Weekly Roundup: Azelis and Kerry bolster partnership while Nactarome boosts natural flavorings and colors

03 Mar 2023 --- This week in industry news, DKSH signed an exclusive agreement with Döhler for the distribution of pectins and fruit fibers in Switzerland and Austria. Meanwhile, DSM revealed it is resuming its animal grade Vitamin A production in Switzerland and wheat farmers seeking better yields are set to potentially benefit from a collaboration between Syngenta Crop Protection and Aphea.Bio.

In brief: Business moves
Azelis strengthened its partnership with Kerry for the food & nutrition market in Europe. As a continuation of a partnership initiated in 2018, this new mandate allows Azelis to reinforce its portfolio within the food, beverage and meat sectors in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. Kerry’s product range will ensure Azelis’ customers have a wide portfolio for savory and sweet applications and the development of innovative solutions using technical and marketing knowledge. Azelis’ strong network of laboratories, including a Regional Competence Center for Meat and Meat Alternatives, will be an excellent support to offer partners new formulations and ingredient insights.

Azelis also expanded its partnership with Corbion, a key provider of lactic acid, lactates and derivatives and fermentation & preservation ingredients for advanced preservation, nutritional and flavor enhancement solutions. This mandate builds on successful partnerships with Corbion in India and Indonesia, adding Corbion’s portfolio of ingredients to Azelis’ Food & Nutrition offering in Malaysia and Wheat farmers seeking to increase yields are set to benefit from a new collaboration between Syngenta Crop Protection and Aphea.Bio.Singapore.

Thai-China Flavours and Fragrances Industry (TCFF) formed a new strategic partnership agreement with Nactarome, a European group specializing in the production of natural flavorings, colors and functional ingredients. Nactarome focus on providing a comprehensive portfolio of all-in-one natural flavorings, extracts and functional ingredients to the global food and beverage industry. TCFF will represent Nactarome’s range of sweet and savory flavors, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein (HVP), yeast extracts and thermal process flavorings for food and beverage in the Thai local market. TCFF already has extensive Thai manufacturing facilities including; liquid, blending, extraction and spray-drying technology.

DKSH’s Business Unit Performance Materials, entered an exclusive partnership with Döhler, the Germany-based global manufacturer, marketer, and provider of technology-based natural ingredients, ingredient systems, and integrated solutions for the food, beverage, and nutritional industries. It aims to expandthe distribution of pectins and fruit fibers in Switzerland and Austria.

Royal DSM is resuming Rovimix Vitamin A production in Sisseln, Switzerland. In November 2022, the firm announced a temporary halt to Vitamin A production at the site. The challenging cost environment cited in 2022 spans energy, raw materials and process material costs, continuing in 2023. Restarting production will allow DSM to serve its customers with animal nutrition premix solutions ahead of the shutdown for lifetime extension work planned for the Vitamin A line this summer.   

Wheat farmers seeking to increase yields while reducing fertilizer inputs are set to benefit from a new collaboration between Syngenta Crop Protection and Aphea.Bio. The collaboration aims to accelerate the introduction of a novel biological seed treatment solution across multiple countries in Europe over the next five years, pending regulatory approval. This places a much-needed technology in the hands of farmers seeking to improve the sustainability of their farming operations and address challenges arising from an increasingly constrained toolbox of available agricultural technologies as well as evolving consumer demands.

ProfilePrint, a Singapore-based company that provides AI driven solutions to ascertain and predict the quality and profile of food ingredients, signed commercial contracts to deploy the ProfilePrint technology with three of Brazil’s largest food companies – Louis Dreyfus Company Brasil, Olam Agrícola Ltda (Brazil) and Sucafina Brasil.

In brief: Sustainability efforts
Soft serve ice cream and QSR giant Dairy Queen won praise for its latest pledge to source only cage-free eggs and egg ingredients for all stores globally by 2025. The company has over 6,800 locations across 20 countries, including over 1,100 stores in China, 500 in Thailand, 100 in Mexico, and nearly 100 in the Philippines, with additional locations spanning Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The new policy expands the company’s commitment to include all international locations. 

In brief: Launches
De’Longhi unveiled its newest creation – TrueBrew. The brand is now extending its offerings to include specialty drip coffee, now brewing at-home with TrueBrew system.

Ulrick & Short launched a new clean label ingredient aimed at replacing the functionality of egg whites in meringues. The new ingredient, called Ovaprox 14, is a complete functional egg replacer for various sweet-bakery applications – most notably in meringues. Ovaprox 14 has been specifically designed to behave very similar to egg white in a meringue application – it aerates when whisked to create a stable foam, ultimately providing a good internal structure, and a crisp bite throughout shelf life similar to conventional egg-based meringue recipes.Farm to Plate revealed the immediate availability of F2P, a pioneering blockchain-based provenance and tracking product.

In brief: Acquisitions
Novax completed the acquisition of Louis François SAS, the French developer of specialty functional ingredients for culinary artisans and food producers. Founded in 1908, family-owned Louis François has a century-long history of developing and providing premium ingredients and solutions to its customer base of gastronomic clients and premium chefs worldwide. 

In brief: Studies and research
Latest figures from the Food Standards Agency (FSA)’s survey indicates that 20% of households across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now food insecure. This is the highest reported level of food insecurity since tracking began in 2020. This research also revealed that food prices are the top concern for people (66%), with food waste (60%) and the amount of sugar in food (59%) also featuring in the top three prompted concerns. 

A Brightseed survey of US adults uncovered a significant subset of consumers who are engaged in a new horizon of science-based, natural solutions for health: bioactives. More than a quarter of respondents were identified as “bioactivists,” consumers who believe “food can be as powerful as medicine” and would pay a premium for novel bioactive health solutions. 

In brief: Miscellaneous
Farm to Plate revealed the immediate availability of Farm To Plate (F2P), a blockchain-based provenance and tracking product for the Food supply chain that will expand the scope of data transparency to the grassroots of the food industry – end-to-end, from the producers to the consumers. The Farm to Plate platform addresses increased regulatory demands for digitization and transparency through compliance and heightens brand trust, financial stability, and reputation by enabling a focus on sustainability, responsible farming, consumer transparency, and significantly reduced recall risk and size.

By Elizabeth Green