Let’s raise a shot to winter wellness
Mention “winter wellness” and what’s probably front of mind for most is the battle to dodge bugs and boost winter immunity.
There are NZ Beverage Council members well poised to help with the latter. Like the team at Barker’s for example, who have many a product focused on just that… and have a bit of a David and Goliath story to share about a berry well worth knowing about when winter wellness is front of mind.
That little berry is the blackcurrant, which is apparently a big gun when it comes to fighting nasty bugs. The kind of player you want on your team when immunity is what you are battling for.
The tiny yet mighty blackcurrant has been officially championed as the new “it-berry” lauded the “berry of the year” by such a thing as the McCormick Flavour Forecast. This forecast of high repute declares the blackcurrant should be celebrated for not just flavour but, importantly, for its immunity support.
Trending yes, but the team at Barker’s has long since been praising blackcurrants for their nutritional benefits. Barker’s has been harnessing the antioxidant power of these tiny berries since the 1980s.
As most of us know, Vitamin C is key to our immunity. Not so widely known is that blackcurrants are Vitamin C powerhouses. They contain four times more Vitamin C than oranges and 16 times more than blueberries.
We are told that Vitamin C is a big gun because:
Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect the body against free radicals (these are molecules that can lead to both short-term and long-term illnesses)
Free radicals can damage cells, weaken immunity and play a negative role in our health
The body has its own natural defence mechanisms against free radical damage (your immune system)
Antioxidants absorbed through diet contribute to immune system function.
It makes sense to ensure a dose of Vitamin C then is a daily thing (keep those free radicals at bay), and given that blackcurrants are a Vitamin C powerhouse, why not ensure that daily does includes our lauded little berry.
As Barker’s R&D Manager Kim Whitman points out, blackcurrants aren’t readily available all year round, but her company has this covered. They’ve bottled up that goodness in their EveryDay+ Immunity Syrups and Daily Shots gives Kiwis an opportunity to consume them daily. Each serving contains 200 per cent of your body’s recommended daily intake for Vitamin C.
Check out Barker’s Immunity | Everyday+tab and the wide range of immunity offerings includes shots and syrups (and a gel option, plus a RTD version) that includes blackcurrants… and other goodies. Collectively they’re branded Food with Benefits, with EveryDay+ described as “a delicious range of power-packed little habits designed to make a big difference to your daily routine.”
The power-pack combinations are: blackcurrant and boysenberry; blackadder blackcurrant; blackcurrant blueberry and honey; blackcurrant and goji. Other immunity options include ingredient goodies such as orange, carrot, ginger, kiwifruit, matcha, cucumber, lemon, ginger, turmeric. Prebiotics and post biotics are in the mix too. A whole heap of power-packed foods with benefits.
The blackcurrants featuring in all these offerings are squeezed on-site in Geraldine.
Let’s hear it for a Barker’s 2026 award winner
Confused by the options? Perhaps opt for Barker’s EveryDay+ Blackcurrant, Blueberry & Ginseng Energy Daily Shot? That would be a winner of a decision. Barker’s received many a medal at the 2026 Outstanding Food Producer Awards, including a Gold for this energy shot.
Disappearing off the supermarket shelves pretty smartly are the Homegrown Juice Company’s products like Lemon Honey Ginger, Immunity, Pro Bio Mango Smoothies, Berry Anti Ox and the 100% Pure OJ.
As the company’s National Sales Manager Russell Holt says the goodness of vitamins, minerals and flavour in their products is uncompromised due to the company’s cold pasteurisation process. Homegrown uses a High Pressure Processing (HPP) Cold Pasteurisation process to maintain the natural taste and nutritional goodness of fruit used.
Homegrown offers an immunity range made from 100 per cent raw, cold-pressed, and cold-pasteurized ingredients. For example, there’s an immunity raw fruit and vege juice that’s naturally high in Vitamin C and antioxidants from the fresh produce it incorporates – raw carrot, orange, apple, lemon, ginger and turmeric. Or, in concentrated form there’s the immune triple shot.
Check out the Homegrown Juice Company and Barker’s websites for more information about their immunity boosting products. It could well be the best thing you do on your journey to maintaining winter wellness.
More about Barkers and Homegrown.
Barkers and Homegrown Juice Company are members of the New Zealand Beverage Council (NZBC). The NZBC is the industry association for New Zealand's non-alcoholic beverage sector. Members are the brand owners, manufacturers, bottlers and suppliers of New Zealand’s juice, carbonated drinks, flavoured-dairy and bottled water brands. Membership is made up of a wide range of companies operating in New Zealand, ranging from large multinational brands, local New Zealand producers, to those companies that provide a wide range of goods and services to the industry.
By Monique Balvert O’Connor
(Supermarket News - June 2026)