Mission Report
Upgrading the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Value Chain - Access to Export Markets
Food Ingredients Europe &
Natural Ingredients Tradeshow
(Paris, November 2011)
1
Mission Report
Food Ingredients Europe
& Natural Ingredients
Tradeshow
This document was prepared by the Market Access Team of the Egyptian
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’ Project (EMAP). It is based on work carried
out by Maria Teresa Poveda, EMAP Technical officer, under the supervision
of Mahmoud Abdelsalam, EMAP National Project Coordinator.
January 2012
Index
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 2
2. THE PROJECT “UPGRADING THE MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS VALUE CHAIN – ACCESS TO EXPORT
MARKETS” (EMAP)................................................................................................................................................. 3
3.
FOOD INGREDIENTS & NATURAL INGREDIENTS EXHIBITION.......................................................................... 5
4.
MISSION TO FI EUROPE & NI 2011 ................................................................................................................. 8
5.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES .......................................................................................................................... 12
6.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................................ 31
6.1.
STEVIA ..................................................................................................................................................... 31
6.2.
FROZEN HERBS ........................................................................................................................................ 37
7.
PROCESS DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................................. 41
8.
PERCEPTION STUDY ON EGYPTIAN MAP PRODUCTS ABROAD ..................................................................... 45
9.
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 48
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1. Executive Summary
This report aims at providing the main findings of the mission to the Trade
Exhibition Food Ingredients Europe & Natural Ingredients (Fi Europe & Ni)
2011, focusing on detailed information on the main opportunities identified
for Egyptian Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAP) exporters, as well as in
presenting the main results of a perception analysis conducted with
international MAP related entities (mainly importing companies)
participating in the exhibition.
The participants of the mission, namely the National Project Coordinator and the Market Access
Technical Officer of the project, conducted questionnaire-based meetings with 100 entities during Fi
Europe & Ni Exhibition. The interviewees were selected based on their potential relevance as
opportunities for the Egyptian MAP sector.
Data collected has been processed and classified in different categories depending on whether the entity
was found to present an opportunity for the Egyptian MAP sector. Data Analysis revealed that 45
companies (out of 100) present potential profit possibilities for the Egyptian MAP companies under three
categories: Business opportunities, Product Development Opportunities and Process Development
Opportunities. For each company representing an opportunity a short summary is provided in this report
based on the information collected through the interviews and questionnaires, promotional materials and
their websites. For the two product development opportunities identified, Stevia and Frozen herbs, some
additional information on the importance and the trends of these products is provided.
The perception analysis conducted analysing the information of the meetings shows the positive and
negative perceptions of the buyers of Egyptian MAP products abroad. Strengths underlined by companies
include worldwide recognition and reasonable price in comparison with other suppliers. Some
weaknesses of the Egyptian products mentioned are quality and food safety problems, lack of highly
demanded varieties, difficulties to establish long-term business relations due to prices variation and
delays and other service deficiencies.
Consequently, it is concluded that the Egyptian MAP products benefit from a good position in the
international markets. However, much can be still done in terms of quality improvement, product
development and an enhanced access to international markets.
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2. The project “Upgrading the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Value
Chain – Access to Export Markets” (EMAP)
Overview
The project “Upgrading the Egyptian Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Value Chain –
Access to Export Markets” (also referred as EMAP project) aims at fostering
advancements in the sector by establishing an integrated quality and safety
scheme, improving varieties, increasing productivity, reducing losses, and
upgrading production and processing technologies. The project implements
specialized programs for value addition and improving access to international
markets.
The project, started in 2011 for a duration of four years, is implemented by the Agriculture and AgroIndustries Technology Center (ATC) - Ministry for Industry and Foreign Trade in cooperation with the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) funded by the Swiss Secretariat for
Economic Affairs (SECO).
Expected Results
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“Egyptian Quality Scheme” in place following international best practices
Sustainable technical support centres serving main production areas
Improved production techniques following good agricultural, manufacturing, and hygiene
practices
Effective tools for product development and value addition in response to market demand
Export consortia for joint promotional and export oriented activities
Effective channels for market access
Implementation Approach
The project is adopting an integrated approach targeting all supply chain
members by establishing public private partnerships. Development and
technical support programs are carried out through a network of
specialized technical centres affiliated to the Technology Development
Department - Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade.
Partners
The project is implemented in close cooperation with relevant entities
including the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and its affiliated
organizations, Agriculture Export Council, Egyptian Spices and Herbs
Export Development Association, Egyptian Organization for Standards and
Quality, National Food Safety Authority, General Organization for Export
and Import Control, Foreign Trade Departments of Ministry of Industry and
Foreign Trade, Food Technology Center, Cleaner Production Technology
Center, and Swiss Import Promotion Programme.
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Target Groups
The project is directly targeting all supply chain members including growers, pre-processors, traders,
manufacturers, exporters and service providers with focus on small and medium enterprises. In addition,
the project is indirectly supporting and building capacities of governmental, non-governmental
organizations, research and scientific institutions.
Programs
For easiness in achieving the objectives of the project and in keeping in contact with its target groups and
partners, the project’s activities have been grouped under the following seven main programs:
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Business Development
Product Development
Export Consortia
National Quality Scheme
Technical Assistance
Research & Development
EMAP Academy
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3. Food Ingredients & Natural Ingredients Exhibition
Fi Europe
Running since 1986, Food Ingredients (Fi) Europe is the global
meeting place for all stakeholders in the food ingredients industry. It
aims at allowing visitors to meet all leading ingredients suppliers in one
place and review the latest product innovations from all over the world.
Over 500,000 people have attended the shows over the years, and
billions of Euros of business has been done as a result. Fi Europe & Ni
are held once every two years in a major European city and brings
together the world's leading food & beverage suppliers, NPD (New
Product Development), R&D (Research & Development), production,
purchasing and marketing specialists from global food manufacturers
with the relevant ingredients buyers and decision makers.
Fi Europe & Ni, Paris,
November 2011
Ni
Natural Ingredients (Ni) is the place to show natural ingredients to every manufacturer, company or brand
involved in the food and beverage industry. It is a must-attend event for suppliers that offer natural
ingredients. Held alongside Fi Europe (which next edition will take place in Frankfurt in 2013) and Health
Ingredients (Hi) Europe (Frankfurt, 2012), Ni will attract thousands of food & beverage industry
professionals all who have an interested in the huge potential of natural ingredients.
The Organizer
UBM Live is a division of UBM Plc., which is headquartered in London, UK. The office in the Netherlands
is the organiser of the world leading Fi, Hi, CPhi and ICSE series of pharmaceutical and food ingredient
trade shows. The Dutch office also publishes International Food Ingredients (IFI) magazine, organizes
related conference activities and has a rapidly growing online business.
Fi Europe & Ni 2011
Fi Europe & Ni 2011, held in Paris from 29 November to 1 December 2011, was the largest edition of the
show in its 25 year history, with 11% increase in exhibition space and 20% increase in visitors compared
th
to 2009. Over the three days of its duration, the 25 anniversary edition of the tradeshow featured 1,200
exhibitors from 65 countries. More than 23,600 food professionals from 127 countries visited the show,
making it the most attended Fi exhibition to date.
"Over the last 25 years, the show has hosted many manufacturers and seen some significant changes
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within the industry. In its 25 Anniversary, FI Europe featured great innovations and provided a holistic
view of industry developments over the last 25 years, as well as where it will be going in the next 25
years," said Nick Ornstien, Portfolio Director at UBM Live. "We are delighted to once again deliver a great
show and bring so many companies and professionals together."
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Visitors and exhibitors benefited from the many educational
features provided during the show, including conference
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modules, exhibitor seminars, the 25 Anniversary Product Zone
and many more. A new and praised feature to the show this
year was the Innovation Tours. These tours were conducted by
industry experts and took visitors on a guided conference
around the show that covered innovations and key market
trends.
Fi Excellence Awards ceremony, held on 30 November 2011,
honoured the companies and professionals who have
demonstrated innovation and exceptional contribution to the
industry.
Seminar at Fi Europe & Ni, Paris,
November 2011
Barry Callebaut, the winner of two Fi Excellence Awards, achieved great success at the show; "Our
success at Fi Europe demonstrates that innovation is at the heart of our industry. The recognition by our
customers and the Awards Committee encourages us to continue and advance every aspect of our
business, improving our chocolate on a continual basis," said Sofie De Lathouwer, Marketing Director
Food Manufacturers Europe, Barry Callebaut.
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Relevant facts of the 25 Anniversary event:
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Key industry members: Presence of all leading food producers like PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Mars,
Heineken, Unilever, Sara Lee, Nestle, Danone and many more.
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Global innovations: More than 30,000 m showcase of product developments and innovations,
presented by the leading ingredients manufacturers worldwide, including Corman, Döhler,
Roquette, Cargill, Brenntag, Tate & Lyle, ADM, National Starch, FrieslandCampina, Barry
Callebaut, DSM, Naturex, Cognis, BASF, CNI, Fortitech, Rousselot, Beneo, and many more.
Special pavilions: Dedicated pavilions to ensure a broad offer in everything related with
ingredients for different types of companies including Pavilions for new business, FiPSS (Food
ingredients Processing, Safety & Services), Organic food, and 12 country pavilions around the
show.
Wide range of features: Priceless industry knowledge through wide range of conference modules,
Exhibitor seminars, New Product Zone displays, Expert Innovation tours and more, covering the
latest trends, industry issues and product innovations.
Complete industry coverage: From beverages to bakery, dairy to confectionary, Fi Europe and Ni
offers access to valuable information for all kind of beverage and food businesses in a timeefficient way.
Fi Europe & Ni 2013
The next edition of the Exhibition Fi Europe & Ni will take place in Frankfurt, Germany, on 19 - 21
November 2013. It is expected that over 1,500 exhibitors will be featured at the Exhibition. For more
information on the event please visit www.ingredientsnetwork.com/fieurope.
Hi Europe & Ni 2012
Fi Europe's sister show, Health Ingredients (Hi) Europe & Natural Ingredients (Ni), will also take place in
Frankfurt, Germany November 13 – 15, in 2012. This is the premier exhibition for health ingredients,
nutraceuticals & supplements and natural ingredients. Next year, Hi Europe & Ni will be integrated in
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NuW (Nutritional + Wellness Solutions) addressing nutritional solutions for food, beverage and beauty
applications. NuW will introduce four new elements: Nutritional solutions, Packaging and Processing
Innovation, Formulation solutions (Flavour, taste, texture and shelf life), and Contract services. More
information can be found at http://hieurope.ingredientsnetwork.com/.
