Ingredion & Lyckeby announce strategic alliance for potato starch distribution

07 Aug 2017 --- Ingredion has formed a new strategic alliance with Lyckeby Starch AB, a Swedish manufacturer of potato-based starch and fiber products for food and paper businesses. Under the new agreement, Ingredion will exclusively distribute various potato starch and waxy barley ingredients from Lyckeby’s portfolio across specific countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. 

Claudia Fiannaca, Senior Manager Strategic Alliances, Ingredion EMEA spoke with FoodIngredientsFirst. “Across EMEA, there is an increasing demand for affordable meat and cheese solutions. Texture enhancement is also a key growth area where potato starch presents an ideal solution for manufacturers due to its unique attributes. For example, high binding capacity in processed meats or texturizing performance in snacks.” 
 
“As a result of this partnership we will be able to combine Lyckeby’s potato starch expertise and experience with Ingredion’s texture innovation to meet manufacturers’ challenges in the region, expanding into new applications where possible,” she notes. 

“The alliance with Lyckeby enables Ingredion to offer a full range of modified starch bases including potato, to our customers across EMEA. With such an extensive portfolio to draw upon, we can provide customers with the best ingredient solution for their application and functionality requirements. Our portfolio currently covers dressings, cheese and meat applications and we plan to extend this further in the near future,” Fiannaca explains. 

Hans Berggren, CEO at Lyckeby also spoke to FoodIngredientsFirst: “For Lyckeby, the new agreement with Ingredion means that we have a chance to reach more customers in new markets. Working with specialty starches from potato base, we know there is a special place for this type of ingredients. Properties such as neutral taste and transparency as well as offering great texture and viscosity to food have generated demand for potato based ingredients in certain food applications.”

“Working with the Lyckeby portfolio, Ingredion can now add potato based ingredients in more markets and we can extend our market reach at Lyckeby,” Berggren explains.

He added: “We are delighted to be working with Ingredion enabling us to expand our reach into key territories and food applications. By combining our individual business and technical strengths, we will bring more value to food manufacturers as well as our farmers. One way we will achieve this is by exploring new functionalities for our product portfolio.”

The new strategic alliance, which will formally begin on 1 September 2017, will ensure food producers in specific countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) have improved access to Lyckeby’s broad portfolio of specialty potato starch and waxy barley ingredients. This, coupled with Ingredion’s texture and application expertise, will open-up new possibilities in various food applications including meat, cheese, batters and breading. 
 
The specialty potato starch and waxy barley range, which will continue to be sold under the existing Lyckeby brand names, will enable Ingredion to provide food manufacturers with extended functionalities including improved crispiness in low-moisture systems, processability in savory applications, and control of melt and stretch in cheese analogs. The ingredients will be available to customers in the UK, Ireland, Turkey and South Africa, in addition to ten countries in the Middle East and a further twenty-six countries across Africa and Asia Pacific. 
 
Jorgen Kokke, President, APAC & EMEA, Ingredion, added: “This is a great opportunity for us to expand our portfolio with a complementary range of specialty ingredients. There are clear synergies between the two companies, from our combined technical expertise to our shared commitment to providing consistent, high-quality ingredients. We now have an extensive portfolio of modified starches and flours, which we can draw upon to advise customers on the best ingredient solution for their application and functionality requirements.” 

By Elizabeth Green