The introduction of eight food and beverage products by Sun-Rype Products is all part of the company’s vision to become a worldwide leader in the food and beverage industry by 2000.

And although Kelowna, b.c.-based Sun-Rype’s products are distributed mainly in Western Canada, Magda Fazekas, the company’s manager of public relations, says Sun-Rype’s apple juice is Canada’s biggest selling brand.

Even with this success, Fazekas says the company looks to globalization and diversification into new markets as the only way it will survive.

Fazekas says the move is based on saturation of its market, as well as a desire to cash in on a successful apple crop.

She says the quality of apples was so high, there was a shortage of juice apples – those that are too small or large for the fresh market.

This shortage is reflected in one of Sun-Rype’s new products, Okanagan Blend, an apple juice beverage made by a proprietary process which blends pure apple juice with apple essence extracts.

To fulfill its globalization strategy, Sun-Rype is exploring markets in China, Europe and the u.s.

Fazekas says China is the No. 1 focus for Sun-Rype because of the volume of people and the fact that growing conditions there are similar to the Okanagan Valley.

The company’s director of international business has already located a plant site, but, in the interim, Sun-Rype is exporting apple juice to China.

‘The Chinese are not milk drinkers,’ Fazekas says. ‘Therefore, juice is even more of a staple for them.

‘But when you say `juice,’ they think of a fruit beverage with 10% to 30% juice,’ she says. ‘It’s a great opportunity for us to come in with a higher quality juice.’

Fazekas says in Europe and the u.s., Sun-Rype is looking to enter the market through export, joint ventures and licensing agreements.

‘We have done some export to Russia, India, Taiwan, [the] Philippines and Singapore,’ she says.

‘Test marketing is also continuing in the u.s. in California, Washington and Oregon.’

Meanwhile, in Canada, Sun-Rype now has more than 40 beverage flavors, now including Apple Cranberry, the fifth flavor in the Apple Blend line and three new cocktail flavours, Rio Red Grapefruit Cocktail, Mango Tangerine and Cranberry.

Tropical Nectar has been added to the Sun-Rype Nectars family, and Hi 5 Fruit Festival is the newest addition to the Hi 5 beverage lineup.

In the food category, in which the company also makes a variety of granola bars, Cinnamon Nutmeg Apple Sauce is the fourth sauce to wear the Sun-Rype label.

The new products have been launched with an in-store sampling and coupon program.

Along with the new products, packaging has been redesigned to build on the strength and recognition of the dark blue background of Sun-Rype’s label.

Advertising for Sun-Rype is handled by Palmer Jarvis of Vancouver.