Other Food Ingredients and Health Ingredients Exhibitions Worldwide
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4. Mission to Fi Europe & Ni 2011
The mission of EMAP team to Fi Europe & Ni responded to the objectives of identifying new product and
business development opportunities for the Egyptian MAP sector in the framework of two of the project’s
programs: Product Development and Business Development. Additionally, it was decided to conduct
during the tradeshow a perception study on Egyptian MAP sector to use it as a baseline for future work
on promotion of the Egyptian MAP products and sector.
For the above-mentioned purposes, EMAP team designed a work methodology for the tradeshow based
on conducting a great number of meetings while taking a tour through the whole space of the exhibition.
The contacted companies were selected based firstly on checking if they work with MAP products or not.
Companies seeming to be working in MAP in view of their booth’s displays and brochures were
interviewed following a certain list of questions from an own-designed questionnaire. The final number of
meetings conducted during the fair was 100. The breakdown of the 100 entities met by their country origin
is presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Breakdown of the interviewed entities by their country of origin:
Turkey, 2
Denmark, 2
Other , 15
Germany, 12
France, 11
China, 3
Canada, 3
Italy, 10
USA, 4
India, 4
UK, 6
Switzerland, 6
Spain, 8
Netherlands,
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Belgium, 5
Figure 1 shows also the number of entities met during the tradeshow from each country (e.g. 12 meetings
were conducted with German companies meaning also that 12 percent of the meetings were conducted
with German companies as the total number of meetings was 100). For the case of multinational
corporations in terms of our study, they have been classified by the country were they started their
operations which is usually still the country were their headquarters are located.
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The information in Box 1 shows that a big number of European companies were interviewed in coherence
with the location of the Exhibition and of a big number of large-scale importers and processors of inputs
for the food and beverage industry.
The analysis of the replies on the questionnaires conducted allowed for the identification of opportunities
for Egyptian MAP companies. Consequently, another breakdown of the companies was made in
accordance to the type of opportunity that they present for Egyptian possible counterparts and its results
are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Breakdown of the interviewed entities by the opportunities they present for Egyptian MAP
sector:
MAPs Business
development,
35
Not MAP, 34
Governmental
Promotion
Organizations, 1
Press &
Not interested
Scientific
in
new Egyptian
community, 6
MAPs
Exporters, 4
Competitors
for Egyptian
MAPs, 10
MAPs Product
development ,
6
MAPs Process
development ,
4
Figure 2 presents EMAP team findings in terms of opportunities for Egyptian MAP for fostering an
increased access to international markets.
Slightly less than half of the entities (45 percent) presents opportunities for increasing Egyptian MAP level
of business abroad. The corresponding 45 companies have been classified into three categories
according to the type of opportunity presented:
1. MAPs Business Development (35%): 35 entities out of 100 were found to be potentially profitable
for an Egyptian counterpart due to the fact that they expressed interest to start/increase business
with Egyptian MAP value chain members. More detailed information on the companies under this
category is presented later in this report.
2. MAPs Product Development (6%): The interest of foreign companies in Egyptian MAP sector is
based on offering a relevant opportunity for partnering with it if a new MAP product is developed
in Egypt or if a new MAP variety is grown in Egypt. Out of the numerous opportunities of this type
that could be found in the Exhibition, this product development category includes two products,
Stevia and Frozen Herbs, that seem the most beneficial opportunities (in economic terms) and
the easiest for implementation. Detailed information on these two products is presented later in
this report.
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3. MAPs Process Development (4%): The opportunities identified under this category are based on
the relevance for the Egyptian MAP sector of the process development tools (that is, machinery
and/or technology) offered by the four foreign companies.
The remaining 55 companies were not considered to represent an immediate opportunity for increasing
Egyptian MAP companies’ market access. The decision on their exclusion was taken due to certain
different reasons which have been reflected on the name of the following categories:
1. Competitors for Egyptian MAPs (10%): Althought the companies under this category export
and/or process MAP products they were not consider as opportunities as the interview show that
generally they do not import any MAP product from abroad but their supplies are based on their
nationally produced MAP items and also they are not willing to change their strategy in this
regard.
2. Not interested in New Egyptian MAP exporters (4%): This category corresponds to three different
sub-categories of companies:
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Companies preferring suppliers form other countries (1%)
Companies with a non-economical demand (1%), i.e. their demand is too small to be
importing directly MAP, so it is better for them to buy from an agent.
Companies restricted to their Egyptian supplier (2%): they are satisfied/ commited with/to
their current Egyptian suppliers and due to this they do not want to work with any other
Egyptian MAP supplier.
3. Not MAP (34%): The entitites under this category are the
ones not working especifically in MAP product but
working in other products that are related or close to
MAP. Although thees companies are consecuently out of
the scope of the project and of this report, a breakdown
has been made to help in identifying opportunities for
Egypt in other sectors and it goes as follows:
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Business opportunites in non-MAP products:
Parmovo Booth, Fi Europe & Ni,
these companies are interesting possible
Paris, November 2011
partners/models for Egypt which work in other
sectors different than MAP.
High value addition products: although these companies are in gerneral working with
interesting innovation, the shape/format of the imputs that they need at their work require
a value-added product which is not commontly produced in Egypt.
Not relevant products: the products that these companies deal with both as inputs and
outputs are not considered interesting to Egyptian companies, neither as possible
partners nor as models of business or product development.
4. Press & scientific community (6%): A few meetings are conducted with the press (mainly food
and beverage sector magazines),Exhibition representatives, and with the scientific community.
The results of these meetings are not presented in this report but will be used as an information
input for the Product Development program and the web portal that will show the achievements
and documents related to this program.
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5. Government Promotion Organizations (1%): One meeting is held with a governmental promotion
organization, namely Swiss Import Promotion Program (SIPPO). Due to its relevance, some
information about SIPPO and the main meeting’s findings are shown in Box 1.
BOX 1: SIPPO
SIPPO, the Swiss Import Promotion Programme, is a
mandate of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
(SECO), within the framework of its economic
development cooperation. It is carried out by Osec, the
official Swiss foreign trade promotion agency.
The programme helps SMEs in developing and transition countries to gain access to the Swiss
and European markets by providing information, training courses and other matchmaking
services. SIPPO also assists importers from Switzerland and the European Union with finding
suitable partners and high-quality products from selected developing and transition countries.
The programme has five main goals:
1. To inform the Swiss and European import economy about new market sources
2. To strengthen trade institutions and business sector associations in the trade
promotion process
3. To increase the competitiveness of SMEs in selected partner countries
4. To develop the manufacturing and exporting skills of SMEs in selected partner
countries
5. To establish qualified trade contacts between SMEs from emerging markets and
markets in transition and the Swiss and European import economy
Trade Fairs
Among other import support activities, companies can benefit from a set of SIPPO’s Trade
Fairs activities. These activities aim at supporting producers from partner countries in
participating at selected international trade fairs in Europe. SIPPO considers that repeated
participations at selected international trade fairs are a prerequisite for future success of an
SME’s in export market and a major milestone in the trade promotion process.
Usually one or a few participating companies from a
developing country are selected for attending each Fair.
These companies will be provided with a stand at the
SIPPO Pavilion. They will also benefit from training actions
undertaken for SIPPO aiming at allowing the participant to
learn how to prepare for a tradeshow. During the
tradeshow the participant will also benefit from SIPPO
effort in organizing an Agenda of meetings for the
participant to take place during the Fair to assure a
minimum number of potentially interesting meetings for
each participant.
After the Fair, SIPPO helps the participant for follow up
activities and, even more, usually SIPPO welcomes the
same company to participate in SIPPO Pavilion in the next
edition of the same tradeshow.
Another possibility for receiving SIPPO support financial and technical support can be decided
to be put in place when more a few participants are eligible for SIPPO from a certain country.
In that case SIPPO can decide to organize a SIPPO Pavilion for the related country to display
the information of just the firms of this country. All training and guidance activities explained
for the former option are applied also when working with SIPPO Country Pavilions.
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5. Business Opportunities
As mentioned above, 35 out of 100 companies (35%) can be considered relevant for business
opportunities for Egyptian MAP exporters as they are willing to start/increase business with Egyptian MAP
suppliers. The breakdown of these 35 entities by their country origin is presented in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Breakdown of the interviewed entities present business opportunities for Egyptian MAP
exporters by country of origin:
Spain, 3%
USA, 3%
Romania, 3%
Poland, 3%
Morocco, 3%
Italy, 3%
Israel, 3%
Greece, 3%
Germany, 23%
Turkey, 6%
France, 14%
Switzerland,
6%
UK, 9%
Netherlands,
11%
Australia, 3%
Belgium, 6%
As it was deduced earlier from information in Figure 1, a big number of European companies were
present in the Fair in coherence with the location of the Exhibition and of an important amount of the big
importers and processors of inputs for the food and beverage industry. In coherence with the main origin
of the sample of the companies interviewed, Figure 4 also shows that European countries are the main
origin for the companies which present business opportunities for Egyptian ones. Among them, the
ranking is lead by Germany, the country which represents the main European trade centre for MAP,
which is the origin of 23% of the identified “business opportunities” companies (8 companies out of 35).
France, one of the traditional buyers of MAP from Egypt, comes in the second place in with 14% or 5
companies identified in this category. The next more relevant countries in this classification are, in order,
the Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Switzerland and Turkey, which allows for the identification of opportunities
in some non-traditional MAP countries such as Switzerland.
The following part of this section presents a summary on the relevant information and products of each of
these 35 business opportunities’ enterprises.
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Belmar A.S.
Since its foundation in 1956, the Turkish company Belmar A.S. has been a
long term business partner for clients all over the world and nowadays the
company is an experienced exporter of aromatic herbs, spices, pulses, oil
seeds, medicinal plants and dried fruits (for industrial use). The company is
dedicated to providing high quality ingredients, best service and long term
partnerships with clients in the food, beverage and medicinal industry all
over the world.
They are also committed to renovation and improvement. Therefore they
equip with the most recent technologies. The company is ISO 9000, ISO
22000, OU Kosher, BCS Organics and FDA Certified at their export
department. They are also ISO 9000 certified at the import department.
Belmar’s portfolio includes a great variety of medicinal plants and also the
following products:
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Spices and oil seeds: anise seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds,
fenugreek, golden sesame seeds, mahleb seeds, poppy seeds, red
pepper and sumac.
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Aromatic herbs: laurel leaves, linden, oregano, rosemary, sage,
spearmint and thyme.
Please visit www.belmar.com.tr/pages/HomePage.Aspx?Id_Lang=2
extra information.
for
Bruckner-Werke FG
The German company Brückner-Werke KG is one of the leading
manufacturers for dehydrated potatoes in Europe. A close relationship with
regional growers and a high standard in their own plant gains BrücknerWerke a good reputation worldwide. Carefully sourced raw materials are
cleaned, re-processed and packaged in their plants in Altendorf and Nortorf,
while the administration, worldwide purchasing and sales activities are
centralized in Hamburg and the cultivation is made by partners under
contract through the World. The company’s customers value more than 100
years of experience in the food industry as well as the company’s reliability.
