Prova CEO spotlights Ugandan vanilla, extract innovation and “big ambitions” for Asia-Pacific

05 Feb 2024 --- The vanilla market is known for volatility, with prices skyrocketing or bottoming out as crop yields remain at the mercy of extreme weather conditions, fusarium infection, intermediary involvement and political turmoil. The vanilla industry relies heavily on Madagascar, which is estimated to hold 80% of the market production of vanilla worldwide.

Now, Prova is looking to take pressure away from the country by promoting Ugandan vanilla, which, according to company CEO Muriel Acat-Vergnet, “has very interesting taste qualities” for the planifolia vanilla — the same species grown in Madagascar.

Speaking to The World of Food Ingredients, Acat-Vergnet suggests that Uganda has improved its production of vanilla and “has a very stable and decent supply.”

“Our pastry chefs encourage the use of Ugandan vanilla, as they believe that it is tasteful in a wide range of food applications and has a good price.”

Outside of vanilla, the company is developing its sweet brown flavors. Acat-Vergnet details how these key ingredients find their place in chocolate confectionery. She also explains the company’s growth strategy from its earlier days to its success today. 

What can you tell us about Prova’s growth strategy?
Acat-Vergnet: Prova has grown on uniqueness and innovation. The company is 78 years old now. We started small, just like every start-up company. But we started with a unique technology of vanilla extraction that has helped us position ourselves with little to no competition. 

That’s the dream of every company: you have such unique products that you’re not competing with anyone. That’s how we worked in the beginning — we developed and based a few innovations on extracting vanilla, cocoa, coffee and so on. 

Vanilla was the very first and only ingredient that we were transforming. Then, we started to develop our scope toward more composed flavors with aromas and keys and flavor substances, both artificial and natural.

When I entered the company 30 years ago, it was very small. We were exporting worldwide but mostly to Europe. There were maybe 50 people. Now we have nearly 400 employees internationally, dispersed all over the globe. 

Fast forward to today, and we’re also a very big cocoa extract manufacturer worldwide. We belong to the top five or ten cocoa extract manufacturers.

What are the big trends you’re seeing in consumer habits around confectionery?
Acat-Vergnet: Trends in confectionery are frequently based on the demand for more natural ingredients. Sustainability is a big issue, especially for chocolate manufacturers, because they have to tackle cocoa sourcing, and there is a huge problem related to deforestation and cocoa plantations.

We also source sustainable vanilla and we work more and more with our big clients in the chocolate industry with responsibly sourced vanilla. We work with NGOs in Madagascar, and we have a special supply chain for vanilla, which is paid a higher price than the market price. We also commit to the local communities with social programs and good manufacturing practices. So, this is something that we value through either our own programs or through other certified programs.

The trend we are seeing is moving toward more sustainable sourcing and working closely with the farmers on the ground. Everything is geared toward naturality and naturally sourced ingredients. 

How does Prova plan to take its innovation forward?
Acat-Vergnet: Innovation is not only about products — it’s also about service and mindset. We believe that innovation must exist in each of the company’s layers at each level. So we’re inviting everybody to bring new ideas in to contribute to improving our operational efficiency.

Trends in confectionery are centered around the demand for more natural ingredients, flags Acat-Vergnet.We have a tech center in Brittany, France, that is focused on finding new extraction technologies. We are working with universities, partnering with them and looking at new ways of extraction. We also would like to improve our extracts in other ingredients like hazelnut, almonds, coconut and pistachio because they also belong to this scope of sweet brown flavors. 

Our DNA is very much based on the extraction side. There are many flavor houses that are capable of having good flavors and developing flavors, but not many are transforming raw materials into extracts.

Can you share insights on Prova’s approach to investment and expansion?
Acat-Vergnet: We’ve just completed the building of a new plant in Bangkok, Thailand. We have big ambitions in Asia-Pacific, which is the third biggest region after Europe and North America, and that’s going to help us also compensate for the problems with overseas transportation and logistics worldwide and be closer to our customers. 

You can read more from this interview in the latest edition of The World of Food Ingredients, which is now available online. 

The main takeaways of the confectionery edition will be presented in a LinkedIn Live event this Wednesday, February 7, at 4 pm CET.

By Elizabeth Green