Liquid Orchard Awarded USDA SBIR Phase I Grant to Advance Sustainable Food Innovation

In 2025, Liquid Orchard Inc., the company behind the Liquid Nature brand, was awarded a USDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The award provides $175,000 to support research on innovative food processing technologies.

The funded research project, "Innovative Food Processing Utilizing Whole Apples to Produce a Novel Drink, Reducing Food Waste and Enhancing Nutritional Value," focuses on developing a new processing approach that makes better use of whole apples while reducing food waste and preserving more of their natural nutritional value.

Liquid Orchard Inc. is the food technology company developing novel processing technologies for fruits and vegetables. Liquid Nature is our consumer brand, created to bring these innovations directly to consumers through nutritious, convenient whole-produce beverages.

The USDA SBIR Phase I project supports our long-term mission to rethink how fruits and vegetables are processed. By developing technologies that utilize more of the edible portion of produce, we aim to improve nutritional quality, reduce processing waste, and create more sustainable food systems.

This research builds on years of collaboration with scientists, engineers, and agricultural partners and represents another important step toward bringing next-generation whole-food products to market.

We are grateful for the support of the USDA and look forward to sharing future research progress and product innovations.