A New Zealand blackcurrant drink seeking to challenge coffee's dominance as the "go-to" beverage for concentration and performance is also being studied for how it could help those with dementia.

Ārepa drinks and capsules are made from blackcurrants and pine bark, and the company had help in the early years from Callaghan Innovation to fund research into its bio-active ingredients.

Those are Enzogenol - a patented extract from pine bark and the Neuroberry blackcurrant, which has high levels of anthocyanins -  powerful antioxidants. The company won a second big supermarket contract in Australia last year - the products appear in both Coles and Woolworths.

Photo: LEE XIE

And Ārepa is also being used in a study for Dementia Australia Research Foundation run by the University of Wollongong. Kathryn speaks with Sam Dodd, a neuroscientist with the company.