I get a lot of people asking me where to buy acai berry, and many people also want to know if they can buy acai in grocery stores. The simple answer is yes, you can buy acai juices in some grocery stores. The long answer is that while there are some grocery store acai products available you are probably better off staying as far away from them as possible. I recommend that most people buy their acai pulp online from a reputable seller such as Amazon Thunder. Here is why I think you should stay away from “grocery store acai”
All Acai Products are Not Created Equal
The acai berry is a very delicate fruit. If it is not properly handled and packaged very soon after it is picked it will lose a lot of its nutritional value. This is why it is so important to get your acai product from someone who works closely with the local farmers and has facilities in Brazil (someone like Amazon Thunder). You see, the acai products you will find in the grocery store are usually going to be produced by large corporations trying to capitalize on the berry’s immense popularity. They most likely do not know anything about the procedures necessary to retain the benefits of acai. All they care about is that their label says “Acai Juice“, and that people who have heard about the fruit, but haven’t done their homework, will buy it from them.
I would also like to make a distinction between acai juice and acai pulp. Most of the time these are used interchangeably, but there is actually a huge difference between the two. Acai juice is squeezed from the fruit and does not include the skin. Most of the nutrients and antioxidants are found in the acai berry’s skin, or directly under it. If you leave out this part and just take the “juice” then you are essentially leaving out everything that makes the berry so good for you. Acai pulp uses the whole fruit (minus the large seed in the middle) and keeps all the nutrients in tact.
Most of the products you find in a grocery store are going to contain “acai juice” instead of “acai pulp”. One other important thing to note is that most of these grocery store acai products are going to be a blend that only contains a small percentage of our Amazonian friend. When you buy acai you want it to be 100% pure, not 10% with 90% grape, apple, and cranberry juice. These big companies also add insane levels of sugar to their products which counteracts a lot of the good the juice is doing. If the product is not USDA organic approved you are most likely wasting your money.
So, yes you can buy some acai berry products in a grocery store you need to first make sure its an organic acai product produced by someone who has connections with the local farmers. Most grocery stores will not sell a product like this so your best bet is to buy Amazon Thunder online.
