Sudzucker Creates New Functional Food Group 

05/11/07 Südzucker AG, Europe’s largest sugar producer and a leading German food group, announced the creation of a new Functional Food Group – BENEO at Food Ingredients Europe in London last week.

Leading food ingredients companies Orafti, Palatinit and Remy will now form the newly created Functional Food Group, BENEO, and be known individually as BENEO-Orafti, BENEO-Remy and BENEO-Palatinit. ‘Connecting nutrition and health’ is the group’s united mission and with the combination of three major players into one group it will ensure BENEO becomes one of the industry’s preferred innovative partners.

The decision to unite the strengths of Orafti, Palatinit and Remy has come in response to the rapid changes that have been experienced across the worldwide foods market. In the face of the new emerging opportunities in the functional food market, increasing globalisation, and increased importance of adequate nutritional policies, Südzucker AG has taken the decision to create a Functional Foods Group to rise to these new challenges.

With a business vision for the next ten years already in place, the combination of Orafti, Palatinit and Remy under the group name, BENEO, is a major step in providing partners and end users alike with many exciting new food ingredients, the Group said in a statement. The unity of the three companies will better enable the group to optimise its unique, connected chain of expertise in the most efficient way possible. The emphasis on multi-disciplinary services, aims to support our partners in all phases of the product development up to product launch. The BENEO Group is committed to being the preferred partner in the innovation process for customers worldwide, helping global food manufacturers develop balanced, healthy and functional food and feed products.

Yves Servotte, BENEO Group Board Member: “It is no co-incidence that we have chosen to announce the restructuring of our company at FI Europe 2007. As the event for shaping the future of the food ingredients industry, this is the perfect setting for announcing how we at BENEO, are implementing plans that will shape the functional foods sector over the coming ten years. The ability of BENEO-Orafti, BENEO-Palatinit and BENEO-Remy to work together and share company knowledge will not only mean market opportunities for us, but for our customers too”.

“Areas where this sharing of knowledge will be maximised include the three companies’ expertise in durable farming, process and food technology, nutritional science, nutritional marketing and communication, regulatory issues, patent policy and consumer research.  The ability to draw knowledge from all three companies’ experiences in these areas will allow BENEO to bring new “wellgredients” to market and ensure that new and existing ingredients continue to meet ever-changing customer and market needs”.

Meanwhile BENEO-Orafti remains focused and committed to product innovation; helping manufacturers develop balanced and nutritional food products with a FeelGood factor that consumers are increasingly demanding. BENEO-Orafti also launched an upgraded version of its popular OraftiHSI product (Highly Soluble Inulin) called OraftiHSI Ultra to provide extra technological benefits for manufacturers who produce fruit preparations, fruit fillings for baked goods and confectionery.

It offers the same advantages as OraftiHSI and it contains less small sugars. It is a 'Low Sugar Highly Soluble’ inulin. Whereas the 'regular' OraftiHSI contains fewer than 14% small sugars (glucose+fructose+sucrose), OraftiHSI Ultra contains less than 4%.