Purple corn pioneer Suntava acquired by Healthy Food Ingredients LLC
The Suntava team will operate as a division of Healthy Foods Ingredients, which makes non-GMO, organic, gluten free, and identity preserved ingredients for the food, pet food, and foodservice markets.
Sold in multiple formats including whole kernel, flour, meal, grits, masa flour, IQF, and freeze dried fresh, Suntava’s purple corn works well in cereals, snacks, baked goods, beverages, dietary supplements, skin care products, and pet food blends, said the firm, which has also developed natural colors and nutraceutical products from the non-GMO corn.
The first US company to commercialize the unusual corn variety, Suntava contracts with US growers to grow non-GMO purple corn unusually high in anthocyanins to its specifications.
While consumers are by and large unaware of the potential health benefits of purple corn, they are starting to buy into the ‘purple foods are healthy foods’ message, says the firm, while the ‘ancient grain’ message also resonates (purple corn was widely grown and consumed in South America more than 2,000 years ago, and is still widely cultivated in Peru).
