ViBERi founder and grower Tony Howey recently appeared as a guest on Food and Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen — one of the most widely syndicated food and entertaining radio shows in the United States. The segment kicks off at the 17:22 mark of the March 22 episode, and it's one of the most compelling conversations we've heard about why blackcurrants deserve a spot in every kitchen and supplement shelf in America.
"The New Açaí"
Chef Jamie Gwen — a passionate advocate for bold, health-forward ingredients — didn't hold back her enthusiasm. She declared blackcurrants "the new açaí" and told Tony she'd been adding ViBERi powder to her morning smoothies. Her verdict? "I feel really good — I'm giving you all the credit. I'm loving using the powder, and I thank you for that."
The conversation also addresses key questions for many American listeners: what exactly is a blackcurrant, and why haven't we heard more about it? As Tony explained on the show, there's actually a fascinating historical reason for that — but more on that below.
The ViBERi Story: From Grain Farm to Global Superfruit
Chef Jamie Gwen asked Tony to share the ViBERi origin story, and it's one that resonates with anyone who's ever bet everything on something they truly believe in. Tony and his family were large-scale grain, seed, and vegetable growers in South Canterbury, New Zealand. Then they bought a blackcurrant farm and everything changed.
"We just really wanted to take something that we could take directly to customers all around the world," Tony told Chef Jamie Gwen. "This particular, amazing product was something that we felt we could do. So we started a new brand rather than just supplying ingredients to multinational companies."
They didn't just pivot — they went all in, walking away from large-scale conventional cropping entirely to focus on blackcurrants and building a brand they could take straight to customers around the world.
Chef Jamie Gwen summed it up perfectly: "That is what we call in America a passion project: one where you pour your heart and soul into it."
Why New Zealand Grows the World's Best Blackcurrants
Chef Jamie Gwen noted that New Zealand is an incredible place to grow blackcurrants and asked Tony what makes the environment so special. His answer gets to the heart of what sets ViBERi apart.
"We live under the Southern Alps of New Zealand, so we have very clean, fresh water from the mountains and our air quality is extremely good," Tony explained. "Almost too good because we don't have much of an ozone protection layer. But what that means is that the UV concentration into the fruit means that anthocyanins — the antioxidants in the fruit — are extremely high in New Zealand. In effect, 2x more than in blackcurrants grown in Europe."
It's not just a clean environment. The potency of the fruit itself is dramatically higher because of where it's grown.
What Do Blackcurrants Actually Taste Like?
For many American listeners, blackcurrants are an entirely new flavor experience. Tony described them as slightly tart — not quite something you'd eat fresh by the handful the way you might blueberries, though some people do enjoy them that way. They're a little smaller than a blueberry, deeply intense in flavor, with a softer skin. Best enjoyed with yoghurt, over breakfast cereal, blended into a smoothie, or stirred through overnight oats.
ViBERi's Organic Blackcurrant Powder, which Chef Jamie Gwen described as "the most vibrant, beautiful purple," is made from 100% fruit. That color isn't artificial. It comes directly from the polyphenols, the compounds that carry the key nutrients. As Tony explained, the rule is simple: the darker the fruit, the higher the nutritional content. Blackcurrants are about as dark as it gets.
The powder works beautifully in both sweet and savory cooking. Tony suggested using it as a glaze on salmon (where it dramatically brings out the color), on venison and other meats, stirred into overnight oats, or blended into a morning smoothie. Just 10 grams a day is the recommended serving, and 5 grams alone meets your entire daily Vitamin C requirement.
The Nutritional Case: Blackcurrants vs. Everything Else
Chef Jamie Gwen had done her homework, noting that blackcurrants have a higher antioxidant content than any other berry: double that of kiwifruit and oranges, and far superior across vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
On Vitamin C alone, blackcurrants contain around 4 times more than oranges and approximately 15 to 20 times more than blueberries. But Tony was clear that the raw numbers only tell part of the story. The real differentiator is the type of antioxidants.
Blackcurrants contain four types of anthocyanins, and the standout is Delphinidin: the specific compound linked to muscle recovery, brain function, eye health, and gut health. This is why ViBERi has long been embraced by high-performance athletes, including several New Zealand national sports teams. Studies at the University of Chichester in the UK have demonstrated a 2.5% increase in sports performance linked to blackcurrant consumption.
As Tony put it: "We say to customers that it's like a legal drug for athletes. It's just a natural fruit."
How Does It Compare to Açaí?
For an American audience raised on açaí bowls, this is a key question. Tony explained that in some ways, blackcurrants are comparable to açaí, but that they likely exceed it in Vitamin C and certain anthocyanin levels. He emphasized that the real distinction isn't just the quantity of antioxidants — it's the type. Delphinidin, the dominant anthocyanin in blackcurrants, has a specific and well-documented health profile that sets it apart from what you'd find in açaí.
The "Forbidden Fruit" — Why Americans Are Only Just Discovering Blackcurrants
The surprising history of blackcurrants (or the lack thereof) in the US stems from about 100 years ago, when the American lumber industry lobbied to have blackcurrants banned over fears the plant could spread a disease harmful to pine trees. The ban stuck, and blackcurrants are still illegal to grow in some US states today, though several have begun lifting the restrictions.
The result? Generations of Americans grew up without any exposure to a fruit that Europeans have eaten every single day for centuries. As Tony put it: "That's why generally speaking Americans don't know or understand the benefits of blackcurrants, whereas in Europe it's a fundamental fruit that many Europeans love and have every day. That's why it isn't so popular in the US — but it really should be, because it is so amazing in terms of its health benefits."
Closing that gap and bringing this extraordinary fruit to a global audience is exactly what ViBERi is here to do.
Try ViBERi for Yourself
ViBERi is growing fast on Amazon and increasing its presence across the US. Whether you start with the organic blackcurrant powder in your morning smoothie — just like Chef Jamie Gwen — or explore our freeze-dried whole berries for cereals, salads, and snacking, there's an easy way to add the world's most potent berry to your daily routine.
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