New horizons: Palsgaard eyes Middle East opportunities, appoints new distributors

02 Oct 2018 --- Palsgaard is eyeing new opportunities in the Middle East. The inventor of the modern food emulsifier has appointed four new distribution partners to market Palsgaard’s emulsifier and stabilizer solutions across the Middle East. The distributors will carry the full portfolio of Palsgaard products for bakery, dairy, ice cream, margarine and mayonnaise and salad dressings, according to the company.

The new agreements have been announced ahead of the Gulfood Manufacturing trade show and will commence on 1 October 2018, as follows:
• ATOM FZCO will represent Palsgaard in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. 
• Alawsaj General Trading Co. Ltd will represent Palsgaard in Iraq.
• Gusto will represent Palsgaard in Qatar.
• Brenntag Saudi Arabia will represent Palsgaard in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Cai Clemen Christensen, Palsgaard’s Director of Sales for the Middle East, says: “The key growth categories in the Middle East are dairy and bakery – especially cakes. These are already well-developed sectors in the region, but demand continues to grow and manufacturers are very focused on innovation. We see a great opportunity in the Middle East to partner with companies locally to help them drive their new product development pipelines forward in these categories and others.”

“In terms of countries, in our opinion, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt currently offer the greatest potential across the region,” he adds. 

More and more people in the Middle East are moving to cities for work, and their lifestyles are changing. They have more money, but less time, so convenient processed foods have a more significant role to play in their diet. This is creating a demand for effective emulsifier and stabilizer systems, according to Christensen. 

“In addition, we see greater investment in the food industry in the Middle East as companies aim to diversify and reduce dependency on food imports. This means it's the perfect time for us to increase our footprint there,” he explains. 

“The Middle East is already very important to Palsgaard and the appointment of four new distributors across the region reflects our ambition to increase our presence there even further. We’re committed to partnering with local food companies to help them develop their product ranges in line with consumer demand locally,” he notes. 

The Middle East has its own unique technical requirements and challenges in terms of product formulations and supply chain infrastructure, so our new distributors will be geared up to service the specific needs of local markets. “Their representatives will have local knowledge and they will hold stocks of emulsifiers and stabilizer solutions appropriate for the needs of Middle East food manufacturers,” Christensen says. 

Christensen continues: “We’re excited about the bright prospects for our ingredients in the Middle East. There is a growing demand among food manufacturers across the Gulf region for sustainable and innovative ingredient solutions. Our emulsifiers and stabilizers are perfectly aligned with this trend and our new distribution partners will ensure they are available in more Middle Eastern countries than ever before.”

Gulfood Manufacturing will take place November 6-8 2018 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Palsgaard will showcase the benefits of its sustainably produced emulsifiers and stabilizers and highlight how they deliver in a number of critical areas.

Palsgaard’s ingredients offer the following functionalities and benefits in a range of applications:
• Unbeatable prevention of fat separation.
• Powerful suspension of insoluble particles.
• Excellent mouthfeel and creaminess.
• Effective stabilization of high protein systems.
• Good aeration in cakes, plus softer texture and better volume.
• Improved nutrition profiles via reduced calories and fat content – but no drop in quality.
• Increased efficiency and profitability.
• Industry-leading product safety, quality and traceability.
• Impeccable sustainability credentials – all of Palsgaard’s palm oil-based emulsifiers are available made with RSPO-certified segregated palm oil.