The name Brückner also represents expertise in the area of re-processed
air- and freeze-dried vegetables, herbs and fruits. The range of services also
includes co-packing activities. Ever since Brückner-Werke KG was founded
it also seeks out new trends and methods so as to always be one step
ahead of the public’s tastes.
Some of the herbs in Brückner company product portfolio are basil, dill,
chervil, chives, marjoram, oregano, parsley, spring onions and thyme.
Please check the website www.brueckner-werke.de/willkommen_e.html for
more information.
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Colin ingredients
Colin Ingrédients is an independent family business specialized in ingredients for the agri-food industry.
Colin Ingredients has been developing its ingredients know-how for the food industry for over 40 years.
The production site, laboratory and registered office of Colin Ingredients are based in Alsace (France),
the company’s home base.
Whether plant raw materials, flavourings and colourings, or technological ingredients, its range is one of
the most extensive on the market. The fact that Colin Ingredients has many product areas makes a crossdisciplinary approach to the projects possible. The three main products areas of the company are flavours
& colorants, vegetable raw materials, and blends & technical ingredients.
Colin Ingredients purchases a wide range of herbs and spices including the following:
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Spices: aniseed, star anise, juniper berries, pink peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, caraway,
celery, clove, coriander, cumin, turmeric, curry, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, clove, mace, fine
spices, brown mustard, yellow mustard, nutmeg, paprika, chilli, white pepper, black pepper, green
pepper and sichuan.
-
Herbs: basil, bay, celery, chervil, chive, coriander, dill, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary,
sage, sweet mint, tarragon and thyme.
For more information, please visit www.colin-ingredients.com/site/Homepage-58.html.
Diafood Cmbg
Organic and conventional dried mushrooms, dehydrated vegetables and herbs are the business core of
Diafood since 1981. The company has been ISO 22000, Ecocert, BCS, NOP and kosher certified.
Diafood is also a reprocessing specialist with sterilisation, CO2, scanner facilities and their own
dehydration plant for European wild mushrooms in Macedonia.
Diafood deals both with conventional and organic products.
-
Conventional products: Asparagus, bamboo sprouts, green beans (precooked), bell peppers,
broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chervil, chives, dill, garlic, horseradish, julienne
mix, leek, lentils (precooked), mushrooms, onions (white, pink, toasted), parsley leaves, parsnips,
peas(precooked), rice powder (fermented), soup mix, soya bean sprouts, spinach, spring onions,
tomatoes, water chestnuts and zucchini (courgette).
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Organic spices and seeds: Aniseed, basil, black cumin, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves,
coriander, cumin, curcuma/turmeric, dill, ginger, juniper berries, lavender flowers, mace, mustard,
nutmeg, pepper (black, green, white), pimento, poppy seed, quinoa, rice, saffron, savory,
sesame, tarragon, thyme and vanilla.
Please visit www.diafood.de/english/index.html for more detailed information.
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Dodi Ingredients GmbH
Dodi Ingredients GmbH is a Swiss company specialized in manufacturing
and trading dry food ingredients for providing high quality ingredients to the
European food industry. The company has a strong position in supplying
dry vegetables, tomato products, dry fruit and herbs. All products are
available in conventional and organic quality, with various organic
certifications
(European
Organic
Certification,
NOP
and
Knospe/BioSuisse). All products comply with the highest food security and
traceability criteria according to the strictest European regulations,
manufacturing only products in accordance with GMP criteria and
advanced quality systems (ISO, BRC and IFS).
Dodi Ingredients’ dried aromatic herbs include basil, celery, chive, dill tips,
leek (green and white), oregano, parsley, rosemary, rucola and sage.
Please visit www.dodi-ingredients.com for additional information.
Dujardin Foods
In three decades, Dujardin Foods has become one of the leading
European producers of frozen vegetables, herbs, ingredients and readymeals. From their original location in West Flanders, Belgium, were they
keep the headquarters and the largest production plant, Dujardin has
grown and currently it operates 6 facilities and generates annual sales of
over € 200 Millions. All factories, situated in the best farming areas
throughout Europe, are certified state-of-art production facilities, enabling
to sow, grow, harvest, process and pack premium quality products.
Dujardin’s products can be found in thousands of restaurants and
supermarkets freezers in over 60 countries around the world.
Dujardin’s portfolio of products includes the following herbs: basil, bay leaf,
chervil, chives, coriander, cress, dill, fenugreek, marjoram, mint, oregano,
parsley, rocket, rosemary, sage and watercress.
For further information please visit www.dujardin-foods.com.
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EVESA
The Spanish company Extractos Vegetales S.A. (EVESA) has a
philosophy based on enhancing natural products to make them
more attractive to their customers.
Since 1972, EVESA has evolved from the cultivation, extraction
and marketing of aromatic plants and spices to the fragrance, food
and pharmaceutical industries.
EVESA began with the production of PAPRIKA OLEORESIN, and
is actually one of the largest worldwide producers of this product
with more than 300 annual MT. Along with this product a wide
range of oleoresins from Spanish aromatic plants, has been
developed, as well as Essential Oils, Aroma Chemicals and other
natural extracts of use in different industries (Perfumery Industry,
etc). These are some EVESA’s main products:
-
Paprika: Paprika oleoresin oil soluble, paprika oleoresin
water soluble and paprika powder.
-
Oleoresins: aniseed, black pepper, coriander, cumin,
sweet fennel, laurel, marjoram, Spanish marigold, oregano,
Spanish rosemary, Spanish sage, grey thyme and red
thyme.
-
Essential Oils: Aniseed, coriander, cumin, cypress bitter
fennel, sweet fennel, Spanish lavender, Spanish lemon,
Spanish marjoram, mint (dementholized), Spanish
oregano, peppermint, Spanish rosemary, Moroccan
rosemary, rue, Spanish sage, sassafras, savin, star anise,
thyme (red and white).
For more information, please visit www.evesa.com.
Ferrant P.H.E.
FERRANT PHE is one of the only distillers in France and in Europe of
natural leek essential oil. After few years of development, their leeks
Essential Oil is definitively recognized by most of the major flavour firms as a
reference in terms of quality and price. They also produce chervil, Chinese
chive, chives, garlic and onion oils and shallots. The new products in 2011
are lovage root and angelica root oil.
FERRANT PHE is a family-run farm based in north of France, 200 km North
from Paris. Raw materials are locally produced (100 km array from the family
farm) either in the family fields or with local subcontractors. This unbeatable
proximity enables a full and perfect control of quality from the sowing of
seeds to the manufacturing of essential oils.
For extra information please visit www.ferrantphe.com.
16
G. Bakker D. Jzn
G. Bakker D. Jzn is a versatile partner in the world of grains, seeds,
pulses, spices, nuts, cacao and coffee dealing in import and export,
storage and transhipment, cleaning, blending and other forms of
processing. The activities of this company, which is located close to
the port of Rotterdam (the Netherlands), are focusing increasingly on
raw materials for the bakery sector. This modern and dedicated
company, run now by the fourth generation of the family and with
more than a hundred years’ experience is devoted to top priority to
sustainability and innovation.
G. Bakker’s product portfolio includes fennel, coriander, fenugreek,
caraway, cumin and aniseeds.
For more information, please visit www.bakkerseeds.com/en or
gbakkerdjzn.nl/en.
Haco
The Swiss company HACO, with approximately 760 employees
worldwide, is known for innovative and tailor-made food products
and services. HACO manufactures 1000 products using more than
600 different raw materials. Today half of the total production is sold
in Switzerland. The other half is distributed worldwide but this figure
is rising. HACO sells its products in Switzerland and abroad via three
sales channels: retail trade (Migros, private label), foodservices
(catering, canteens, homes and hospitals) and the food industry.
Within the HACO Holding Company there are six operating
companies of which two of them are located in Switzerland, one in
Malaysia, one in Austria and two in Chicago, USA. Approximately
200 shareholders own 100% of the share capital of the six HACO
companies. HACO is still a financially independent family-owned
company and is not listed at the stock exchange. HACO achieved
annual sales of over 260 million CHF.
HACO manufactures high quality convenience products such as
seasonings (including spices and herbs-basedones), broths and
soups, sauces and bases, dehydrated ready-to-serve dishes, cereal
bars / snacks, breakfast, beverages, instant coffee & tea (spraydried, freeze-dried), desserts, coffee and tea extracts and semifinished products for the food industry.
Please visit www.haco.ch for extra information.
17
Intertaste
The Dutch company Intertaste develops and produces a wide range of highquality semi-manufactured and end products including herbs and spices,
seasonings, dry mixes and soups, coatings, dressings, marinades and
sauces based on natural ingredients from all over the world. They have
explicitly created an image as a seasoned professional trendsetter with
added value for European food producers, food services and the retail
sector.
Interstaste focus in contributing to flavour development and practical uses
for herbs, spices and other foodstuffs according to consumers’ needs. The
company provides complete support to its clients, from concept
development tosupplying the right amounts at the right time.
Intertaste has a wide range of herbs and spices. Some of the varieties
imported from Egypt are marjoram, anis, basil, coriander (seeds and
leaves), fennel, fenugreek, mint (peppermint and spearmint), onion (kibbled)
and parsley (flat and curly).
For more information, please visit www.intertaste.eu/en .
Isreal Negev Spices
Israel Negev Spices is one of the world's largest modern Sweet
Paprika powder producers with nearly 30 years of experience in
professional agricultural production. Negev Spices was founded 30
years ago by four Kibbutzes (Agricultural Cooperatives) in the
southern part of Israel, bordering on the Negev Desert. Both the
climate and soil in our region are ideal for growing Sweet Paprika
and different herbs, such as Parsley, Dill and others.
The Company's emphasis on processing they own grown raw
material, high quality standards, innovative agriculture and
manufacturing methods have resulted in an annual production of
6000 tons of high quality conventional and organic Sweet Paprika
powder and 600 tons of Parsley of which 85% is exported to the
leading spice mills in Europe, the USA and other parts of the
world. Their Principals are 100% pure product, 100% traceability
and 100% control.
For additional information, please visit www.paprika.co.il.
18
Jain and Sleaford Quality Foods
Jain Irrigation Systems, with its head office in Jalgaon, India, has acquired
Sleaford Quality Foods in the UK and Cascade Specialties in the USA to
complete its FarmFresh product range. The three firms work closely together to
supply their Global customers with a wide range of high quality produces.
Sleaford Quality Foods is a Company able to provide a "one-stop shop" to its
customers by offering such a wide variety of products on mixed pallets with the
minimum order currently only £300. All products are stored in their 80,000 sq.
ft. warehouse and the majority delivered using their own transport fleet. They
are proud that over 95% of their orders are delivered complete and on time.
