Barentz strengthens South Africa footprint with SK Chemtrade Services JV

22 Aug 2019 --- Global ingredients distributor Barentz International is continuing its expansion in South Africa with a joint venture (JV) with SK Chemtrade Services, a leading supplier of high-quality raw materials to the life sciences industries the region. Johannesburg is “the stepping stone for the African continent,” and the venture will give Barentz quicker access to the market while offering SK Chemtrade the support of the knowledge and expertise of Barentz’ global network.

“SK Chemtrade Services is very strong in flavor compounds, especially for the beverage industry. With their fully-equipped application laboratory and their small-scale bottling line, they help entrepreneurial customers with innovation and product development,” Kees Schepers, Vice President Overseas Territories at Barentz tells  FoodIngredientsFirst.

“This activity perfectly fits the services of our worldwide network of application labs. And it’s a great match with the Barentz brand purpose: We always come with better solutions,” he says. “We expect solid growth in the food business at short notice and in the meantime, we will further focus on our activities in the other life science industry segments.”

Barentz has been following expansion tactics for quite some time with a series of JVs and acquisitions. 

In June, it entered into a joint venture with TasteStrik, a Dutch family business and a leading developer, producer and supplier of high-quality flavorings and ingredients for the bakery, cereal, chocolate, confectionery, culinary, dairy and specialty foods industry. The move expanded Barentz’ activities in “the dynamic world of taste in food,” noted the company and will give the global ingredients distributor a broader diversity of sources to deliver solutions for taste concepts.

Barentz already has a global network of application labs and with the new SK Chemtrade product-development laboratory, it will be able to create synergies and value for customers, notes the company.

Also, in May Barentz acquired Finland-based Casmo Oy, a specialized distributor of casings, smoke condensates and flavors for the meat industry. The takeover builds on Barentz’s current wide range of products and allows the company a greater diversity of sources for delivering quality solutions within the meat industry. This acquisition comes amid a growth of meat-based products within the snacking sector.

A family-owned company, SK Chemtrade specializes in flavors, compounds, nutraceuticals, natural food colorants and product development. It has offices, development centers and warehouses in Johannesburg (headquarters), Cape Town and Harare (Zimbabwe).

Mark Ferrao, Managing Director of SK Chemtrade says: “As a strong strategic partner based in Europe, Barentz is an excellent fit. Both of our companies have the same ethos: delivering high-quality products and offering technical support whenever required, with an enthusiastic approach to product development.”

Other examples of Barentz steadily expanding its distribution reach with international partners date back to last November when Roquette reconfirmed Barentz as the preferred distribution partner for its food product range in a host of European markets.

Last year Barentz also announced a joint venture with Tovani Benzaquen Ingredients in Brazil, to further aid its expansion into Latin America. 

In addition, the company established a joint venture with Deltagen Group, a specialized food ingredients distributor headquartered on Curaçao, with local presence in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Peru. https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/barentz-and-deltagen-collaborate-on-latam-markets.htm

By Gaynor Selby