Yuren Huang came to the CNMI as a farmer, but today is the general manager of his own corporation.
Pop’z Beverage noni products are processed and bottled in Susupe, with produce grown in the Marianas.
THE proprietor of a popular brand of jarred “done” is expanding his company’s product line this year.
Yuren Huang, the general manager of Huang Shun Corporation, known for Pop’z Tinian Pepper, now offers organic, locally produced beverages whose key ingredient is noni, known in Chamorro as ladda, and in English as the Indian mulberry plant.
Pop’z Beverage Series consists of nine products including Noni Lemon Tea, Noni Tea, Noni Drink, Energy Noni, Cherimoya Bitter Melon Tea, Noni Bitter Melon Tea, Moringa Bitter Melon Tea and two kinds of Noni Coffee varieties available in the chilled section of up to 20 stores on Saipan.
Huang invites the island community to try all the beverages produced by Pop’z Beverage.
Huang, through his translator Tony Yen, said the ingredients of all his products are locally grown and totally organic.
Huang knows a thing or two about locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables. When he first arrived in the CNMI in 1997, he worked as a commercial farmer on Tinian. He also opened — and still operates — U Save Market.
His Pop’z Tinian Pepper, which is sold in the Marianas, endeared him to the locals of Tinian.
“After I produced hot pepper, I was encouraged by the local people to continue with local products such as the noni,” Huang said.
In 2014 he began producing noni juice and noni tea bags, which he marketed in the CNMI and China.
According to healthline.com, the benefits of noni are numerous. Noni is “known for its high levels of antioxidants” that may “lower your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.”
Huang himself consumes 30 mL of pure noni juice a day.
“You can also combine noni juice with other drinks and other ingredients such as malunggay and bitter melon,” he said.
His noni drinks are available at the 77th Liberation Day Carnival grounds in Garapan.
Variety was offered a taste of the noni lemon tea, which is pleasant, refreshing, and sweet, but is significantly less sweet than other popular bottled iced teas.
“It’s not easy to produce a drink here,” Huang said. “But we were instructed…on how to manufacture [drinks] under FDA and [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point] safety regulations.”
He emphasizes that all his products are freshly brewed on Saipan, and do not have to wait in shipping containers before they’re distributed to the island.
Huang said he feels at home in the Marianas, and is happy to distribute new noni products.
“I treat myself like I’m half Chinese, half local.” Huang added. “I want…the local people [to have] a healthy life.”
