BENEO R&D Investment Highlights the Role for "Science and Marketing in a Natural Way"

05 Jul 2016 --- Functional carbohydrate supplier BENEO is ramping up its innovation efforts, as it looks to fulfil what Dominique Speleers, COO at BENEO calls its: “core DNA of science and marketing in a natural way.” Yesterday, Raffinerie Tirlemontoise and BENEO, in conjunction with parent company Südzucker official opened their newly modernized laboratories in Tienen, Belgium. The laboratories are a center of expertise for numerous global food innovations and trends and a €4.6 million investment in their modernization, highlights the importance that the organization places on R&D.

The investment has been used to create additional offices and modernize the existing technical facilities and equipment at Tienen. A new laboratory has also been developed for meat applications that need to be handled under specific temperature conditions, which is the first time that research will be conducted at the Tienen facilities. The refurbishment process has taken many months to complete, but the result is a stunning research facility that ensures that R&D is kept at the heart of Raffinerie Tirlemontoise and BENEO activity for many years to come.

Rudy Wouters, Vice President BENEO-Technology Center, comments: “The new laboratory facilities demonstrate yet again how important R&D is to us as a business. The analytical and microbiological research done at these facilities is focused around a number of specific applications, such as dairy, breads and cereals, meat and beverages and the results go towards informing our customers on the many benefits of BENEO’s ingredients. Thanks to the moderniszed laboratories we can respond with substantiated knowledge to the latest trends in a constantly evolving food industry.”
 
BENEO is a leading provider of natural functional ingredients based on chicory root, sugar beet, rice and wheat. The Tienen facility, which has been in operation for over 50 years was the core basis for development with the company’s functional fibers of inulin and oligofructose. Since the creation of the BENEO Group in 2007, the company have been adding other product lines and resultantly their Wijgmaal (Belgium) and Offstein(Germany) laboratories have become more important for both technological and nutritional research. Over 200 people are employed in R&D of the Südzucker Group, about 35 working in Tienen. Overall BENEO accounts for 54% of Sudzucker’s R&D expenditure and BENEO will account for 90% of the utilized time at the labs in Tienen and Offstein, with 10% on other activities [mainly sugar, but also bio-ethanol]. 
 
“A lot started in Tienen where we had and still have our technical facilities, which date back over 50 years,” says Speleers (pictured left with Rudy Wouters, right) in a detailed interview with FoodIngredientsFirst at the facilities. ““So there was a need to renovate and have state-of-the-art facilities and we took the opportunity to add the meat lab. Not only we improved all conditions concerning accuracy, speed and hygiene, but we also improved the work conditions for the team,” he notes.
 
He also highlights how this type on investment is key if the company is to continue on its pathway in targeting at least 20% growth over 5 years to 2020. BENEO is currently growing at mid-single-digits [approx. 5% per year], as the double-digit growth enjoyed in the mid-2000s slows down, due to the increased size of the company as a whole. 
 
Speleers pointed to 2015 research conducted among members of the ELC (European Association of Specialty Food Ingredients) to show that BENEO invests more than the average of turnover back into R&D. “Among European specialty food ingredients suppliers, an average of 4% of turnover is spent on R&D. We are at the upper limit of 6-7%, so within this association we spend more than the average. We are proud of this survey and it is in our DNA,” he notes.
 
For Speleers, it is about having both a science and marketing approach, so that all the science that you do is usable by the consumer because they understand and like it. “This combination of science and marketing is really the DNA of the BENEO of the Group and our customers appreciate that we come with this full package. Obviously with science you have regulatory, as you have to make sure it is legal and you need the technology to make sure it is usable,” says Speleers.
 
When it comes to nutrition research and development, it is really about Tienen, Offstein and to a limited extent Wijgmaal, where all the development happens. However, when it comes to regional customization, the company is also investing significantly. Present in Singapore, since 2007, the company opened an R&D test kitchen there two years ago. The plan is to replicate this concept around the world. 
 
“We don’t want to be a Eurocentric company, so we need to adapt our recipes to a local food. We started with Singapore, as it is a fast growing area of our company and also an area where the food is really different from Europe,” says Rudy Wouters. “For example, they have a mooncake, which is something you cannot develop here, as you have no reference for what the taste and texture should be. We have been in Singapore for more than 9 years, but started the lab 2 years ago. They can create bakery items and sauces there, for example.”
 
