SUPPLIER NEWS & INNOVATIONS
French yeast manufacturer Lessaffre opens first Baking Center in West Africa IVORY COAST - Lesaffre, the French yeast and bread improvement manufacturer has inaugurated its first Baking Center of West Africa at its subsidiary, Lesaffre Ivoire in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. This new Baking Center, the first of its kind in West Africa, aims to support customers in this region in the development of their expertise and new innovative bread-making solutions. The new facility, built on a surface area of more than 120 m², will bring together a team of breadmaking specialists who will be able to help professionals in the development of new products or breadmaking processes. It will also offer training and provide technical support on the use of on-site equipment or direct intervention with customers’ workshops and production sites. David Jousselme, Director of the Overseas region of Lesaffre added that in close collaboration with its clients and partners, Lesaffre is able co-develop products that meet requirements for various consumers and markets. The Baking Center, whose concept was created in 1974 by Lesaffre, is a real centre of expertise, technology and innovation in bread making for the bakery trade, and currently comprises 47 centres spread over the 5 continents.
Arla Foods breaks ground for US$44m ingredients innovation centre in Denmark DENMARK – Danish dairy cooperative, Arla Foods, has started
construction of a new €40 million (US$44m) modern innovation centre for the ingredients business in Denmark. The new innovation centre will be home to international scientists and innovators that will enable the company to further intensify its innovation efforts in development of dairy and whey ingredients. Located in Nr. Vium, Denmark in close proximity to the key production site in Arla Foods Ingredients, Danmark Protein, the centre will cover a 9,000 square metre space with open office spaces, labs and a pilot plant. Arla said that the close interaction between the new Arla Foods Ingredients Innovation Centre and Danmark Protein will create a unique environment for process development and pilot production to unleash “all the wonders of whey”. The facility is also expected to enable Arla Foods Ingredients continue to grow at a high rate in the coming years, especially as the global demand for highly specialized products and ingredients continues to increase. The centre will accommodate up to 90 scientists, technicians and innovators covering all aspects of research and development within whey and milk, involved in a range of activities including advanced separation technologies, isolation of specific components of the whey or milk, heat treatment and pasteurization technology and improved functionality and shelf-life. The new AFI Innovation centre is expected to open in summer 2021 and complement its efforts at the Arla Innovation Centre (AIC) in Skejby, Denmark which the company opened in 2017.
70 JAN/FEB 2020 | FOOD BUSINESS AFRICA
Firmenich invests in green packaging pioneer LOOP to support global expansion SWITZERLAND – Flavors
and fragrances company, Firmenich, has made a coinvestment with Quadia in LOOP, a green packaging pioneer, in Series A funding round. Supported by some of the largest consumer brands, with early partners including Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestlé, LOOP is a new, disruptive e-commerce and retail distribution service based on reusable packaging. The company says the investment is a step further in demonstrating the group’s commitment to the circular economy and addressing sustainability in a single-use era. “As a global environmental leader with a unique legacy in responsible business, we are firmly committed to eliminating non-recycled plastics in our operations and supply chains,” said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich. “Our participation in LOOP’s pioneering model to remove waste marks a new milestone in our journey to foster sustainable production and our active support for the circular and regenerative economy.” LOOP allows brands to redesign the packaging of their most consumed products in line with a circular e-commerce model that maintains the two main benefits of disposability: convenience and affordability. The company modernizes the traditional “milkman model” in an efficient and durable way by tackling the issue of single-use plastic waste. By managing the collection, storage, cleaning and delivery of clean packaging to manufacturers, LOOP is the first of its kind global packaging and shopping circular solution. The funds raised in this equity round will finance the initial deployment of LOOP before expanding global operations in the UK, Japan, Germany and Canada in 2020, and Australia in 2021.
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