University of the West Indies and Banks Holdings Ltd. Launch Locally Produced Low-Calorie Shake for Health Benefits

The University of the West Indies has signed a landmark licensing and distribution agreement with Banks Holdings Ltd. to launch a new, locally produced, low-calorie shake on the market.

Developed through years of research at the university, the beverage is designed to offer numerous health benefits, particularly for people with diabetes.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the campus on Thursday, Principal of UWI Cave Hill, Professor Clive Landis, explained that the idea originated in 2015 during the Barbados Diabetes Reversal Study. The research demonstrated that low-calorie shakes could be used as the foundation of a six-week diet to reverse diabetes in Barbadians.

“All of this is underpinned by science. It’s all published in the academic literature; it’s all safe and ethically [sound],” he said.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains, making it difficult to source the imported low-calorie shakes used in the study, UWI had to innovate.

“We were very fortunate to have a student with us who actually came to us as a qualified chef. She is now doing her doctorate studies in public health, and she was able to formulate our own shakes using products which were all plant-based, locally-sourced, and…much more interesting flavours,” Professor Landis said. “These are tropical flavours which have the added benefits of actually having no added sugars, which other products do.”

The collaboration between UWI and PineHill Dairy—a subsidiary of global beverage giant AB InBev—took over two years to refine.

“We validated the products, we reformulated them so that they could be made at scale, we had multiple testings [and] we settled on two products. One is called Taste the Caribbean, [and the other] is Tropical Green Fig,” Professor Landis said.

Both beverages are set to hit supermarket shelves before year’s end.

“These are completely new products to the market…. They have the same properties as the drinks in this sector in terms of protein and fiber, [but] our sugars will be natural from the product, which will be things like mango, pineapple, sweet potato… locally-sourced products,” the UWI principal added.

Shafia London, Country Head of AB InBev and Country Manager for Banks Holdings Ltd., described the partnership as a perfect fit.

She said Banks Holdings had been considering the introduction of a healthy beverage for some time and had already developed a product concept, packaging, and branding. Upon hearing UWI’s proposal, she immediately saw the alignment between the two initiatives and viewed it as an ideal opportunity for collaboration.

“So we jumped on it… and I was super impressed with how engaged the university was,” she said.

London admitted that, despite having studied at UWI, she had previously believed that the university mainly focused on research without bringing it to life in real-world applications. However, when she shared this thought with CEO of the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management, Dr Dion Greenidge, he responded, “Let this make the difference”.

(SB)