This is where the Cheribundi story begins
Our story
We’d like to share how Cheribundi began. A former professional tennis player snacked on tart cherries, only to discover that his back discomfort was eased. A team of researchers from Cornell University were brought on board to explore the benefit possibilities further and helped us perfect a juicing process that sets Cheribundi apart.
Cheribundi Vision
Everyone at Cheribundi is committed to producing premium products that are as delicious as they are nutritious. Our tart cherry juice delivers powerful health benefits. Imagine how much easier your life would be If you found more energy, faster muscle recovery, and sleeplessness in a great tasting beverage. Our job is to do that for you, which is why each bottle is packed with possibility.
Our community
As you know by now, we’re crazy about cherries. But it’s not just what they do that makes them amazing, it’s how they bring people together. That’s why we’ve built our entire community around cherries. We call our community the CheriNation. We are all about sharing stories, empowering each other, celebrating successes, and embracing the fun and healthy lifestyle that comes with being Cherry People.
We hope you become part of the CheriNation, too.
New growth for our growers
We take great pride in providing a new and exciting opportunity for our dedicated tart cherry growers, whose yields enable us to produce premium products that are as delicious as they are nutritious. Our farmer-partners might be viewed as “specialty” growers, since the production of tart cherries differs in some respects from the way sweet cherries are raised and harvested.
The climate factor
Requiring about 1,000 “chill hours” below 45 degrees in winter, tart cherries are hardier in winter than the sweet varieties, which fare better in the western portion of the country and fast-draining soils. Based on climates and topography, Michigan and northwestern New York are fertile grounds for tart cherries – with both areas featuring hilly tracts of sandy soils, and the protection of their respective Great Lakes, which temper the climate and form a buffer against summer storms. Cheribundi’s key growers, whose association with our company ranges from five to seven years, are located in those regions.
Facility
Our 80,000 square foot facility in Geneva, NY and proprietary juicing process is a key competitive advantage for us. One of the key differences between our process and, say, traditional juices that are made from concentrate, is that our “gentle juicing” does not require higher temperatures that can often kill the benefits associated with tart cherries. Our “not from concentrate” designation indicates that we are pure juice without added water, sugar or preservatives. Though we do flash pasteurize at the packaging stage to kill bacteria, Cheribundi products are the end result of minimal processing and allowing us to deliver the full benefits of tart cherries in all of our tasty products.
From orchard to bottle
The tart cherries in our orchards ripen to a point where everything, from their taste to the nutrients inside, is the culmination of nature at her best. We harvest by shaking these cherries loose from the trees rather than picking by machine to, cherry for cherry, preserve as much of this goodness as possible. So when it comes to juicing and bottling time, our team in Geneva, NY has a wonderful raw ingredient to work with.
Process
Our proprietary juicing process, developed in conjunction with a team of food scientists from Cornell University, was developed to retain all of the nutrients, power and taste from each little round fruit.
More Nutrients
The more you “process” a fruit, the less of its natural benefits end up in the finished drink or food. Processing eliminates not only flavor, but the cherries’ levels of anthocyanins, melatonin, vitamins, and other nutrients. For instance, we bet you didn’t know that many concentrated juices have been boiled at one point in their processing, then rehydrated at a later point. This doesn’t make any sense to us either so we do it a little differently.