Speleers notes: “The objective is to copy/paste the small lab we made in Singapore 2 years ago to other places in the world. We will definitely do so in New York in the next 2 years, where we have our office, but also Sao Paolo, where we have an office and at a later stage in New Delhi in India, where we just created a company 2 weeks ago.”
 
India holds strong potential for the company, for a number of reasons. “India is a country with the highest number of diabetic people and we can do everything about sugar replacement, either with our functional carbohydrates or functional fibers. We are strong in baby food and with the fast growing population of India too, there is a fit. To some extent, the pharmaceutical industry is also very big and we have nice propositions to make with functional carbohydrates,” says Speleers. 
 
“Beyond these three specific reasons, is the obvious fact that it is the second biggest country in the world, with conditions that for us are easier than in China, where we are not directly present, but work well with partners. But in India we want to do it with a partner and with us/an own team. It is basically one person today which should quickly become 3, together with a partner. And then if it works with 3, we will continue to expand if we get a good return on investment,” he explains. 
 
But what about research at the Tienen facility? Wouters notes that the meat research lab is completely new for the facility and will allow the company to assess both meat and meat alternatives. For example, BENEO has developed a vegetarian burger that contains a unique combination of plant based proteins (rice and wheat), rice starch and inulin (chicory root fiber). The concept has excellent taste and texture, while maintaining good dough properties and a neutral taste. 
 
“Meat extension is becoming really important. People are saying they want only 50% meat in their products, or go completely vegetarian altogether. But even vegan is coming more and more, which is one step further in terms of limitations, by having to leave out eggs and milk proteins. For example the vegetarian burger we tasted today features egg yolk to bind everything together, but if you go vegan you have to find an alternative for the egg yolk,” says Wouters.
 
A sure area of research for functional fibers at the facility is sugar reduction, with bakery, cereals and dairy being the main areas of work. “We are focusing a lot on sugar reduction, because it is definitely very important and is growing. And still a lot can be done to arrive at a taste sensation that is similar to sugar. What we really need is to arrive at the same sweetness level, which is easier said than done, when comparing two products directly people expect to get the same taste,” Wouters notes. 
 
There is a strong importance in creating clean label sweetening solutions, with oligofructose serving to contribute to the sweetness profile. “Most of the time we work with sweetness enhancers, as the interest is really on natural solutions that are clean label and not artificial. In fact, even steviol glycosides are considered to be non-natural as it is an additive. So you need something that can only be labeled as a ‘flavor’ and that can be used in conjunction with others,” he says. 
 
In May 2016, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that BENEO is targeting the burgeoning clean label trend with the first functional native rice starch from the Group’s rice business unit [formerly known as BENEO-Remy]. Remypure, which is the biggest launch from this business unit in recent years, qualifies as having a natural and clean label status worldwide. It also shows very high stability under demanding process conditions [low pH, high temperatures and high shear], which is a very important element in the description of the product.
 
BENEO has just begun production of Remypure, with early commercial applications occurring in retorted sauces, dairy desserts, fruit preps and baby food. These are applications where the ingredient has shown its high stability under demanding process conditions. Capacity of several thousand tons exists for the product at the company’s Wijgmaal (Belgium) facility. The line has been structured in a modular way, in order to be able to expand quickly and easily and therefore cope with the anticipated fast growth in sales volumes.
 
The Remypure starch is the first generation of the range. “We are also focusing on different applications, from béchamel to tomato sauce and also fruit preps, where you see consumers want to get rid of modified starches. But then you need a native starch with the same process and shear stability. In many applications, Remypure functions like a modified starch. We are working on a second generation which is not there yet,” says Wouters. He confirmed that a lot of customers are at a test phase, so we can expect to see the first launches in the next 2-3 months.
 
Wouters also noted that there is a lot of work into titanium dioxide replacement in confectionery, where the coloring is replaced with rice starch. Another interesting development in confectionery is the translucent coating with Isomalt, where the center of the confectionery is colored and the coating is transparent. This innovative coating process enables chewing gum manufacturers to create attractive products that deliver in terms of translucence and shine, while also maintaining stability throughout their entire shelf life. Perfetti van Melle has already adopted this concept in Italy.
 
These are just some of the new platforms that will be assessed at the refurbished facility, as suppliers look to help drive innovation in the food industry. 

by Robin Wyers