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Below you will find a brief summary of our conversation with Ward Grasveld. The full episode can be listened to via Spotify, SoundCloud Apple Podcasts.
About Ward Grasveld and 5th Season
Ward Grasveld is Dutch, co-founder and commercial director of 5th Season. This snack brand offers freeze-dried fruit, a tasty and healthy snack that we are happy to include in our JustBite assortment.
With his many years of experience at large multinationals such as Unilever, Coca-Cola, and others, Ward started 5th Season last year together with 6 others.
After 2.5 years of testing, they launched 5th Season with the mission to make fruit more accessible. The underlying themes of health and convenience form the basis of the idea for 5th Season, since fruit, along with chocolate, is the most snacked product worldwide. However, fruit is not always easily accessible; you don’t always have the time or opportunity to peel a pineapple on the go, for example. 5th Season wants to offer a healthy solution to this by providing a healthy and fun fruit snack that retains the original nutritional value of the fruit.
Sustainable snacking during a fifth season
Fruit is very much a seasonal product, and the supply is not equally abundant or ripe every season. 5th Season ensures that fruit is available to everyone all year round with an ideal taste. A fifth season, so to speak.
The packaging of 5th Season’s delicious fruit is not yet sustainable, but this is something they are working hard on. The sustainable aspect of their product lies in the fact that their snacks are 100% healthy. The only thing you find in 5th Season’s snacks is 100% fruit and nothing else.
By freeze-drying the fruit, the moisture is removed. Yet, you retain 95% of the vitamins and minerals of the fruit, preserving the same nutritional value as whole, fresh fruit. The result is a crunchy snack that is shelf-stable for 18 months.
Moreover, 5th Season combats food waste with their fruit snacks. They source the fruit directly and process it immediately, ensuring no fruit is wasted or discarded.
Many companies now offer fresh fruit less often at the office due to Corona, because they have to throw away too much fruit as fewer people are present daily. Also, for hygiene reasons, a fruit basket at the office is less popular nowadays—you never know how many hands have touched your piece of fruit.
5th Season still offers 100% fruit, with all the benefits of fruit, but in a hygienic pouch.
Where does the fruit come from?
5th Season sources fruit from all over the world, primarily selecting based on quality. To focus as much as possible on fair trade, they collaborate with partners who promote fair trade. Additionally, they have a partnership with Farm Africa, a foundation that ensures farmers in East Africa can not only survive but also grow. For example, all the strawberries in 5th Season’s pouches come from farmers in East Africa through the partnership with Farm Africa.
The benefits of freeze-drying
Freeze-drying is not a new process; it has been around for a long time. For example, herbs have long been freeze-dried.
How does it actually work? 5th Season picks the fruit when it is ripe. Then the fruit is cut into the desired pieces and quickly cooled to -35 °C, which removes all moisture from the fruit in a very short time. After that, the fruit is gently warmed in a vacuum to just below 38°C, so that all vitamins and minerals can be preserved. Finally, the pieces are packed into small pouches to create a crunchy snack with all the benefits of fresh fruit.
The main advantages of freeze-drying:
- More than 90% of vitamins and minerals are preserved
- The color and aroma of the fruit are retained
- The fruit gets a crunchy bite
- The flavor is preserved, so there is no need to add extra natural sugars or syrups.
Pure nature for on the go
People are increasingly on the go and have less time to prepare fresh fruit or a healthy snack for themselves. Thanks to 5th Season’s snacks, you can still eat enough fruit. They are ideal for on the go, in the lunchbox, at breakfast, or as a topping in a smoothie. One pouch gives you one piece of fruit from the daily recommended 2 to 3 pieces. And the ingredients are only 100% pure nature; for example, the strawberry pouch contains only strawberries.
They contain no unnecessary additives and have a nice fiber content. This makes these snacks fit perfectly within the JustBite range.
4 flavors for young and old
5th Season’s fruit snacks come in 4 flavors and 6 variants that offer a healthy alternative to fresh fruit and unhealthy chips. Thanks to their crunchy bite, they give you that chips vibe while you are actually eating delicious, healthy fruit. This is enjoyed by both adults and children, who can also discover how tasty fruit is this way.
There are 3 organic variants:
- Pineapple
- Fruit Salad with banana, apple, and strawberry
- Mango and raspberry
And 3 non-organic variants
- Strawberry
- Pineapple
- Fruit Salad with banana, apple, and strawberry
Currently, a new flavor is in the pipeline and will likely be launched later this year! An all-time crowd favorite, Banana-Blueberry.
Just like JustBite, 5th Season wants to help you be conscious about what you consume and help you reflect on what is actually in the products you eat.
5th Season’s snacks are available in all JustBite boxes, and customers with a membership will be able to discover these delicious flavors every month.