Coco Bless Co. is gearing up for sustained production of beverage made from the Roselle plant, which is related to hibiscus or gumamela, in anticipation of a license to operate from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Local firm Cocobless has developed Roselle wine, tea and juice drinks which were exhibited at a forum recently organized by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).
“We’re expecting an FDA (certification) in two to three months,” said Meland G. Dilodilo, co-founder of Cocobless. “By then we’ll be able to distribute our products to major supermarkets.”
Dilodilo said the Roselle was a highly nutritious plant sought after by health-conscious consumers in the United States and Europe.
Cocobless’ Roselle drinks are made mainly from the leaves and calyces of the plant. The company is also developing Roselle chips, which can be used as an ingredient in salads and pastries.
BAR director Nicomedes P. Eleazar said in a statement the agency was supporting the development of products that are “indigenously grown” and that have high nutrition value.
Dilodilo said Cocobless was on small-scale production of Roselle products, but it aims to grow its operations by putting up facilities for spray drying, vacuum drying and freeze drying.
Putting these up will require an investment of between P3 million and P10 million.
Naomi Joy Dilodilo, the other half of Cocobless’ sibling-founders, said the company wanted to be able to produce in terms of tons to tap the export market.
“We go for the local market (for now) and once we have built up our capacity to produce and manufacture, we will be targeting the global market,” she said.
Further, Cocobless also plans to work with the Food and Nutrition Research Institute and inspection and certification firm SGS on packaging and labeling.
Currently, Malaysia supplies much of the Roselle raw material globally while Australia supplies finished goods like the Roselle tea, which are exported to the US and Europe, mainly in Germany.