CP Kelco President hails 2020 as “a year of education,” as company bolsters investments in ingredients

21 Nov 2019 --- CP Kelco has bolstered its gellan gum investments throughout 2019 with two significant expansion projects in China and the US. Driven by evolving clean label and protein megatrends, global demand for gellan gum continues to grow. And as we head into 2020, the provider of nature-based ingredients anticipates an increased focus on naturally-derived, clean label ingredients, as well as the continuing growth of dairy alternatives and the plant-based market. CP Kelco President Didier Viala hails 2020 as “a year of education for customers and consumers, helping them to understand where our nature-based ingredients come from.” The company is also gearing up for a new ingredient launch early next month. 

Speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst, Viala discusses market dynamics, investments and the company’s portfolio of ingredients. In this space, CP Kelco helps manufacturers overcome the challenges associated with finding solutions needed to ensure stabilization and appropriate texture, protect the protein, prevent separation and help with taste.

“The clean label megatrend continues to grow and evolve – we don’t see this slowing down anytime soon. We’ve had a lot more requests for vegan products. We also know that consumers are very interested in the ingredients that manufacturers are using. However, we recognize there aren’t standard definitions for the terms ‘clean label’ and ‘natural.’ These will vary, depending on how companies understand what consumers are telling them about their products. Then, manufacturers will have to decide what ‘clean’ can look like,” Viala explains. 

Developing products with fewer ingredients is not an easy task, especially if you are also trying to align with the trend of more protein or less sugar and/or fat. Any change can affect the flavor profile and alter a product’s taste and texture, he notes.

“CP Kelco has R&D labs and technical specialists in every region with expertise in solving formulation challenges. We love collaborating with customers. That’s where our innovations are happening now, as we develop new grades of our products to meet their changing needs.”

“For instance, working closely with a customer resulted in a new grade of gellan gum that offers dual functions of suspension and mouthfeel. To address various clean label needs, we offer non-GMO, vegan and organic compliant grades of our key products to customers, as well,” adds Viala. 

In the formulator’s ingredient toolbox, gellan gum is considered a highly versatile, nature-based solution for dairy alternatives and plant-based foods and beverages, particularly those that require excellent suspension and thin mouthfeel. 

US and China expansions
The expansion of gellan gum production capacity at the company’s Okmulgee plant in Oklahoma, US, is scheduled for completion in 2021. Another “first significant step” is to build gellan gum production capabilities at the Wulian site in China. This project began in July 2019 with the overall goal of streamlining CP Kelco’s supply chain and bringing gellan gum closer to the Asian customers it serves. 

“Upon completing both the Okmulgee and Wulian, China plant expansions, we will be strongly positioned with multiple supply points, including our gellan gum facility in San Diego, California, to support our customers’ growth agenda globally. Strategically, we want to be close to our customers and end-users, and this manufacturing footprint will allow flexible sourcing, whatever the trade/tariff conditions are,” Viala explains.

With the additional gellan gum capacity in CP Kelco’s Okmulgee plant, the company is better positioned to work with customers worldwide to develop innovative foods, beverages and other products for consumers.

New ingredient launch 
CP Kelco will introduce its latest product innovation that addresses the clean label trend – this new ingredient will make its official debut at the forthcoming Food Ingredients Europe (FiE) exposition held next month in Paris. It comes from nature and is comprised of both soluble and insoluble fibers, offering both nutritional and functional benefits to product developers, Viala notes. 

“We believe clean label functionality will be increasingly critical as the food and beverage industry innovates to meet consumers’ evolving expectations. Our new ingredient can serve as a next-generation solution to deliver clean label functionality. Stay tuned for its commercial launch in early December.”

Pectin 
Alongside gellan gum, pectin, carrageenan and xanthan gum are also key ingredients in CP Kelco’s portfolio. This range of offerings allows the hydrocolloids producer to deliver the right solutions for various food and beverage products. It also addresses a broad set of targeted sensory attributes as well as varying levels of protein, other nutrients, sugar or pH to satisfy consumer preferences. 

Viala notes that the biggest trend driving pectin demand is also clean label, which can mean different things depending on the company or the region. “It can mean incorporating non-GMO, vegan or organic compliant ingredients, reducing sugar or fat in formulations, and/or simplifying labels with less ingredients overall,” he says. 

“Access to protein is another megatrend. Consumers want more protein and are seeking out new, plant-based protein sources too. Whether a food and beverage manufacturer uses dairy or plants for protein, an excellent stabilizer solution is needed to protect the protein, prevent separation, and help with the taste. Both trends are driving the demand for pectin,” Viala continues. “It’s a consumer-friendly, nature-based ingredient that’s also sustainably sourced and produced,” he asserts.

Most consumers are already familiar with pectin from the jellies and jams in their kitchen cupboards. It can also be used in reduced sugar/low-calorie beverages to add body and provide a pleasant mouthfeel. “It replaces animal-derived gelatin in fruit snacks and gummy candies to appeal to vegan, Kosher, Halal and other diets,” Viala adds. “Pectin also helps to stabilize low pH beverages such as drinking yogurts, fermented drinks such as kombucha and fruit-flavored drinks and juices.”

What’s coming next?
Consumers and food and beverage manufacturers alike are becoming increasingly focused and knowledgeable around label content, origin and environmental sustainability, Viala notes, further highlighting that CP Kelco has a responsibility to openly inform and educate all stakeholders on nature-based ingredients.

“We see 2020 as a year of education for customers and consumers, helping them to understand where our nature-based ingredients come from,” he states. “It’s something we began earlier this year with our new brand strategy and communications, which highlight the origin of our ingredient portfolio – water lily plants, orange peels, seaweed, etc – and the power of these ingredients to unlock success for our customers.”

It is clear that consumers are now very interested in the origin and role of the ingredients they are consuming, says Viala. “We want to do our part to inform and educate through content on our web site and other channels.”

Furthermore, CP Kelco aims to deliver value beyond the tailored functionality of its portfolio. “We inform our customers’ new product and market development by leveraging our global footprint and providing valuable insights, including market trends and analysis data,” Viala comments. Also, the company recognizes the value of speed to market, particularly as consumer tastes and preferences have become increasingly transient and dynamic. 

“By tightly linking our local market and technical knowledge with our global innovation centers, we aim to add agility to the value we bring to our customers. But the insight and speed must be supported by reliability.”

“With our products being derived from nature, they may be impacted by the seasonal and annual fluctuations associated with environment and agriculture,” Viala points out.

However, the company strives to ensure reliability and predictability through strategic sourcing of raw material and its citrus peel processing plant in Brazil, for instance, which provides secure access to high-quality peel for pectin production. 

“Finally, we cooperate and collaborate with our customers as partners, taking the time to truly understand their overall strategy, needs and aspirations, so that we can evolve and adapt our overall offering to support customers throughout their growth journey,” he concludes. 

By Gaynor Selby