News

The Board of Directors of the Hochdorf Group has appointed Jürgen Brandt as the new CFO and member of the Executive Board. He took up his duties on 18 November 2019.

Jürgen Brandt is an experienced financial expert who has been CFO of Von Roll Inova, Austrian Energy & Environment Group and Sulzer for the past 15 years and has served as a temporary CFO for various medium-sized companies since 2015. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the listed company Bobst SA since 2013.

The current CFO Marcel Gavillet, who has worked for the Hochdorf Group since 2003, will remain with the company and take over special projects in the area of finance.

UK-based Galaxy chocolate brand is launching its first vegan alternative to milk chocolate. The Mars Wrigley-owned brand says that a hazelnut paste will create the same smooth and creamy signature characteristics of Galaxy sought by consumers. The bars will launch in Tesco stores and will then be sold online via Ocado and Amazon. This launch comes as the plant-based movement continues to pick up pace, with consumers increasingly turning away from animal-derived products.

The bars are available in three 100 g varieties: Caramelised Hazelnut – a blend of rich cocoa with smooth and creamy hazelnut paste, Smooth Orange – a combination of rich cocoa and orange oil blended with smooth and creamy hazelnut paste, and Caramel & Sea Salt – a combination of rich cocoa and crunchy salted caramel pieces blended with smooth and creamy hazelnut paste.

The bars are encased in a widely recyclable card sleeve and clear compostable film.

Plant-based dairy brand Eclipse Foods is debuting in the US with an ice cream partnership with OddFellows in New York City and Humphry Slocombe in San Francisco. Eclipse says it “uses a blend of plants to replicate milk on a molecular level, creating a dairy replacement that tastes, feels and functions just like conventional dairy.” As consumers increasingly turn toward alternatives to traditional dairy, the company’s ice cream taps into a variety of trends, including clean label, vegan and free-from. The product is free from soy, nuts, coconut, gluten, gums and stabilizers, allowing it to access the lucrative clean label market.

“We founded Eclipse Foods because we want to make it easy for consumers to make sustainable, healthy and humane choices,” says Co-Founder Aylon Steinhart. “Plant-based foods that actually appeal to all types of eaters can and will change the world”.

Eclipse’s process of creating plant-based dairy involves common and sustainable ingredients like corn and cassava. With its first product, the company is using its milk to create a liquid ice cream base that spins in any type of ice cream machine and makes everything from soft serve to gelato.

Nestlé has entered into a partnership with Corbion to develop the next generation of microalgae-based ingredients, enabling the company to deliver sustainable, tasty and nutritious plant-based products. Based in the Netherlands, Corbion is a global market leader in lactic acid, lactic acid derivatives and a leading company in emulsifiers, functional enzyme blends, minerals, vitamins and algae ingredients. Microalgae ingredients have several advantages, as they are a vegan source of protein, healthy lipids and various micronutrients. In addition, the production of microalgae has a low carbon, land and water footprint.

By combining Corbion’s microalgae and fermentation capabilities with Nestlé’s expertise in the development of plant-based products, the two companies aim to produce and commercialize microalgae-based ingredients rich in protein and micronutrients. They will collaborate to improve the functionality, taste and nutritional profile for usage in different types of products.

Stefan Palzer, Nestlé Chief Technology Officer said: “We are actively exploring the use of microalgae as an alternative protein and micronutrient source for exciting plant-based products. Through the partnership with Corbion, we will be able to use great-tasting, nutritious microalgae-based ingredients to innovate across our different product categories.”

Located in the “Food Valley” of Wageningen/the Netherlands, Symrise is pioneering a new approach to food innovation by installing an innovation lab at the Unilever Foods Innovation Centre on the Wageningen University & Research (WUR) campus. As a result of Symrise’s close proximity to Unilever’s operations and the university’s science faculty, innovative culinary foods shall be developed at a much faster pace. Key objectives of the new centre include meeting current and future requirements for healthier and more sustainable market products, such as plant-based foods, and developing products for new consumption occasions like snacking and meal bridging.

“This approach will enable the companies to optimally integrate and develop new products together in a creative and efficient manner,” explains Heinrich Schaper, President of the Flavour Division at Symrise. “The site will make it possible for us to leverage the expertise of the best Agri-Agro researchers from around the world.”

Previously, Symrise taste experts developed finished product ideas at their own facilities, which were then presented to customers from the food industry. The German flavour house’s new creative centre, developed with Unilever, comprises a flavour creation lab, an application kitchen and collaboration rooms that cover 120 m2.

Symrise aims at working together with Unilever on many different levels. In addition to taste, sustainability ranks high on the agenda of both companies. This new, on-site approach to integrated product development allows for more scientific collaboration on the field of sustainability.

Cargill is investing USD 35 m in Europe to add soluble fibres to its current portfolio of starches, sweeteners and texturizers. The new soluble fibres will, it says, enable sugar reduction up to 30 % as well as calorie reduction and fibre enrichment in confectionery, bakery goods, fillings, cereals, ice cream and dairy, whilst maintaining the desired appearance, taste and texture.

The investment marks Cargill’s first move into soluble fibres in Europe. The products are expected to be launched in 2021 – expanding quickly into other categories and adding more market innovations.

“This is a crucial investment to complement the broad portfolio of starches, including label-friendly functional and native starches, texturizers and sweeteners, ranging from full- to no-calorie, Cargill makes available to our manufacturing customers,” said Alain Dufait, Managing Director Cargill Starches, Sweeteners and Texturizers Europe. “Our expanded offerings support the wide range of product formulations our customers need, while helping them meet changing consumer preferences”.

In terms of market activity, Innova notes an average increase in European product launches with fibre claims of 23 % and a 16 % increase in products with sugar-reduced claims over the past five years. Especially low sugar claims showing the strongest growth.