Vaccinium macrocarpon, more commonly known as the American Cranberry, is one of only a hand-full of fruits that is solely indigenous to North America.  The cranberry was first collected centuries ago by Native Americans, who knew the berries were a good source for food and herbal medicine.

Now the benefits of cranberries are well recognized by the scientific community, with the healthy effects demonstrated in clinical trials.  ShanStar™ Biotech offers a proprietary and complete range of cranberry-based ingredients and concentrated extracts, so that the many health benefits of this important Super Fruit, can be enjoyed by all.  And the benefits could surprise you: depending on the Shanstar™ ingredient, benefits range from supporting a positive urinary function, to a rich source of antioxidants, phenolics, Omega 3’s and even plant based protein!

ShanStar’s cranberry ingredients are collected directly from the source, the acidic bogs of North America, where cranberries are cultivated and harvested.  ShanStar’s parent company Cliffstar, a fourth generation family-owned company, was founded over a century ago and is the market leader in shelf stable bottled fruit juice and private label beverages.  

Cliffstar owns and operates eleven state of the art facilities, including five bottling and distribution operations, three fruit processing facilities, two fruit receiving stations, and one storage facility. The Company’s manufacturing facilities consist of over 1.5 million square feet of processing, bottling and warehouse space; and over 6 million gallons of single strength juice storage capacity. The company has strong relationships throughout the supply chain, and produces over 6000 SKUs of juice from cranberries, grapes, grapefruits, prunes, and apples.  In addition to producing traditional and organic juices, Cliffstar also develops enhanced waters, sports drinks and ready-to drink teas.  Cliffstar established ShanStar™ Biotech in 1999.

 Innovation to ShanStar™ is the key to its success.  The company has a 10,000 Square Foot product development and research laboratory that enables ShanStar™ to rapidly develop new products and meet the challenges of the future.  The company maintains a wet laboratory that provides beverage processing, using Cliffstar designed and commercially available pasteurization systems.  The company also has the resources of a full-service tasting laboratory, with sensory evaluation for such product attributes as taste, odor, and color.

Regarding the ShanStar ingredients, ShanStar is pleased to offer a full range of cranberry based ingredients:

Shanstar™ Patented Cranberry Extract: Patented and proprietary, this highly concentrated extract powder is a solvent free extract produced from the cranberry juice.  It has been tested clinically, and demonstrates both anti-fungal and anti-microbial benefits.  The product contains a high level of polyphenols and the active cranberry proanthocyanidins linked to urinary tract support. The extract also is a powerful antioxidant, with greater than 4X the Oxygen Reduction Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of raw cranberries!

Cranstar™ 90 Concentrated  Cranberry Solids: CranStar™ 90 extract is a spray dried version of cranberry juice concentrate.  The cranberry juice is produced from fruit delivered by Cliffstar’s network of 300 contracted cranberry growers.  This material is ideal for dietary supplements as well as food and beverage applications.  It contains 90 percent cranberry juice solids.

Cranberry Seed Oil:  The cranberry seeds, while small and difficult for most companies to collect, are an incredible source of phytonutrients.  The oil is produced through a cold press process ,and provides a rich source of Omega 3’s without tasting like algae or fish.  ShanStar™ also offers a water dispersible version for use in liquid products and cosmetics.  With a high level of natural tocotrienols and tocopherols, the product  is very stable and does not require refrigeration.

Cranberry Protein Powder: Looking for an ingredient with a vegetarian source of protein?  The ShanStar™ Protein Powder contains 25% protein, with a complete amino acid and branch chain amino acid profiles.  The Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) powder also contains a source of phenolics, potassium and calcium.

Juice Concentrates:  ShanStar also sells a line of fruit juice concentrates.  These products can be Kosher and organic certified and include: cranberry juice concentrate, Concord and Niagara type grape juice concentrates as well as blueberry concentrate.

ShanStar™ Biotech is your full spectrum supplier for bio-active ingredients and juices.  Leveraging the resources of one of the world’s largest juice companies, ShanStar provides a stable and cost effective line up of products for numerous food, beverage, cosmetic and nutritional applications.  Let ShanStar™ be your ingredient solution provider.