By Heather Collins
Carmel-based Heartland Food Products Group, the world’s largest producer of liquid water enhancers and SPLENDA, has launched Java House cold brew coffee and is collaborating with the National Coffee Association to define the standard.
“Heartland has been around the coffee cup for years with our private label sweeteners and creamers as well as the addition of our SPLENDA offerings now,” said David Samardzija, cold brew coffee category advisor for Heartland Food Products Group.
Java House cold brew coffee is made with only water and coffee and produced with grounds that have been steeped for more than 12 hours. The beverage was recently voted the No. 1 product at the National Convenience Store Show in Chicago.
“We pride ourselves on creating a 100 percent authentic, small-batch cold brew coffee,” Samardzija said.
Samardzija said the benefits of cold brew coffee are less acidity, a smoother and sweeter taste and a higher caffeine content.
Heartland Food Products Group has been sweetening coffee since 2004 when it developed and sold the first private label sucralose sweetener. In October 2015, Heartland Food Products acquired the SPLENDA brand from Johnson & Johnson.
The company has deep ties to Indiana. Founder Ted Gelov is a Purdue University graduate, and the company has been headquartered in Clay Terrace since 2004.
When Heartland Food Products Group started in 1991, the company manufactured plastic packages and novelties in southern Indiana. In 1995, the company developed its first proprietary product, a plastic disposable salt-and-pepper shaker set, and became the leader in private label salt-and-pepper shakers, producing more than 80,000 per day.
In 2004, Heartland Food Products Group began selling sweeteners and opened a manufacturing plant in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2011, the company was the first to market private label water enhancers. Its U.S. and Canada products are manufactured in its Indianapolis manufacturing plant. The company supplies 90 percent of sucralose to the Top 25 U.S. retailers.
For more, visit heartlandfpg.com.