They have a dedicated tele-sales team to take the orders. Based in Sleaford,
Lincolnshire, the Company has a turnover in excess of £25m and currently
employs 89 staff.
-
Sleaford’s herbs: bay, basil, bay, chive, coriander, fennel, mint,
oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.
-
Sleaford’s spices: aniseed star, black pepper, cajun, cardamom,
cayenne, chilli, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry, fenugreek,
garam masala, ginger, mace, mustard, nutmeg, pimento, turmeric and
white pepper.
For more information, kindly visit www.sleafordqf.com and www.jains.com.
Jaworski Vegetable Drying Plant
This family business is one of the biggest European producers of dried
vegetables and began its activities in 1984 in the village of Bramki near
Błonie (Poland). In 2001 they relocated the production to a plant in Dobre
Miasto near Olsztyn. Our company’s customers are both domestic and
foreign recipients. The company delivers their goods especially to Germany,
France, Italy, Holland, England, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Ukraine, Russia and also the United States.
The company attaches the greatest importance to the quality of the products
they offer. Production is done incompliance with ISO 22000:2005
recommendations, which is documented with appropriate certificates. GMP
(Good Manufacturing Practice) and GHP (Good Hygiene Practice) are
established and are strictly practiced during the manufacturing process. They
are a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange – SEDEX.
The company produces about 6000 tonnes of dried vegetables annually.
Their main products are dried items of such vegetables as carrot, parsnip,
celery, leek, parsley, red beet, cabbage, cauliflower, green beans and dill.
The products can be steam sterilized at the customer’s request.
For
more
information,
kindly
www.jaworski.com.pl/index.php?lang=en.
visit
the
website
19
Konintlijke Euroma B.V.
Euroma is a European high-quality supplier of natural herbs, spices, seasonings,
marinades, sauces and other flavourings and functional ingredients. Two hundred
highly qualified employees in the head office and production company in Wapenveld
(the Netherlands), as well as in the local sales organizations are annually responsible
for a turnover of more than € 50 million.
Euroma’s keyword is quality. Quality starts with a careful selection of the imported raw
materials. After that, all Euroma raw materials are cleaned, standardised and steam
treated. The company continuously engages in improvements in quality assurance,
production methods and products including an own-developed in-house steam-cleaning
procedure called Prima Pura which is applied to all herbs, spices and blends. This
yields products with the highest possible degree of food safety so that they can be used
in recipes and consumer products without concern.
Euroma’s principle markets are in Europe and they claim to be in the top 5 of the
industry. Many major multinationals use Euroma’s steam treated herbs & spices, in
different products such as in sauces and (dried) soups and in the dairy industry.
-
Prima Pura herbs and spices: aniseed, basil, bay/laurel leaves, caraway seeds,
cardamom, celery, chervil, chives, cinnamon, coriander seed, cumin seed, dill,
fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, lovage leaves and roots,
marjoram, mint, mustard, nutmeg, onion, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper,
rosemary, sage, savory, star anise, tarragon leaf, thyme and turmeric.
For additional information, please visit www.euroma.com/euroma/engels/index.htm.
Kuendig
Kündig Gruppe has its headquarters in Switzerland and subsidiaries in
Germany, Hungary and China. Thanks to this array of companies and selfowned processing plants, Kündig can offer a comprehensive product concept.
All these subsidiaries work hand-in-hand to meet the highest demands for
quality. Over the years, Kündig has gained the trust of renowned domestic and
international customers.
Kündig Nahrungsmittel GmbH & Co KG Deutschland is one of Europe’s most
advanced processing centres for dried products. The plant is equipped with the
latest technology for cleaning, cutting, grinding and mixing and supplies a wide
variety of dried vegetables and mushrooms, herbs, spices and precooked
pulses. All products can be treated with Co2 and be degermed.
-
Herbs and spices: dill, chervil, coriander, marjoram, lovage, parsley (flat
and curly) and chives. All products are custom-made according to the
conventional or biological quality requested by the clients.
For more information, please visit www.kuendig.com/en.
20
Lionel Hitchen (Essential Oils) Ltd
In 1965, Lionel Hitchen, with twenty years
experience of the essential oils industry,
established Lionel Hitchen (Essential Oils) Limited
to manufacture concentrated citrus oils in UK.
Over the years the business has achieved a strong growth pattern both in volume of citrus oils and by
diversification into the manufacture of oleoresins and flavours. Today, the Company provides a
comprehensive manufacturing service for natural concentrated oils, steam distilled oils, flavours,
oleoresins and dispersed herb and spice extracts and it is a leading supplier to the food, beverage, and
flavours industries.
Lionel Hitchen (Essential Oils) ltd is an active member of the trade associations IFEAT, BEMA, BEOA
(British Essential Oils Association) and EFEO.
-
Essential Oils: basil (Egyptian), bay WI, buchu, caraway seed, cardamom, celery, cinnamon,
clove, coriander, cumin, dill seed, eucalyptus, fennel, garlic, ginger, garden mint, juniper berry,
laurel, lemongrass, lovage, mace, marjoram (Egyptian and Spanish), nutmeg (Indonesian),
oregano, parsley, pepper, pimento, rosemary, sage, spearmint, tarragon, thyme and valerian.
Please visit www.lheo.co.uk for more detailed information.
Naturex
Naturex manufactures natural specialty ingredients focusing in three main business fields: Food &
Beverage, Nutrition & Health and Personal Care industries. With its headquarters in Avignon (France),
Naturex was founded in 1992 and it is listed in Paris Stock Exchange since 1996. The company employs
1000 staff and has 11 production units located in Europe, the USA, Brazil, Australia and Morocco. In
addition, the group has several sales offices worldwide. Naturex is a member of the United Nations
Global Compact which means respect and promotion of human rights, labour standards and environment.
The Food and Beverage business unit specializes in the development of natural flavourings, colourings,
texturizing solutions, preservatives and healthy ingredients. Herbs and spices utilize by Naturex include
the following ones presented by the company as “botanical extracts by health targets”.
-
Antioxidant activity: chamomile, ginger, hibiscus, marigold flower, rosemany, sage and tea.
-
Cardiovascular health: fennel, fenugreek, hibiscus and rosemary.
-
Energy/physical performance: fenugreek, green tea, rosemany and turmeric.
-
Digestive health: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, liquorice, peppermint, rosemary, sage and
turmeric.
-
Detox (cleansing – draining – liver health): dandelion, fennel, fenugreek, green tea, hibiscus and
parsley.
-
Stress & sleep: chamomile and valerian.
-
Focus/cognitive performance: fennel and green tea.
-
Weight management: cinnamon and white and green teas.
For more information, kindly visit www.naturex.com.
21
New Foods Industry S.P.A.
The Italian company New Foods produces ingredients for the food, dietary and
confectionary industries, using a large variety of advanced drying technologies.
New Foods production structures are modern, efficient and highly flexible,
designed to meet the industry’s needs in full compliance with UNI EN ISO 9001
and UNI EN ISO 14001 standards.
Quick cooking, natural flavours and aromas, excellent microbiological
characteristics, constant quality: these are the factors that identify New Foods
dehydrated ingredients. Strict selection of the best raw materials, Quality Control
and Quality Assurance services and constant staff training represent New Foods
commitments. New Foods applies the most updated HACCP program in
accordance with production needs and in compliance with the prerequisites of
current standards. New Foods R&D cooperates with the food industry, creating
“tailor-made” ingredients.
-
Dehydrated herbs and spices: basil, celery, chervil, chive, dill,
horseradish, laurel, marjoram, mint, myrtle, oregano, parsley, rosemary,
rucola, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme and watercress.
Kindly visit www.newfoods.it/en/ for extra information.
Omya
Founded in 1884 in Switzerland, Omya Group is a leading global chemical distributor and
producer of industrial minerals with a global presence extending to more than 100
locations in over 50 countries and 7000 employees.
Omya Hamburg, a German subsidiary of the family owned Omya Group, complements
the group’s core business as a distributor and supplier of chemical raw materials. Omya
Hamburg’s major markets are Food, Feed / Pet Food / Agrochemicals, Oleochemicals,
Cosmetics / Personal Care, Detergents / Cleaners, Paper / Adhesives, Construction,
Plastics and Industrial Chemicals
Omya Hamburg offers complete supply chain solutions including market analysis, an
application service, sourcing, import handling, warehousing, packaging solutions,
financing and multi-modal logistics services up to the final destination.
In relation to the food market products, Omya’s portfolio includes the following essential
oils & oleoresins: Black pepper, coriander, garlic, onion and paprika.
Please visit www.omya-hamburg.de for more information.
22
Papadimitriou S.A.
PAPADIMITRIOU S.A. is a Greek family company, having a more than 30-year
tradition in import, export, trading, agency, production and process of spices,
aromatic plants, raw materials for foodstuff industry, and more specifically for the
meat processing industry. In order to ensure the quality of our products, we keep
longitudinal agreements with selected houses from abroad. PAPADIMITRIOU
S.A. applies a certified quality securing system (HACCP).
The company’s objective is to constantly provide their clients with products
based on the international quality, production and service standards in the
territory of Greece and abroad.
PAPADIMITRIOU S.A. provides a big range and variety of products, which
include spices, aromatic plants, teas, seasonings, food additives, bamboo
skewers, nets for rolls and marinates. Among others, they can supply the
following products:
-
Spices: aniseed, black, pink, white and green pepper, caraway,
cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek,
ginger, sesame, nutmeg, turmeric and vanilla.
-
Aromatic plants: balm-mint, basil, bay, celery, chamomile, dandelion, dill,
estragon, henna, hibiscus, lavender, liquorice, marigold, marjoram,
oregano, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, spearmint, red
saffron, star aniseed and thyme.
Please
check
the
website
http://www.papadimitriou.com.gr/html/comp-
en.html for more information.
Paradies garten
Paradiesgarten GmbH is the youngest daughter of JahnckeGroup, the parent
company of Paradiesfrucht GmbH and Unterelbe Frucht (Paradiesfruechte).
This German company is specialized in freeze-dried products including
culinary herbs, spices, vegetables, meat, seafood and specific dairy
ingredients. Their Freeze-Drying technology applied on selected, freshly
harvested raw materials preserve the taste, colour and shape through
delivering the taste and texture of the fresh product upon rehydration, and
managing to retain practically all vitamins and nutritients. This family-run
company is committed to the best customer service and innovation, and they
continually optimize the technological processes in their very modern
facilities.
Paradies garten’s portfolio includes the following herbs: basil, chervil, chives,
dill, marjoram, mint green and oregano.
Please check the website www.paradies-garten.eu for more information*.
