It includes a lemon, cayenne and agave concoction meant to 'hydrate, refresh, curb that 4 p.m. snack craving and stay focused,' the company website says. BluePrint now also sells individual bottles of juice at high-end grocers around the country. Another cleanse product: BluePrintBride, for women wanting to lose weight and detoxify before their wedding, starts at $350. BluePrint, which was acquired last year by Hain Celestial Group Inc., in Melville, N.Y., says it had $20 million in sales last year.

BluePrint於六年前創立，當時賣的是一種每天六瓶的 化排毒產品，每天花費75美元（約合人民幣450元）。公司網站上說，產品包括一種檸檬、辣椒和龍舌蘭的混合物，旨在“補水、消除疲勞和抑制下午4點鐘想吃零食的慾望，讓人保持精力集中”。BluePrint現在還在全美各高檔零售店賣單瓶果汁。另外一款 化產品是BluePrintBride，適合在婚禮前想減肥和排毒的女性，價格350美元（約合人民幣2,100元）起。BluePrint去年被紐約州梅爾維爾市(Melville)公司Hain Celestial Group Inc.收購。公司稱去年銷售額爲2,000萬美元。

Another cold-pressed juice company, Evolution Fresh, was purchased by Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. two years ago for $30 million. The company recently invested $70 million to open a factory in Southern California to produce 140,000 gallons of juice a week, says Chris Bruzzo, general manager of Evolution Fresh. Mr. Bruzzo says the juices are now carried in 5,000 Starbucks locations and 3,000 grocery outlets. The best sellers are two varieties of green juice, he says.

另外一家冷榨果汁公司Evolution Fresh兩年前被總部位於西雅圖的星巴克咖啡(Starbucks Coffee Co.)以3,000萬美元的價格收購。Evolution Fresh總經理克里斯・布魯佐(Chris Bruzzo)說，公司最近投入7,000萬美元（約合人民幣4.2億元）在南加州開設了一家工廠，每週生產14萬加侖的果汁。布魯佐說，目前這些果汁產品在5,000家星巴克店和3,000家連鎖超市銷售。他說，銷量最好的是兩種綠色果汁。

Getting pricey cold-pressed juice on the shelves of national supermarkets and specialty stores has been a challenge. Stores like Whole Foods typically require a shelf-life of about 30 days for packaged juices. But traditional methods of preserving foods use heat, which destroys some nutrients. Cold-pressed juice companies didn't want that.

把高價冷榨果汁放上全國性超市和專賣店的貨架並不容易。Whole Foods等超市一般都要求盒裝果汁的貨架保存期爲30天左右，但傳統保存食品用的高溫法，這樣會損壞部分營養成分。冷榨果汁公司並不希望這樣。

To extend shelf life, some companies, including Suja, BluePrint and Evolution Fresh, have turned to a process often called high-pressure processing (HPP), which inactivates most microorganisms while retaining natural freshness. HPP, also used to preserve guacamole and ready-to-eat meats, subjects the food to intense pressure of thousands of pounds a square inch.

爲了延長貨架保存期，包括Suja、BluePrint和Evolution Fresh在內的公司開始採用一種被稱爲高壓加工(HPP)的方法，這種方法可以在自然保鮮的同時抑制大部分微生物的活動。高壓加工法還被用於保存牛油果沙拉醬和熟肉製品，這種方法會使食品承受每平方英寸幾千鎊的壓力。

High-pressure processing, however, is the subject of a lawsuit filed against Hain Celestial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last month. The suit says that HPP destroys some probiotics and enzymes and that BluePrint labels falsely advertise its products as 'raw.' A BluePrint spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit.

不過上個月，高壓加工法成爲了一起在紐約南部聯邦地區法院(District Court for the Southern District of New York)針對Hain Celestial公司的訴訟的主要議題。訴訟說高壓加工法損壞了產品中的某些益生菌和?，而BluePrint商標將其產品虛假宣傳爲“未加工”食品。BluePrint發言人拒絕就該訴訟發表評論。

Ms. Lawless, the Suja co-founder, has long made juice at home because she has celiac disease. She and a partner, Eric Ethans, in 2011 began selling juice to her yoga students who would ask about her juicing.

Suja聯合創始人勞雷斯向來都在家裏自制果汁，因爲她患有乳麋瀉。2011年，有些瑜伽學員對她榨果汁表示好奇，於是她和合夥人埃裏克・伊桑斯(Eric Ethans)開始把果汁賣給他們。

The small operation attracted two investors, including Jeff Church, 52, a bottled-water entrepreneur. He approached Whole Foods, which began offering Suja products in its stores in fall of 2012. Suja -- a word the company founders made up that signifies to them 'long and beautiful life,' a spokeswoman says -- now produces on average 10,000 bottles a week of each of its 19 flavors at its Southern California plant. It acquired an organic-produce distributor to ease supply issues. And it plans to open a plant in the Philadelphia area next year to have quicker access to more markets. 'It's about getting the kale picked and on the shelf at Whole Foods as fast as we possibly can,' says Mr. Church, Suja's chief executive.

這個小作坊吸引了兩位投資者，包括現年52歲的瓶裝水企業家傑夫・丘吉(Jeff Church)。他和Whole Foods進行了接洽，Whole Foods從2012年秋季開始在各大門店銷售Suja的產品。公司發言人說，Suja這個名字是創始人起的，對他們來說表示“長壽美麗的人生”。Suja在南加州的工廠目前的產量是平均每種口味每週生產1萬瓶，共有19種口味。公司收購了一家有機農產品經銷商，以緩解供應問題。公司計劃明年在費城地區開設一家工廠，從而更快打入更多市場。Suja首席執行長丘吉說：“我們要儘可能快地採摘到甘藍，然後把果汁放到Whole Foods的貨架上。”