BRAZILIAN superfood acai has become a staple item at cafes across Newcastle and beyond.
These days, it's just as common to find a nutrient-rich acai bowl or smoothie on the menu as it is a bacon and egg roll.
When Guilherme "Guilly" Santos arrived in Australia from Brazil in 2011, he missed the acai from back home.
He began importing acai from Brazil during his years living in Brisbane and when he followed his wife to her home town of Newcastle two years ago, he decided that the city could do with a true acai experience.
In December, Santos - in partnership with fellow Australian-based Brazilian friends Pedro and Samuel - opened Oakberry Acai on Darby Street.
"The majority of the places here in Newcastle mix the acai a little bit with apple juice or coconut water or something like that, but for us it's just the acai," Santos explains.
"It is pure acai.
"The taste is different, the texture is different so that is the big difference between the other places."
Oakberry has experienced massive growth since it was founded in Brazil in 2016, with more than 600 stores across the globe, including 25 in Australia.
The concept is to keep the offering simple with just two options: acai bowls or acai smoothies.
From there, customers can choose from fresh fruit, nuts, chia seeds, coconut and other toppings for the bowls or create their own flavour smoothie with acai as the base.
The idea is that it's healthy food, but delivered fast.
"There is fruit, crunch, nuts and cream, so you can pick whatever you want from the menu," Santos says.
"Then you have add-ons, so you can choose peanut butter, or a sweet from Brazil called paoca [peanut candy], honey, blueberries, goji berries.
"That's the original acai.
"If you go to Brazil and have acai, what you are going to taste is really similar to what we sell here."
The shop uses Oakberry's own homemade-style peanut butter and vegan granola, both of which can be purchased in take-home packs.
Santos likens the health benefits of the berry, which is grown on a Euterpe palm native to the Amazon rainforest, to that of blueberries and raspberries.
The pulp, which accounts for about 15 per cent of the fruit, is a natural antioxidant that is also rich in potassium and calcium, Vitamin E, Omega 6 and 9, and proteins.
"It's a healthy choice for breakfast or brunch, you know, you don't have to eat bacon and eggs, or a meal," Santos says.
"You can have this acai and enjoy it as a meal. It's filling but also light."
Oakberry Acai is located at the Bar Beach end of Darby Street and during the summer months it has proved a popular spot for beachgoers after a dip.
Santos says the location is "perfect".
It has been a long time coming.
Santos signed the contract for the shop in September 2021 but didn't gain approval to open until December 2022.
"It's hard to find something close to the beach, so this was perfect," he says.
"It's not far from the beach and so it's a great place to sell acai. The acai is very fresh and on a hot day, it's the best."
He said that it wasn't until he drove past the shop that he came up with a plan to go into business.
"I found the shop first and then I had the idea," he says.
"In Brisbane, I sold acai when I lived there and then I always had this in the back of my mind that I wanted to provide good quality acai for Australian people, especially because I live here.
"I moved to Newcastle and we had the lockdown, and then one day I was driving to the beach and saw the shop for rent.
"I stopped my car and had a look and then it was in my mind. Something just told me I should open an acai shop there."
- Oakberry Acai is located at 289-295 Darby Street, Bar Beach. The shop is open seven days from 8am to 5pm.
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