*Kindly note that the website’s information is only available in German.
23
R Steinicke GmbH
When Johannes Steinicke began to grow fodder, medicinal herbs and
vegetables in 1921 in Bismark/Altmark (Germany) sustainably, no one could ever
guess what would develop from his idea. Today, R. Steinicke GmbH is one of the
leading producers of herbs and dried vegetables as well as main supplier and
strategic partner to major brands in Europe and across the world. Cultivated on
the acres close to the production plant, all criteria are fulfilled for the compliance
with the today's demands for healthiness, full traceability and sustainability, due
to close contact with the farmers and quick processing fresh from the fields.
Steinicke air dried products are cutting edge quality and well-known globally for
numerous applications in the food industry,
The product choice of R. Steinicke GmbH covers 6 main ranges: dried herbs,
dried vegetables, powder, granules, blends and instant products. The air dried
herbs includes celery leaves, chervil, chives, coriander leaves, cress, dill, lovage,
parsley curly, parsley flat and tarragon.
Please visit www.steinicke-gmbh.de/en/d_un.htm for extra information.
Rene Laurent BFA Laboratoires
René Laurent which has been a family owned company since its foundation
in 1885 is one of the major players of the flavourings French market. René
Laurent has 3 units of production: two in south of France (for sweet and
savoury extracts/ flavourings) and one in Morocco (for first extraction). Its
subsidiary BFA Laboratories offer natural raw materials such as essential
oils, oleoresins, absolutes, alcoholates... Over the years, René Laurent has
built a strong experience in the beverage and savoury flavourings.
The company offers a wide range of natural extracts and flavourings. Its
specialities include citrus, spices and aromatic herbs. René Laurent offers a
complete range of spice extracts and aromatic plants produced mainly on
its affiliated sites located in India and in Morocco.
Spice extracts: cardamom, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, pepper…
Aromatic plant extracts: basil, garlic, laurel, onion, rosemary, thyme...
Essential oils: anethole ex anise star, anise, armoise (wild), basil, calamus,
basilica, calamus, caraway, cardamom, carrot, cassia, celery, clove,
coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, juniper berry, laurel, lemon, mace, mint,
myrtle, nutmeg, onion, oregano, pepper (black) and turmeric (black).
For further information please visit www.rene-laurent.fr/DefaultA.asp.
24
Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. KG
Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) is part of WILD Flavors GmbH
(Switzerland), one of the world’s leading suppliers of natural ingredients to the
food and beverage industry. The company was founded in Heidelberg in 1931
with the vision of producing alcohol-free beverages using purely natural
ingredients. Its management offices and production sites are located in
Eppelheim (Germany) and Erlanger (Kentucky, USA). Eight further production
sites are located in Europe, USA, Canada, China, and Dubai. Through its allied
companies in the US and Canada, WILD is also a supplier of natural
ingredients for culinary and savory markets.
The product portfolio includes complete flavour systems and individual
components like natural flavours, extracts, natural colours, concentrates,
sweetening systems, and specialty ingredients like functional flavours. WILD’s
natural flavour ingredients include full solutions such as beverage flavour
systems as well as fruit and vegetable preparations. After the company
introduced Capri-Sun® in 1969, it became Germany's market leader in the
mid-seventies and today it is the No. 1 children's drink in the world, with over 5
billion units produced each year in 18 countries and sold in over 100 countries.
Two key areas of interest of WILD are mint (mainly in the form of essential oil)
and stevia plants as demanded for products development. Secondary areas of
possible cooperation could be supplies of black carrot as a natural colouring
agent.
For more information,
www.wild.de.
visit
the
websites
www.wildflavors.com
and
Santis
Santis has been established since 1990 and well known as a producer and
exporter of Botanicals, Spices, Herbal Teas, Steam Sterilized Products, Dried
Fruits, Natural Essential Oils, Concretes & Botanicals Extracts, including
medicinal and herbal plants, herbal teas and spices.
With two modern factories on 30.000 m2 in Casablanca well equipped with high
capacity of processing lines, all finished products undergo quality control process.
In addition, SANTIS has its own Laboratory to select the best raw materials and
ensure that all the production operation strictly complies with GMP and BRC
quality management System. SANTIS is BRC Certified by VERITAS, and their
Organic Department offers a range of Herbs and Natural Essential Oils Organic
Certified by ECOCERT. In addition, all products meet with US- FDA requirements
and European standards to be exported to US, Europe, Australia and Southeast
Asia markets. Through their farming subsidiary AGRIAROM with its own land of
930 Acres irrigated, Santis grow under control high quality of herbs.
Please visit www.santis-co.com for additional information.
25
Savena
Created in 1988 in France, SAVENA Group company supplies high-quality
solutions in the fields of aromatic, functional and nutritional ingredients to a
clientele based in France and throughout Europe. Their clients include food
industrialists (ready-made meals, meat processing and processed products,
etc.), nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, public and
private catering professionals and mass distribution companies.
SAVENA Group products comprise products for brines, cheese powders,
spice mixes, functional mixes, colourings, marinades, coatings, food
flavourings and extracts, stocks, bouillons, weight-loss foods, energy foods
and nutrition supplements.
Please visit www.savena-group.com for more detailed information.
Spice Masters
Spice Masters Australia aims at bringing quality ingredients and
customer service to the market. The company has shown its
commitment to this objective by making substantial investment in
premises, equipment and personnel resulting in an organisation
capable of sourcing, processing, warehousing and distributing quality
products. They carry stocks of most items in a modern warehouse and
they endeavour to minimise out-of-stock situations.
The company capabilities include Steam Sterilisation, Cleaning,
Grinding, Blending, Repacking and Batching, Product Development
and Technical Support. Processing of whole ingredients from cleaning
and sorting to steam sterilisation, cracking, grinding, blending and
packing, give the company control of the quality of the products.
Technical excellence is a priority at Spice Masters. They are HACCP
and ISO accredited and continue to strive for improvement.
-
Herbs and spices: anise star, aniseed, basil, bay leaves, bell
pepper, Cajun, capers, caraway, cardamom, carrot, cassia,
cayenne, celery, chilli, chive, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves,
coriander, dill, fennel seed, fenugreek, garam masala, garlic,
ginger, juniper, lemon grass, lemon pepper, mace, marjoram,
mushrooms, mustard, nigella, nutmeg, onion, oregano,
paprika, parsley, pepper (black, green and white), peppermint,
pimento, rosemary, saffron, sage, sesame, spearmint,
spinach, tarragon, thyme, tomato, turmeric and vanilla bean.
Please visit www.spicemasters.com.au for further information.
26
Steam Lab
The Turkish company SteamLab sterilization system is
established with the aim of ensuring safety of food products which
have direct impact on human health. Based on the demand from
its spice producing and exporting customers SteamLab imports
and supplies its clients with treated products of different origin.
SteamLab offers to its customers the following services in turn-key
projects: grinding, blending, packaging and retail/catering
services. As a result of importance that the company shows in
human and food safety Trade Leaders Club choose SteamLab for
International Award for Quality in food business on 2011.
SteamLab deals with a variety of herbs and spices such as
caraway, cilantro, chamomile, dill, fennel, spearmint, etc,
For
extra
information
http://www.steamlab.com.tr/index.html.
please
visit
Stryka Botanics
Founded nearly 20 years ago and currently counting with facilities in 3 locations of
the US (including both coasts), Stryka is a global organization supplying over
1,300 quality products specialized in botanical powders and extracts, nutritionals,
vitamins, fruits, antioxidants and more. The key markets served by the company
include manufacturers of functional food, pet food, cosmeceutical and
pharmaceutical industries, sports nutrition products, flavours, dietary supplement
products, functional beverages, botanical extracts (standardized and ratio),
custom blends to specification, fruit and vegetable powders, amino acids,
nutritional ingredients, kosher certified products ,vitamin powders and nonirradiated/GMO-free products.
Their facilities uniquely include an own sterilization equipment to supply nonirradiated products with exceptionally low microbiological levels.
-
Herbs and spices: anise seed, basil, celery, chamomile, cinnamon, cumin
seed, fenugreek seed, liquorice root, lovage, parsley leaf, peppermint
leaf, rosemary herb, sage, thyme and turmeric root.
For additional information, please visit www.stryka.com .
27
Supremia Group
Supremia Grup is the most important spice and food ingredients
production company in food industry from Romania. The success of
this company is shown by more than 1300 satisfied customers from
Romania and Europe, a turnover of 24 million Euro declared for 2010
and a major investment of 9 million Euro and a brand new HQ with a
food ingredients plant of more than 16.500 sqm which is according to
all European Standards. The company’s new technology includes
continuous steam sterilization equipment, cryogenic milling systems
and a new laboratory based on the highest technologies.
Their main categories of products are spices and aromatic herbs,
auxiliary ingredients for food industry, natural and artificial casings,
selected wood chips “Golden Smoke” and complete blends for meat
industry, dairy, bakery, sauces, mustards, mayonnaise, toppings and
ketchup.
Kindly find more details at www.supremia.ro/en.
S&D Foods
The Belgian company Spices & Dehydrated (S&D) Foods NV was established in
March 1998. Years of experience of its mother company Verbeeck Dry Foods
with a product range of air dried and freeze dried vegetables formed a profound
basis for S&D Foods. At the end of the 90’s the product range was extended with
a complete range of culinary herbs and spices from selected sources.
On request of the customers S&D is focusing more and more on supplying high
value and heat treated food ingredients. Both whole and ground products can be
heat treated. In addition, they can perform colour sorting and hand selection.
The field of dehydrated vegetables offers great opportunities for various types of
convenience food. At present Verbeeck Dry Foods is the only vegetable
dehydrating company in Belgium, offering an extensive range of dehydrated
vegetables, partly own cultivation and partly imported and recleaned.
S&D Foods offers both air-dried as well as freeze-dried vegetables and has
several in-house equipments to generate high-quality such as Metal detection,
Wind shifts, Hand Selection, Optical sortex, and Hair detection and removal.
-
Main herbs and spices from Egypt: Basil leaves, marjoram whole, and
fennel.
-
Other herbs: Chives, dill, tarragon, laurel, oregano, parsley, rosemary
Morocco, rosemary Spain and thyme.
-
Other spices: Caraway, cardamom, fenugreek, ginger China, cinnamon
Madagascar, cumin India, coriander East Europe, cloves and pepper.
For additional information, please visit www.sdfoods.be/indexeng.htm .
28
The Herb Company
With a production of more than 3,000 tonnes of dried green herbs
(including parsley, dill, celery, chives, chervil, cilantro, lovage), 'the
herb company' is a professional partner for industrial multinationals
and specialized herb and spice companies. ‘The herb company’
focuses on industrial clients in 3 segments: food, feed and pharma.
