Beyond The Headlines: Azelis and Beneo strike distribution deal, ADM boosts regenerative agriculture

24 Nov 2023 --- In this week’s industry news, Azelis announced a new distribution agreement with Beneo, while ADM expanded its global regenerative agriculture efforts with the launch of a Brazil to promote sustainable agricultural production. Meanwhile, Arla Foods Ingredients said Henrik Andersen is stepping down as CEO.

Business highlights
Azelis has begun a new distribution agreement with Beneo. Azelis will be the exclusive distributor for inulin, oligofructose, scFOS, texturized wheat proteins, faba beans, beta-glucans, meatless solutions, and specialty rice ingredients in India and the entire portfolio in Bangladesh. This new agreement strengthens Azelis’ existing partnership with Beneo in EMEA. Beneo develops and produces functional ingredients derived from natural sources, such as chicory roots, sugar beet, rice, and wheat. In food and nutrition, the company’s plant-based functional ingredients help improve the nutritional and technical properties of various products while maintaining, or even improving, taste or texture. 

Brenntag has announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Silesia, a global, German-based flavor house, for flavors for the Saudi Arabian market. The deal covers flavors for confectionery, bakery, dairy, savory and beverage products. Brenntag Food & Nutrition and Silesia extend their exclusive distribution agreement for the United Arab Emirates to the fast-growing market of Saudi Arabia (KSA), one of Brenntag’s focus markets in the region.

INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, a private equity fund in the Baltics, signed an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Galinta Group, one of the largest producers of buckwheat in Europe and one of the leading producers and traders of flakes, rice, and other groats in the Baltic region. The transaction is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024, subject to permission from the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania. 

Henrik Andersen is stepping down as CEO of Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) to explore a new career path. The new CEO of AFI will be Luis Cubel, who has been with AFI since 2002. Cubel, currently commercial director, will take up his new role on February 1, 2024. The process of finding Luis Cubel’s replacement is ongoing. Andersen has been part of Arla Foods since 1994 as CEO of AFI. In the future, he will focus on board work and various other projects. Andersen has been CEO of AFI since 2010.

The UK government wants to use the country’s strengths in science and technology to address the interconnected issues of global food security and climate change.Sustainable food and farming
ADM has expanded its global regenerative agriculture efforts with the launch of its program in Brazil, which aims to promote and support sustainable agricultural production with a focus on soil health, biodiversity protection, improved soil fertility and resilience, and increased farm productivity. In the initial stages of the program, ADM will focus on three practices. They include fertilizer use efficiency and increased use of biological inputs, reducing chemical inputs and substituting traditional nitrogen products with more technological alternatives to reduce carbon emissions in planting, coupled with increased productivity due to improved soil health. No-till farming, with technical assistance guidance for the refinement and intensification of this widely used practice in the field. 

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the launch of the UK-CGIAR Centre for Collaboration and Innovation in Science and Technology at the Global Food Security Summit in London earlier this week. CGIAR has a rich history of collaborating with the best and the brightest of UK science. The new center will forge dynamic, new collaborations between CGIAR, UK science institutes and research centers in the Global South, as well as galvanizing existing partnerships.

Launches and innovationBreast milk comprises a multitude of complex proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Researchers find the concentrations of these components undergo changes within a single feeding session.
Nestlé announced the launch of its science-based growing-up milk solution containing Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) for early life nutrition in mainland China, under the Wyeth illuma brand. This follows the recent approval for the use of such bioactives by the country’s National Health Commission. The use of HMOs is propelled by numerous scientific studies that show the importance of these components in gut and immune health and cognitive development in infants. HMOs are the third most abundant solid component in human breast milk, after lactose and lipids. Human breast milk contains three major types of these structurally complex carbohydrates. The illuma product launched this month contains 2’Fucosyllactose (2’FL) and Lacto-N-(neo)tetraose (LNnT), which account for two of the three major types of HMOs. The illuma blend additionally contains healthy lipids and proteins that, together with the HMOs, also play a role in gut and immune health and cognitive development, according to Nestlé.

Bunge introduced Beleaf PlantBetter, a plant-based alternative crafted to satisfy the growing demand for superior-tasting and environmentally responsible dairy butter replacements. According to the company, it helps deliver the same sensory experience, including appearance, texture, melting behavior, and taste as traditional meat and dairy. It also reduces carbon emissions by 50% compared to standard dairy butter.

By Gaynor Selby