Locally grown Bravo apples hit independent stores as new juice brand

Bravo apples bred in WA are being made into bottled juice for the first time under a new brand name — Soluna.

Thanks to the results of new research, the apple juice is cold-pressed before undergoing high-pressure processing to extend its life to 90 days. The same process will also allow long-life slices to hit supermarket shelves shortly.

The juice is cold-pressed by experienced beverage processor Pressed Earth then the high-pressure processing of the burgundy-skinned fruit occurs at the Government’s $12.2 million state-of-the-art Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies in Peel.

The trials of the long-life apple slices, which stay fresh for up to 21 days, are in the final stages at the SIFT Centre and are expected to be in store by the end of the year.

Fruit West chair Anne Lister said the new offerings ensured nearly all the co-op’s harvest could be processed and would contribute to downgrading food waste.

“Pink Lady and Bravo came out of the same research station in Manjimup,” she said.

“We’re very proud of it and it’s a fabulous program that’s potentially got some more really great apples for the future of West Australia and the world.

“We’re really absolutely blown away by the showing that it has and the support that is growing every year.”

Ms Lister said the plan to export the juice had been in discussions for about five years.

“Maximising the harvest is really, really important for growers, and also tapping into a market that we hadn’t looked into before,” she said.

“The great, unique thing about this is that is that it doesn’t oxidise, so it lends itself so well to juicing using the high-pressure method, and it produces the beautiful pink colour.”

Bravo apples are WA’s largest apple export, with more than 740 tonnes sold to Asia and the Middle East in 2024.

Trials for apple slices, expected to be in store by the end of the year, are in the final stages at the SIFT Centre, and they will stay fresh for 21 days.

WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said the purple apples provided an “additional avenue” for WA growers, and boosted the industry’s diversity.

“These projects are the result of an innovative research project, backed by the Cook Labor Government, and developed at the Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies Centre, a state-of-art facility we are proud is supporting our local food and beverage manufacturing sector,” she said.

“Value-added products create an additional avenue for our growers and improve the long-term value of the fruit, helping the industry to grow and diversify.”

The researched apples stemmed from a pilot program between the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the Fruit West Co-operative, Murdoch University, Bruker Biospin, and the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre.

The fruit initiative forms part of Fruit West’s plan to capture new domestic and international markets for apple products, with the co-op exploring opportunities for Soluna Apple Juice and slices in Asia and the Middle East.