VNK represents the Dutch production of herbs for food, feed and
pharma. ESG is a leading producer of green kitchen herbs in
Europe. Both companies have a wealth of experience and have built
up a good reputation in the market. Although the production
companies remain independent, together they are the initiators of the
herb company in which all commercial activities are bundled.
‘The herb company’ various cultivation and production facilities in
Europe enable them to guarantee the supply of various herbs. The
company processes the fresh herbs within a few hours after harvest
in their own modern drying facilities to retain the original quality and
the natural fragrance, colour and flavour of the dried herbs.
For additional information, please visit www.theherbcompany.eu.
Treatt Plc
Treatt is a world-leading, independent ingredients supplier to the flavour,
cosmetic and fragrance industries. It also supplies products to food,
beverage, soap, perfumery, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies. It
manufactures and supplies innovative products, including essential oils and
their natural fractions, and high impact specialty aroma chemicals, The
company has manufacturing sites in the UK, USA and Kenya, as well as
sales offices in China and France. Treatt is publicly traded and listed on the
London Stock Exchange and exports to over 90 countries worldwide.
Treatt manufactures and supplies more than 3,000 products to customers in
over 90 countries from its facilities in the UK and USA. Treatt ingredients are
used in flavours or fragrances. Typical applications range from air fresheners,
cosmetics, shampoos and soaps to soft drinks, confectionery, oral hygiene
and basic pharmaceutical products.
-
Essential oils: aniseed, basil, bay, caraway, cardamom, celery,
chamomile, clove, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, geranium, lavender,
nutmeg and mints.
Please visit www.treatt.com and www.earthoil.com for further information.
29
Worlée NaturProdukte GmbH
With its tradition-steeped history, the Hamburg-based company Worlée
NaturProdukte GmbH counts amongst the industry’s leaders players. This
modern service enterprise with its own production and processing plants as
well as branch offices throughout the world offers services including refining,
germ reduction, logistics, quality package, R&D and contract production. The
company is represented by own affiliates and a network of exclusive
distributors spread over the globe.
The company offers a comprehensive range of air-dried and freeze-dried raw
materials for the food / feed and pharmaceutical industry comprising seven
primary product categories: mushrooms, vegetables, onions and garlic,
culinary and medicinal herbs, dried fruits and nuts, spices, onion and garlic
and fruit and herbal teas. Products are available from conventional and
organic cultivation. A growing share of products is also available with Fair
Trade Certification.
-
Culinary herbs: Basil, bear garlic, celery leaves, chervil, coriander,
cress, dill, lovage, marjoram, oregano, parsley curly, parsley flat,
rocket, rosemary, sage, savory, spinach, tarragon and thyme.
-
Spices and seeds: Allspice, anise, bay, capers, caraway, cardamom,
celery, chilli, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry, dill, ginger,
jalapeno, juniper, mace, mustard, black caraway, nutmeg, padouk
wood, paprika, pepper, saffron, staranise, turmeric and vanilla.
Kindly visit www.worlee.de for further information.
30
6. Product Development
This section describes the new innovative products that might be in the interest area of Egyptian
producers. The product development component is focusing on new ideas for products’ value addition
through the concept of new product development (NPD). NPD is the term used to describe the complete
process of bringing a new product to market. A product is a set of benefits offered for exchange and can
be tangible (that is, something physical you can touch) or intangible (like a service, experience, or belief).
There are two parallel paths involved in the NPD process: one involves the idea generation, product
design and detail engineering; the other involves market research and marketing analysis. Companies
typically see new product development as the first stage in generating and commercializing new products
within the overall strategic process of product life cycle management used to maintain or grow their
market share.
NPD opportunities identified during Fi Europe & Ni 2011 has been sorted out taking into account the
current and potential demand of the new products in foreign markets and the costs of the needed
production technologies in order to assess the most profitable and easily implementable product
developments for MAP sector in Egypt. Detailed information on those opportunities and on foreign
companies working on them is presented below.
6.1. Stevia
Introduction
Sweetener markets have been through enormous transitions in recent times, with a slew of sugar
alternatives emerging on the scene. Post 90s, the global diabetic population particularly in Asia has been
exploding exponentially. This has led to a rapid growth in markets for a natural, low calorie sweetener.
With research indicating harmful impact of products such as Asparatame there was need to develop an
alternate product.
In this context entered Stevia, a plant with a long history of safe usage. Stevia is a genus of about 240
species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical
regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known
as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugar leaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener
and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although
some of its extracts may have a bitter or liquorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.
With its steviol glycoside extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of
sugar, Stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for lowcarbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Because Stevia has a negligible
effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on
carbohydrate-controlled diets.
The availability of Stevia varies from country to country. In a few countries,
it has been available as a sweetener for decades or centuries; for example,
Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan where it has been available
for decades. In some countries health concerns and political controversies
31
have limited its availability; for example, the United States banned stevia in the early 1990s unless
labelled as a dietary supplement, but in 2008 approved Rebaudioside A extract at 95% purity level or
above has achieved “generally recognized as safe” status (GRAS) in USA.
Over the years, the number of countries in which Stevia is available as a sweetener has been increasing.
It has received regulatory approvals for the use of Stevia extracts as a food additive in Japan, Korea,
China, Taiwan, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Latin America.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) declared steviol glycosides
meeting the JECFA specifications as safe for human consumption as a
food additive in April 2010. In 2011, Stevia was approved for use in the
EU starting in early December, 2011. European approval is projected to
trigger approval across Africa and the Middle East, and global approval
is widely expected by the end of 2012.
Stevia has undergone extensive clinical testing and has been consumed
by millions of humans without negative effect. In Japan, it was preferred
over synthetic sweeteners in the 70's and has been used extensively as
a food ingredient since. It currently represents 40% of the alternative
sweetener market in Japan, without any reported adverse health effects.
Stevia is commercially cultivated most significantly in China, Paraguay, Colombia, India, Kenya, and
Brazil, with small-scale plantations or trials in many other parts of the world, ranging from Vietnam to the
United States.
Stevia Market Size
Global markets for Stevia are pegged at around $ 500 mn with Japan alone accounting for $ 200 mn. At
present globally 80,000 acres are covered under Stevia cultivation, of which China accounts for a major
chunk of 75%. In the last three years, the Indian farmers have also started taking up Stevia cultivation
following large demand for non sugar based sweetener for the growing anti diabetic market.
It is expected that Stevia will become a major global commodity. World demand for stevia leaves may
exceed 6-8 Million metric tonnes a year in the next ten years. In 2008, the market was valued at $20
million. More than 2000 stevia products were launched worldwide between 2004 and 2008. In 2010, 76
stevia-sweetened product lines were introduced in the United States.
Rebaudioside A (Reb A), an completely natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from Stevia, can overtake
chemical sweeteners in the sweetener markets, because consumers want ‘natural’ products. Markets for
Reb A sweetener, which has the potential to penetrate 20-25% of the sugar market, can reach US$10
Billion in a few short years.
There are several limitations to the growth of Stevia markets. The key ones relate to economics as Stevia
products are currently more expensive than other high-intensity sweetener products. The other issue
relates to after tastes as Stevia products are reported to have a distinct after taste. Companies involved in
formulation development are focusing on this as also product consistency issues.
The major challenges for the Stevia market is competition with ordinary sugar, higher price of Stevia
added products than the ordinary products and lack of raw materials.
32
Soil & Irrigation
Stevia is quite tolerant of most soil types but it does prefer a sand/loam soil.
The stevia feeder roots are close to the surface, so if using a sandy soil, it is
beneficial to place compost around the base for extra nutrients. The soil
should be well drained so that the roots do not soak, frequent smaller
watering is preferable. Raise the soil around the base and cover with mulch
to protect the roots from the heat of a summer sun.
Fertilization
It is best to fertilize the soil before planting and again every 3 weeks with a
fertilizer low in nitrogen or releases nitrogen slowly such as organic
fertilizers. High nitrogen content or chemical fertilizer will produce quickly
grown large leaves that will have little flavour.
Temperature
Stevia requires 12-16 hours per day of sunlight, but is sensitive to excessive heat or low temperature. If
wintering indoors, a grow light is usually recommended. Wait until outside soil temperatures have risen in
the spring before planting stevia outdoors.
Harvesting
The best time to harvest stevia is just as it starts to bloom or just before the first frost, this is when the
stevioside content is the highest. It is needed to cut the entire plant at the base and hang upside down in
a warm, dry and airy room. After 2-4 days it is possible stems to loosen the dried leaves. Then, the can
be the leaves stored in a dry location and they will last until the next harvest.
Benefits of Stevia
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a wonderful dietary supplement used for over 1500 years as a sweetener
and for medicinal purposes. Since the 1970's, stevia has been used in Japan as the main alternative to
sugar, used instead of the banned aspartame in diet soda, gum and other food and beverages. Stevia is
also being used as a sweetener in other countries after extensive studies proved its safety. Stevia has
been used with success to treat many ailments including diabetes, high blood pressure, gingivitis,
digestion ailments, addictions, topically for acne and other skin ailments and also as a wonderful weight
loss aid. It is considered also safe for diabetics as it does not raise blood sugar.



Diabetes: Known for its nourishing properties for the pancreas, stevia has been used by
diabetics for centuries as a sweetener and also as a method of controlling blood sugar
levels. Studies have shown that stevia can regulate blood sugar levels when taken
appropriately. This is not meant to replace current practices of a diabetic, but as an aide.
Hypertension: Studies have shown that stevia lowers high blood pressure without
affecting normal blood pressure. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay have used stevia for
centuries without any negative effects.
Teeth and Gums: Due to high beneficial mineral content and anti-bacterial properties,
stevia is a wonderful additive to toothpaste or diluted as a mouthwash. Not only will it not
cause cavities, but it actually prevents them.
33




Digestion: Stevia improves digestion and intestinal function and promotes quicker
recovery from minor ailments. It is best to consume stevia as a tea for this effect,
although other methods may also be beneficial to digestion and minor ailments.
Skin Care: Applied to the skin, stevia treats acne and other skin ailments. It also protects
against premature aging. Stevia may also be used on skin inflictions. After a 20 second
stinging sensation, the pain is significantly reduced and the healing time is accelerated.
Weight Loss Aide: Stevia contains no calories and reduces cravings for sweets and fatty
foods. Studies have shown that it also minimizes hunger sensations. New reports are
stating that if taken 20 minutes before a meal, the person will feel satiated sooner.
Addictions: Reports keep coming in that the use of stevia has reduced cravings for
tobacco, alcohol, sweet and fatty foods. It has been stated that chewing directly on a
stevia leaf or taking a few drops of the stevia can help curb cravings.
