Beyond The Headlines: Cargill and Enough extend alt-protein partnership, Raisio CEO steps down

16 Feb 2024 --- In this week’s industry news, Enough and Cargill extended their collaboration to formulate sustainable proteins. Flavorchem and Orchidia acquired Swiss fragrance and flavor house Huber the Nose, while Fanta unveiled apple pie as the mystery flavor in South Africa. Meanwhile, Raisio’s CEO Pekka Kuusniemi announced his decision to exit the company.

Business highlights
Enough and Cargill expanded their current relationship to innovate nutritious and sustainable protein solutions. Cargill signed a commercial agreement to use and market Enough’s Abunda protein and is also investing in Enough’s most recent (Series C) growth funding round. The move will help Cargill co-create protein alternative foods with its customers using Abunda mycoprotein by leveraging its plant-based proteins, texturizers and fats, as well as its formulations and application capabilities. In 2022, Enough built a 160,000 sq ft production facility next to a Cargill facility in Sas van Gent, the Netherlands, which provides Enough with glucose syrup and utilities. The companies have also joined hands in the EU-funded Plenitude consortium project.

The acquisition of Huber the Nose will help Flavorchem strengthen its global capabilities across F&B (Image credit: Flavorchem & Orchidia Fragrances).French food tech company Umiami announced its B Corp certification, which recognizes companies acting in the service of the ecosystem, a more inclusive economy and the public interest. The community comprises 370 companies across France, such as Bledina and Schmidt Groupe. The certification follows the start-up’s recent announcement of €100 million (US$107.7 million) in financing secured over the last few years. With an R&D center in Paris, Umiami now plans to set up its factory in Eastern France (Alsace) this year.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) completed its acquisition of US and Canada-based contract manufacturer Shearer’s Foods from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. The move is expected to help Shearer’s mission to meet the demands of its growing customer and retailer communities using CD&R’s strategic and operating expertise.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Flavorchem & Orchidia Fragrances acquired Swiss fragrance and flavor house Huber the Nose to expand its global reach. The move is expected to strengthen the companies’ global capabilities across the F&B and consumer goods sectors. Flavorchem & Orchidia Fragrances formulates and manufactures flavor, fragrance and ingredient solutions, while Huber the Nose is a Switzerland-based company with over 50 years of experience in the research and development of flavors and fragrance oils.

Raisio is targeting the Netherlands and Belgium market, where plant-based foods are popular (Image credit: Raisio).Finland-based Raisio’s CEO Pekka Kuusniemi announced his decision to exit the company. He has been leading the business since November 2017, through the challenges caused by the pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war. He also helped restore the company’s profitability despite high inflation, according to Arto Tiitinen, chairman of the board of directors at Raisio. He will retain the position till June 15, 2024 and Raisio has started searching for a successor.

Launches and innovation
Raisio also announced its Elovena oat drinks’ entry into the Netherlands and Belgium, with supermarket Albert Heijn selling the beverage starting this month. This includes Elovena Oat Drink, Oat Drink Barista and Cocoa Snack Oat Drink, which will be sold in 715 stores in the Netherlands and 30 in Belgium. The popularity of plant-based foods, particularly oat products, is increasing in these countries. The Dutch consume plant-based foods much more than Elovena’s home market Finland which is the main market for Elovena products.

Fanta unveiled apple pie as the mystery flavor in South Africa’s WhatTheFanta Campaign. The dessert-themed flavor contains no added sugar and combines dessert-inspired notes with a purple hue. The campaign aimed to inject “playfulness into the gray of the every day,” according to Ramokone Ledwaba, senior marketing director at Coca-Cola Africa. It involved consumers and held a treasure hunt through the streets of Mzansi, to find novel Fanta clues at participating retailers. Influencer collaborations, digital promotions, TV commercials and instant wins were also used to market the program. 

By Insha Naureen