Omega Ingredients

OMEGA

Renowned worldwide for cutting-edge biochemistry and all-natural raw materials, Omega Ingredients delivers exquisitely sourced flavour projects. Product Manager Martyn Warner explained to Hannah Barnett how the company made its name with a focus on high-quality, provenance-driven, natural flavours and extracts (kiiNotes®).

Omega Ingredients fuses a portfolio of processing knowledge with sophisticated manufacturing capabilities. The company harvests, extracts, analyses and composes botanicals from around the world to create top-of-the-range flavours for the food and drink industry.

“Unlike many of our competitors, we are unapologetically all about natural taste, and do not compromise on that,” said Martyn Warner, Product Manager.

“We often create bespoke flavours specific to requirements, rather than offering them from a library. This enables our customers to develop a food or beverage product customised to a market where the consumer is ever more demanding about naturally sourced items.”

Historically good taste

Omega Ingredients was founded in 2001, with the intent to supply natural, innovative and sustainable ingredients. “At the time, the industry was dominated by synthetic ingredients for flavouring,” said Mr Warner. “Our founder and CEO, Steve Pearce, travelled the world meeting farmers and producers and building

Product Manager

Martyn Warner

strong partnerships. We are still working with many of them today.”

As the business grew, Omega shifted its focus from ingredients to the creation of flavourings. The company now boasts a vast portfolio of natural flavours, scents and ingredients. This, combined with the team’s expertise and creativity, allows Omega to provide cutting-edge solutions that are truly like no others available in the market. In 2022, Omega joined the Robertet Group. The latter has an extensive and illustrious history in the sector: founded in 1850, it is based in the home of perfumery in Grasse, on the French Riviera. Robertet remains the world leader in 100% natural and sustainable ingredients for the flavour, fragrance and beauty industries. The acquisition was

therefore a match made in a perfumed heaven for both Omega and Robertet, with the company’s site in Ipswich specialising in the manufacture of liquid natural flavourings and extracts for the beverage, dairy and culinary sectors.

Fantastic facilities

With quality at the heart of all Omega does, the company goes to great lengths to ensure that everything it produces meets the highest standards. Therefore, investing in the latest equipment and expertise is a given. As Mr Warner put it: “We are spoilt for choice when it comes to our specialist production and extraction facilities.”

The company’s capabilities include both traditional techniques for

distillations and infusions, and cuttingedge methods such as supercritical CO 2 extraction, a spinning cone column and molecular distillation.

Omega opened a Culinary Science Suite in 2023, as a creative space for customers to taste, smell and experience the company’s flavours. All samples are prepared by the Head Development Chef, who was previously employed by high-end London restaurants. The suite allows customers to work with the flavourists and applications team on-site, accelerating the development process.

“It’s not just a competitive advantage for us,” said Mr Warner. “We sell our flavours to other food manufacturers and retailers across different sectors. So, we pass on the advantage to our customers, meaning they can sell more products.”

EcOmega

Omega sources all its ingredients sustainably and ethically, while striving to reduce its impact on the environment. The company has made several commitments to sustainability, including reducing waste through effective planning, re-using where possible and recycling what is generated from its business operations.

“Because we work with natural ingredients, we pay extra attention to our impact

on the environment and the natural world,” Mr Warner said. “Being eco-conscious is one of our values. For the last five years, we’ve been raising money for environmental charities like Surfer’s Against Sewage, organising and participating in beach cleans along the Suffolk Coast and countryside, as well an annual ‘Climb & Clean’ challenge for the whole team to go up a mountain and litter pick en route.”

The company is also researching the possibilities of natural ingredients produced from surplus food. A recent development has investigated creating extracts from fruit and vegetable peels.

“We take surplus product, extract, analyse and compose flavourings and ingredients to put back into the food supply chain,” Mr Warner explained. “It’s a great example of upcycling and the circular economy. Moreover, the taste and

technological attributes of the extracts offer our customers a unique competitive advantage over conventional extracts.”

The sweet smell of success

With global support within the group, the company can spot trends from around the world and bring them to the UK market before any competitors.

“Our diverse portfolio of botanicals and extraction techniques, combined with our innovative team who think outside of the box, has enabled Omega to be at forefront of the Lo&No alcoholic spirits sector,” said Mr Warner. “We worked with the company that developed the first non-alcoholic spirit. That was a really special project. We have since helped our customers to produce some of the most successful Lo&No alcoholic spirits ever launched by creative entrepreneurs.”

To remain ahead of the curve, the company works closely with its suppliers and partners around the world. “It’s the breadth of our suppliers that really contributes to our success,” said Mr Warner.

“We work directly with the growers and manufacturers wherever possible, each one specialising in their product. This ensures we are selecting the very best ingredients to create our flavours, rather than going to a single supplier that can offer it all.”

Not content with the state-of-the-art site it already has, Omega is also building a brand-new production facility next door. It will be dedicated to the liquid manufacture and blending of natural flavourings, increasing capacity and efficiencies to serve the UK and European markets. The facility will feature eco-conscious initiatives such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting, as well as being built from sustainably sourced materials wherever possible.

In addition to building its team and expertise, the new site will facilitate

Omega’s ambitious growth plans: it i ntends to double the size of the company in the next five years.

“The flavouring industry is such an interesting business to be a part of,”

Mr Warner concluded. “It can be little understood by consumers, despite being used so widely. It’s fantastic to explain to our customers how natural flavours and extracts are made and the advantages they offer.journey is very satisfying.”

“As an agile organisation, we are always developing something new. To see a project through, from the early concept and development stages, to being able to purchase a product containing our natural flavouring solutions in the supermarket is brilliant. We believe in building strong relationships with our customers, so supporting them on their journey is very satisfying – for Omega, our customers and ultimately, the end consumer.” n