At the Exhibition Fi Europe & Ni 2011, many companies presented solutions and alternatives for
sweeteners based on Stevia. They provided information on success stories based on production in other
countries such as Paraguay and Kenya. The project representatives have met the following companies:
Sweet Green Fields
A global supplier of premium quality stevia extracts, Sweet Green Fields is the first
U.S. Company to commercially develop and patent high purity 97% Rebaudioside
A. The company focuses on research and development from agriculture to product
formulation. SGF provides its customers with science based solutions to launch
healthy, great tasting products. The company has been breeding and growing its
own proprietary stevia varieties in a commercial setting for more than a decade.
Today they have more than sixty proprietary stevia varieties. They grow at various
regions of the world and are able to offer supply assurance to their customers.
Sweet Green Fields brings together two companies, each with over 110 years
experience: Sanitarium and the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC).
Sanitarium, founded in Australia, is a Health Food Company based on the core
philosophy of "a better life through better nutrition”. Sanitarium mission is not just
selling food but it is to help to enjoy more vitality. Sanitarium firstly introduced
soymilk product, So Good®, is now Australia's favourite soymilk. For the past 30
years also Weet-Bix, a Sanitarium cereal, was the most popular cereal in Australia.
The Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC) is a pioneer in Sweet Green
Fields. Founded in 1895, it specializes in horticultural crop research: agronomy and
plant nutrition, plant physiology, breeding, generic engineering and tissue culture,
and control of diseases and pests through integrated pest management.
SFG’s products are derived from Stevia Rebaudiana. The company uses a natural
process to extract the best tasting part of the Stevia plant to yield nearly pure
Rebaudioside-A, or Reb A. Using SGF’s technology, they are able to bring out all
the natural sweetness, rendering a 99% + pure Reb A. Kosher certified s, their
natural sweetener is heat and PH stable and can be used anywhere sugar is used.
Please, visit www.sweetgreenfields.com for additional information.
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Real Stevia (Granular)
Real Stevia™ is produced by Granular, a Swedish company with its global
headquarters in Stockholm and additional operations in Asia and South America.
Granular’s operations were first launched in 2003 in Paraguay, the indigenous
home of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, where native Guarani Indians have been
using it to sweeten their staple herbal tea, “yerba mate”, for several centuries.
Granular is a values-driven company with a business approach based on
corporate sustainability.
Real Stevia™ is a sustainably sourced high purity Stevia extract for the global
Food & Beverage industry. It is an ingredient aimed at health conscious
consumers who care about the way their consumption behaviour impacts both
the environment and the socio-economical conditions within the areas of
production. Real Stevia™ is aimed at the Food and Beverage manufacturers
who want to meet the needs of those demanding and discerning consumers.
The Real Stevia™ product range comprises:
-
The “Origins line”: Stevia extracts compliant to the JECFA and EU
specifications, and produced according to stringent criteria of social and
environmental sustainability.
-
The « Reb A » line. Stevia extracts with high Rebaudioside A contentRebaudioside A is one of the eleven molecules that give the stevia leaf
its sweet taste.
-
Stevia-based sweetening blends to facilitate formulation.
-
A table sweetener formula for private labels, which delivers taste and
texture close to sugar.
-
Stevia leaves, conventional and certified organic.
Real Stevia™ is the ideal sweetener for products within the natural market
segment, and can be used in conjunction with sugar, when some energy is
needed, or as the sole sweetener.
For further information about the company you can visit this website
www.realstevia.com
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Tereos Pure Circle Solutions
Tereos PureCircle is the world's leading producer of high purity
Stevia ingredients for the global food and beverage
industry. Tereos PureCircle Solutions is the result of a jointventure between Tereos, one of the main producers of beet
and cane sugar in Europe, Brazil and Indian Ocean, and
PureCircle, the world's leading producer of Stevia extracts.
As the driving force behind moving Stevia to global acceptance,
Tereos is changing the conversation about sweet for
manufacturers and consumers. As part of their leadership
within the Stevia industry, PureCircle has pioneered an industry
trust mark that educates consumers in the benefits of Stevia.
The Stevia PureCircle trust mark was developed to provide
reassurance of the promise of high purity, 100% natural Stevia
from a trusted industry leader.
The company is committed to provide mainstream reducedcalorie sweet solutions of natural origin to the food and
beverage industry in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal
and the Czech Republic, with first class support in formulation
and marketing. Tereos PureCircle Solutions markets high purity
Stevia extracts, RebA 97%, SG95, and has developed the
concept of SteviaSucres ®, which are concentrated blends of
sugar and Stevia extracts, bringing superior taste, uniform
dispersion in consistent formulation.
Tereos PureCircle believes that it is essential to ensure a
successful and sustainable future for the farmers and their
products. Consequently, the company makes efforts in
developing the expertise, technology and facilities necessary to
support independent farming efforts around the world
committing to the communities where the plants are grown.
Kenya and Paraguay are both outstanding examples of Tereos
PureCircle’s philosophy in action.
By partnering with PureCircle to naturally sweeten products,
manufacturers can enjoy some benefits:
-
On-pack licensing of trust mark to communicate high
purity, 100% natural Stevia
-
Association with leading global brands which also
utilize their trust mark
-
Participation in global marketing initiatives
-
Reassurance from a credible source for consumers
who have questions about Stevia
Please visit www.steviapurecircle.com for more info.
36
6.2. Frozen Herbs
Introduction
Frozen herbs are still a small segment of the market. Frozen herbs are bought mostly by food
manufacturers who want the appearance and flavour of fresh herbs combined with the benefits of frozen
storage. These frozen herbs are generally referred to in the trade as IQF products (Individual Quick
Freezing), the former being a process that snap freezes the leaves and creates a convenient free-flowing
material. Buyers did comment though that after being stored for extended periods, imported IQF herbs
lost their free-flowing characteristics and were not always as convenient as they could be when batching
into production.
Freezing of culinary herbs is not a new technique. It would appear that the technology of frozen culinary
herbs was derived, but not necessarily exclusively so, from the French company Daregal. The company
pioneered the United Kingdom frozen herb market about twenty five years ago. It is only in the last nine
years that frozen culinary herbs have become widely used in the food processing sector. Suppliers
include Frozen Herbs Ltd, Lion Food Ltd, and Universe Foods Ltd. Daregal, the pioneer, appears to be
the market leader. Combined, the four suppliers provide around 75 percent of the total UK market. There
are a number of firms in the United States supplying frozen culinary herbs.
In Australia it appears that frozen culinary herb technology has been developed by the Lewis brothers,
the founders of Masterfoods, regarded by most as Australia's leading innovator in the use of herbs and
spices. It is understood that an English firm purchased from Australia a culinary herb freezing patent.
Botanical Food Company based in Nambour, Queensland, uses an Australian-derived frozen culinary
herb technology. Whilst the specifics vary, the herb is washed in a solution and then individually quick
frozen. Issues such as the actual solution, the freezing temperature and method, and the time involved
are closely held trade secrets.
Proponents of frozen culinary herbs have advanced a number of reasons supporting their product. In all
cases their arguments imply "compared with either the fresh or dried products". The alleged advantages
are presented below along with comments that emanated from interviews undertaken during the field
work.
Market size
The size of the international market for frozen culinary herbs could not be
established. Volume of international trade is available for a number of spices
- anise, caraway, cumin, fennel and juniper berries, saffron, turmeric - mainly
as a result of their commercial importance as measured by volume or, in the
case of saffron, value. However not all data sources noted the same six
spices.
Market size for frozen culinary herbs could only be established for the United Kingdom. In 1995 this
market was estimated to be in the region of 1 000 tonnes annually. Approximately half of this appears to
have been imported, mainly from France. Smaller operators have problems competing with the larger
operators and cannot be expected to survive. This is because the larger operators tend to use their
37
research and development staff to offer solutions to their clients' challenges. Without such resources, the
smaller operators remain just raw product suppliers.
In Australia some sources suggest that the imported volume of frozen herbs was around 20 tonnes
annually. This could not be confirmed through Australian Bureau of Statistics. Apparently the product
came from France and South Africa but again this could not be confirmed. It appeared that the product
went into the food processing sector for product eventually destined for the food service sector, especially
the catering industry.
The demand for processed culinary herbs is what is called derived demand. Direct consumption of
culinary herbs is extremely small. Instead, their demand is based upon there being a demand for a
product that incorporates the processed culinary herbs.
Demand for processed culinary herbs comes from the following sectors:




Retail sector
Fast food sector
Food service sector
Food manufacturers
The Frozen culinary herb market has been difficult to research. What is notable is the desire of major
end-users to continue using frozen herbs. In most cases their system of manufacture is more suited to the
frozen product, but only where IQF has been used effectively. Quick freeze systems have provided better
quality of leaf and better colour than dried product and this is sufficient for the decision to continue with
this type of herbs. It is also possible that the full range of customers for this product has not yet been
secured leaving opportunity for faster growth than the other herb styles. If this is the case then it will be
needed to look at the production and marketing of frozen herbs as a strategic priority.
Market Selection
Marketing for the region strategically should be focused on the food processing and production
companies who produce for retail and food service markets. While the herb component of meals is small
the total value of these markets is growing.

Frozen meals - $300 million retail growing at 18%

Pizzas - $400 million retail (growing at 7.4% supermarkets)

Hot Pack meals - $42 million minimal growth

Asian /Mexican Foods - $100 million at 10% growth

Pasta and Sauce - $79 million at 7.4%

Gravies and Sauces – 6.4 million at .5%

Italian Meals – $207 million at 9.1%
Frozen herbs can be considered as one of the new value added products demanded by foreign markets.
During Fi Europe & Ni Exhibition the Project representatives have met many companies working in this
type of products both as producers and as consumers. The following section provides some information
about a selection of the main companies involved in the production and trade of frozen herbs.
38
Herbafrost Co
Herbafrost is one of the world market leaders of a complete range of IQF
culinary herbs. Every season it harvests approximately 6000 tons of fresh
herbs, their main products being parsley, dill, chives and basil. They
produce organic herbs under the supervision of Integra-Bilk, a Belgian
control body for organic agriculture. Herbafrost holds BRC and IFS
Certificates. Herbafrost is based in Hulshout and Diksmuide-Vladslo, in
Belgium. Their production fields are located in the immediate vicinity of the
production sites, allowing herbs to be processed immediately after
harvesting in order to preserve their flavour, colour, texture and vitamins.
The company has agricultural experts who are keeping track of all crops,
from the selection of seeds to the harvest and processing, ensuring a highquality product.
-
Conventional herbs: basil, basil purple, basil thai, bear’s garlic,
borage, burnet, chervil, chilli peppers cut, chives iced, chives rings,
coriander, dill, garden cress, garlic cloves, garlic, leek, lemon grass,
lime leaves cut, lovage, marjoram, onion, oregano, parsley curly
and flat, rocket, rosemary, sage, savoury, shallot cubes, sorrel,
spearmint, spring onions, spring spinach, tarragon, thyme and
watercress.
