DSM Food Specialties and Anchor BioTechnologies Join Forces in Creating Bio-Technological Solutions for Wine

Well known and respected brands such as Anchor wine yeast, Collection Cépage, Fermicru, Fermivin, Rapidase and Claristar will be marketed and sold through OenoBrands and its professional distribution network.

16 Feb 2010 --- DSM Food Specialties B.V., (The Netherlands) and Anchor BioTechnologies (South-Africa), announce that they have signed an agreement for the creation of a new company, OenoBrands SAS (France).

OenoBrands will be a separate 50:50 joint venture headquartered in Montpellier, France, operating independently of its parent companies.

Well known and respected brands such as Anchor wine yeast, Collection Cépage, Fermicru, Fermivin, Rapidase and Claristar  will be marketed and sold through OenoBrands and its professional distribution network. This joint venture enables both parent companies to combine their innovation and knowledge in the wine ingredients field.

Alexander Wessels, DSM Food Specialties, Managing Director, commented: “DSM has been active in wine ingredients for over 30 years.  We are confident that joining forces with Anchor is the right decision to accelerate growth in this area. DSM and Anchor BioTechnologies have enjoyed successful co-operation for over 10 years. Joining the competence and capabilities of both companies will lead to OenoBrands being able to offer its customers the world’s best combination of expertise and customer service.”

Alan MacDonald, CEO of Anchor BioTechnologies and Chairman of OenoBrands said: “By joining Anchor and DSM, we can now provide winemakers with a vast array of advanced biotechnological options. OenoBrands, with its highly qualified team of oenologists and technical experts, will provide winemakers all over the world, with complete solutions in yeast, yeast nutrients, wine enzymes, bacteria and mannoproteins.”

OenoBrands is expected to be fully operational by 1 May 2010. The company will operate in over 40 countries through its own global distribution network.

Isabelle van Rolleghem, Managing Director OenoBrands, said: “The wine ingredients market is highly competitive. DSM and Anchor BioTechnologies combined gives us the access to state of the art R&D and production facilities. Further development of a wide range of synergistic bio-technology solutions for wine makers is top of our agenda. As OenoBrands, we can offer wine producers cutting edge service and solutions in today’s technologically sophisticated and challenging wine industry.”