The global high-pressure processing (HPP) food market is projected to be worth an estimated $27.4 billion by 2023, according to Visiongain, UK.

“The advantage of HPP is that consumers and operators across all channels can benefit from the features provided by HPP,” says Tom Woodward, chief commercial officer Universal Pure, Villa Rica, Ga. “From longer shelf life to fresher tasting products, to reduced preservatives and additives, HPP will experience strong growth universally across all channels.”

At a Glance

Company Name: Universal Pure
HQs: Villa Rica, Ga.
Est.: 2004
Distribution: Nationwide
Products: Supply chain, value-added and high-pressure processing services
No. of Employees: 450

And, for Universal Pure, that strong growth is due in part to its value-added services, including cold storage, kitting, assembly, tempering, code dating and more.

In July, Universal Pure acquired Stay Fresh Foods LLC, Meriden, Conn., combining two providers of HPP services and solutions into a consolidated platform that operates 15 HPP machines across six facilities in the United States, serves over 110 customers and has HPPd over 900 million pounds of food and beverage products. Universal Pure also added a new capability with this acquisition—beverage bottling and co-packing.

“This acquisition is part of our continued growth commitment,” adds Woodward. “We strongly believe that HPP and our other value-added services are becoming increasingly important to our customers, as their needs for food safety, longer shelf life, cold storage and distribution play a role in their long-term success.”

Companies outsource HPP with Universal Pure for packaged food items such as proteins, hummus, salsa, guacamole, pet food, wet salads and dips. Customers include brands who sell in retail, foodservice, quick-service restaurants, military commissaries, convenience stores and direct-to-consumer.

 “Both operators and consumers across all food channels are becoming more sensitive to safer, cleaner label and healthier foods,” Woodward adds. “Brands continue to focus on extending their reach, through both geographical and new channel growth. Universal Pure has invested heavily in HPP technology to enable our customers to achieve their goals and to pursue growth. We closely monitor and anticipate food industry trends from production to distribution, to operator and consumer, and build solutions to meet evolving expectations. Some current emerging trends include plant-based proteins, functional beverages, fresher, cleaner label baby food and raw pet food products.”

As a result, in 2017, the company formerly known as Universal Pasteurization and Universal Cold Storage changed its name to Universal Pure.

The company formerly known as Universal Pasteurization and Universal Cold Storage acquired Stay Fresh Foods in July. Click here to learn more.

“The rebranding is not just about the services we offer; it is central to our mission as a company—to ‘always focus on advancing the safety and quality of what we eat and drink.’ We felt that rebranding appropriately captured our culture and our commitment to both the food industry and consumers,” says Woodward. “Universal Pure is constantly evaluating the market to include food, distribution and consumer trends. We are not only evaluating geographic and technology expansion, but also developing new services and solutions to meet the ever-evolving needs of HPP food and beverage categories, as well as cold chain requirements.”