Weekly Roundup: Bunge Loders Croklaan expands European footprint, 2 Sisters joins UK Soy Manifesto

19 Nov 2021 --- This week, Bunge Loders Croklaan revealed it is on track to further bolster its European footprint with a new facility. Also, Rijk Zwaan began construction on a high tech trial center for fruit crops, close to its headquarters in De Lier, the Netherlands. Meanwhile, 2 Sisters signed the new UK Soy Manifesto along with other brands and General Mills was added to both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index.

In brief: Business moves
Bunge Loders Croklaan revealed its plans to build a production facility in the Port of Amsterdam. The company will invest over €300 million (US$304 million) in the construction of the facility on the HoogTij industrial area. When completed in 2024, the plant will replace the Maasvlakte refinery in Rotterdam that was sold at the end of last year. The move is pegged as an important step to optimize its European footprint.

Rijk Zwaan began construction on a high tech trial center for fruit crops, close to its headquarters in De Lier, the Netherlands. The building is scheduled to open in mid-2022 and will facilitate the collection of extensive crop data that will give better insight into how vegetable varieties perform in comparison with its own production. Besides tomato trials, the facility will conduct trials with cucumbers and sweet peppers.

Unilever has entered into an agreement to sell its global Tea business, Ekaterra, to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII for €4.5 billion (US$5 billion) on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Ekaterra is a key Tea business, with a portfolio of 34 brands including Lipton, PG tips, Pukka, T2 and TAZO. The business generated revenues of around €2 billion (US$2.25 billion) in 2020.

ADM inaugurated an animal nutrition laboratory in Rolle, Switzerland, in a bid to expand R&D for feed additives for pets, aquaculture and livestock. Scientists will accelerate the development of products to address the main challenges of animal nutrition production. For example, precise methods will be developed to characterize special molecules and their modes of action and support product stability studies and traceability in feed.

In brief: Plant- and cell-based highlights
2 Sisters has joined brands including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Nestlé, Nando’s and KFC UK and Ireland in signing up to the new UK Soy Manifesto to ensure any soy that is used is cultivated sustainably. In total, 27 major UK businesses have committed to buying only soy that has been grown without deforestation or removal of native vegetation by 2025.Several big food brands have signed the UK Soy Manifesto.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to issue guidance on the topic of “Labeling of Plant-based Milk Alternatives; Draft Guidance for the Industry” by the end of June 2022. With aims to help ensure a fair marketplace, the Plant Based Foods Association recently submitted its comments to the FDA on behalf of the plant-based industry. PBFA urges the FDA to maintain its position to allow use of the term “milk” in plant-based dairy alternatives such as soy and almond milk.

 Cult Food Science, an investment platform focusing on clean, lab-grown food has launched the Cult Prize worth US$1 million, with the goal of accelerating the advancement of cell-based meat and fish. The two-year global competition, aimed at incentivizing collaborative research programs to advance novel technologies for lab-grown food.

In brief: Dow Jones recognition
General Mills has been added to both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, for the fourth consecutive year. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices recognize corporate sustainability and results are based on in-depth analysis of economic, environmental and social performance. General Mills ranked in the 94th percentile overall and secured industry-best scores of 100 in health and nutrition, materiality, environmental reporting and water-related risks.

Nomad Foods was also included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index for the first time. The company ranked in the top 14 percentile globally and received a score of 54 out of 100, well above the industry average of 25. It also achieved top scores in Health & Wellbeing and Environmental Reporting and improved its score across sixteen other categories.

In brief: Appointments & retirements
Carbery announced that Steve Morgan, CEO of Synergy Flavours in Europe for the last 14 years, will leave the company at the end of the year. He will also step down from his positions with various trade associations, including the UK Flavour Association and the Seasoning & Spice Association. Sebastiano Pagano, CEO of Carbery and Synergy in Asia will take on Synergy’s European markets.

Shiru, a California-based biotech start-up, has named its first independent board members and first official scientific advisor. Mary Clarke and Rachel Konrad have been elected first independent board members. Meanwhile, Dr. Ranjani Varadan, former vice president of R&D at Impossible Foods, will take on the role as the company’s scientific advisor.Land O'Lakes reports strong net sales and earnings.

Corbion promoted Lonneke van Dijk to senior director, global preservation business, with the company’s Sustainable Food Solutions business unit. The company says that Lonneke will be a key player in leveraging transparent labels and sustainable food solutions.

In brief: Financial highlights 
Tyson Foods reported its Q4 results for 2021, outlining delivered strong sales and earnings growth. The results were impacted by approximately US$335 million of direct incremental expenses related to COVID-19.

Land O’ Lakes reported net sales of US$13.9 billion and net earnings of US$266 million for the year ending December 31, 2020. Net earnings improved to US$59.1 million compared to the previous year despite volatile market conditions and the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Earnings strength was driven by improved performance in the company’s Dairy Foods and Animal Nutrition businesses. These earnings were higher due to strong sales of retail products such as butter, spreads and Kozy Shack product lines.

Premier Foods also released its half year results. Group revenue was up 8.5% in the second quarter while branded revenue was ahead with 13.3%. Meanwhile, trading profit was ahead by 13.1%. 

By Inga de Jong