-
Organic Products: basil, bear’s garlic, chervil, chives coriander,
garden cress, garlic, oregano, parsley, rocket, rosemary, sage,
tarragon and thyme.
For further information about Herbafrost Company you can visit
http://www.herbafrost.be/uk/index_uk.html.
Daregal
The French company Daregal, market’s pioneer and leader of culinary aromatic herbs since 1976, has
grown and processed fresh aromatic herbs since it foundation in 1887. The company focuses on
customers’ requirements by providing the adapted aromatic solution. Major factors of company success
are the total integration from garden to garnish and the highest level of system and product quality.
Products include: Air dried, IQF, Bitemperature®, Fresh Dry+, Liquid Mix®, natural herbs flavours, and
clean label infused oils. Darégal grows, processes and markets aromatic culinary herbs all around the
world. Daregal has its headquarters in France, three branches in USA and one in the UK.
Daregal presents its products as ready-to-use frozen chopped herbs which can go directly from the
freezer into any soup, sauce, or spread. Daregal says that “Everyone prefers the flavour of fresh herbs
but until now, the inconvenience and cost made it nearly impossible to have them on hand at all times.
Daregal fresh frozen herbs are the next best thing to having a year-round herb garden right in the
kitchen”.
-
List of products: basil, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, garlic, ginger, mint,
onion, oregano, parsley, shallot, sorrel and tarragon.
For further information about Daregal, visit www.daregalgourmet.com.
39
Crop’s Company
Crop’s heritage is in vegetables. Since 1977 the family owned Belgian
company CROP’S has grown and harvested its own vegetables. The
company Crop’s can be considered nowadays one-stop-shop supplier for
frozen fruit and vegetables. Thanks to their full range, they can offer the
perfect product for each application for all kinds of industry (bakery industry,
ready meal industry, pizza industry, beverages, etc). They grow and harvest
their own vegetables and fruits or from select partners in the world’s most
fertile growing regions.
The company factories are located next to the fields and orchards to minimize
the time between harvesting and freezing. Crop’s has three main production
sites nowadays: Crop’s in Ooigem (Belgium), Hesbayefrost in Geer (Belgium)
and Monliz in Alpiarça (Portugal), and around 250 employees. Its
consolidated turnover in 2007-2008 was 180 million Euro. Quality and stateof-the-art production continues to be the strength and drive behind Crop’s
everyday business.
Their agronomists play an important role in the growing process of our
vegetables. They choose the right variety of vegetables based on the
climatologic circumstances and the intrinsic qualities of the soil. Inspecting the
status of the crop on a daily basis, they optimize all critical elements such as
irrigation and fertilization and they determine the optimum time of harvest.
All products are available in different packaging modalities, depending on the
client’s specific requirements.
-
Herbs: basil, kaffir lime, savory, bear garlic, lemongrass, shallot,
chervil, marjoram, sorrel, chives, oregano, spearmint, coriander,
parsley, spring onion, dill, rosemary, tarragon, garlic, sage, thyme
and ginger
For more information about Crop’s company please visit www.crops.be
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7. Process Development
The following section will present information on some MAP relevant processing technologies identified in
the Exhibition in relation to the interest in product developments and process innovation.
Imtech Steri
Imtech AG was founded in 1979 in Switzerland. The company name stands for Industrial and Medical
Technology. Since its foundation Imtech have worked with technologies that make use of saturated
steam. Based on our almost 30 years experience in this domain, they have built up a solid knowledge
base in steam sterilization thanks to the ongoing developments of new technology and to continuous
improvements in their own-developed pasteurization programs.
Imtech-Steri has a broad range of services and solutions for its clients. Imtech can adapt to all current
models of autoclave and provide clients with ready solutions for every model.
The sterilization technology used by Imtech-Steri is based on the following principle: the medium of the
sterilization process is saturated steam under pressure. A precondition for sterilization using an autoclave
is the thermal lability of micro-organisms. In contrast to dry heat, the application of moist heat allows for
shorter sterilization times and lower temperatures as well as improved heat transfer and penetration.
In autoclaves, the medium of sterilization is saturated steam which demonstrates a constant
temperature/pressure curve. The quality of steam is crucial for success in sterilization by autoclave.
Saturated steam is pure steam that comes from boiling water. Saturated steam is free of air bubbles that
hinder the comprehensive deactivation of micro-organisms.
Steam sterilization takes place in the autoclave chamber once air has been eliminated (after the chamber
has been emptied and the sterile article has been removed) in order to stop the formation of air bubbles.
Sterilization time depends on the temperature and how the items are wrapped. The type and size of the
sterilizer as well as the weight of the article to be sterilized also play an important role. The load in the
sterilization chamber should also be taken into consideration and should follow current guidelines and
specifications (validation).
The remaining moisture at the end of the sterilization process should not represent more than 1% for
clothing and 0.2% for instruments of the original net weight after a maximum of 20 minutes drying time.
Four important factors are to be taken into account:
-
The quality of the steam, which must be saturated
-
The absence of air. If there is presence of air, it has an effect on the quality of sterilization
-
The temperature and pressure follow the principle of saturated steam temperature defined by
Henri Regnault
-
The quality of the water. The presence of impurities has a very negative effect on the item that is
to be sterilized.
For further information about Imtech Steri company you can visit www.imtech-steri.ch.
41
POS Bio Sciences
POS Bio-Sciences is a research, toll processing, and analytical services
organization located in Saskatoon, Canada. They are specialized in extraction,
fractionation, purification, and modification of bio-based materials. Their facility is
comprised of 6 pilot plant processing areas, 11 laboratories, warehousing and
quarantine areas, a library, client rooms, and administrative areas.
Key features to help your successfully fast track product development are the
following:
-
24 hr/day, 5 days/week operating schedule
-
Grams to tonnes processing capability
-
ISO 9001:2008 certified
-
Health Canada NHP site license for manufacturing natural health products
-
Traceability and food safety systems: inbound traceback of raw materials;
outbound tracking of final products; inspection and recall systems
-
GMP compliant working environment to overcome regulatory hurdles and
produce a consistently excellent product quality
-
Extensive analytical capabilities integrated into plant operations for timely
process feedback
-
Support services such as logistics/materials
maintenance to speed operations
-
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) site license for manufacturing
fish and marine oils; approved to export to European Union.
-
Kosher processing is available on selected oils processing operations
management
and
For further information about POS Company you can visit www.pos.ca.
Safesteril Co.
Safesteril was developed and patented by ETIA, a French engineering
company, which was founded in 1989. The two founders, Olivier Lepez, PhD and Philippe Sajet, PhD,
developed a new technology based on direct use of electricity applied to a conveying device (ohmic
heating). In the late 1990's, ETIA focused their technologies on steam sterilization processes and created
Safesteril. Spirajoule is the dry steam sterilizer used in Safesteril, which is a turnkey process. This
solution was designed to answer the challenging problem of contamination to delicate products such as
spices, herbs, seeds, and ingredients.
Safesteril can supply a continuous dry steam sterilization process, which only uses heat to reduce the
germ content of the product. Safesteril can be adapted to the layout of different factories thanks to
several configurations types.
For further information about
Safesteril,
kindly
visit
www.safesteril.com.
42
GEA process Engineering
GEA Niro is a Danish company that has been a part of the German GEA Group since 1993. GEA Niro
specializes in the development, design and engineering of liquid and powder processing equipment for the
manufacture of products in powder, granular or agglomerate form. The GEA Group is a world leader in
process engineering, process equipment and plant engineering.
Spray dryers and coolers, fluid bed systems, freeze drying systems, solid/liquid extractors, evaporators,
membrane filtration systems, agglomerators, and granulators are part of a comprehensive delivery
programme marketed world-wide through an extensive network of GEA Niro and GEA companies and
representatives.
Freeze Drying:
GEA Niro freeze dryers are based on know-how from the world famous ATLAS Freeze Dryers. Freeze
drying enables efficient and gentle removal of water from liquid or solid products whilst preserving all
nutrients, flavors, vitamins, shape (of solid products), and other product properties.
GEA Niro freeze dryers are available for several industries:
-
The Coffee Industry, either as standalone coffee freeze dryers or as complete coffee factories
-
The Food Industry
-
The Pharmaceutical Industry
GEA Niro freeze dryers ensure you a dried product with:
-
Long shelf life, durable at a wide range of temperatures
-
Eliminated need for a cold chain distribution system
-
Reduced weight of the freeze dried product reducing shipping costs
Depending on your product and required capacity, GEA Niro offers both batch and continuous freeze
dryers. Common for them both is that they are designed and constructed to:
-
Maximize plant reliability and ease of use
-
Reduce energy consumption
-
Optimize space requirements
-
Minimize maintenance requirements
GEA Niro has a comprehensive test and research laboratory where we can freeze dry your product to form
the basis for sizing and designing an industrial plant.
43
Spray Drying:
GEA Niro has data gained from more than 70 years of experience and a reference list of some 10,000
plants across the globe about industrial spray drying. They have 30,000 test reports from their test centre,
and they are equipped to engineer the desired properties for products and the processes needed to
produce them. Their experience ranges over a wide variety of areas, including: food and dairy products,
chemical and ceramic products, polymers and pharmaceutical products.
The spray drying process: Spray drying is the most widely used industrial process for particle formation
and drying. It is well suited for a continuous production of dry solids in powder or agglomerated particles
form a liquid feedstock. The feedstock can include solutions, emulsions and pumpable suspensions. The
technology is ideal when the end-product must comply with precise quality standards. This regards particle
size distribution, residual moisture content, bulk density and particle morphology
During Spray drying, an enormous heat and mass transfer takes place within a fraction of time. It starts
with the atomization of a liquid feedstock into a spray of droplets (1 liter of concentrate is atomized to 1,5 x
1010 droplets with a diameter of 50 microns with a total surface of 120 m2 and the evaporation takes place
from the surface of all these particles) the small droplets are created by an atomizer- either a rotary wheel
or a high pressure nozzle. The droplets are introduced into a hot airstream, which - due to the evaporation
of the water or a chemical solvent from the concentrate - is cooled down. This now colder and humid air is
discharged from the dryer through a cyclone or a bag filter or a combination of the two. After separation of
the now dry particles, the air is discharged into the atmosphere. The dry particles can - after separation
from the process air - be cooled and bagged off.
The spray drying process depends entirely on the composition of the product. Some are very easy and
others very difficult to dry. In this context it should be stated that a GEA Niro dryer is designed and the
process parameters selected to ensure:





Best product quality
Low energy consumption
Protection of the environment
Long operation time between cleaning
Fulfil EU Directives
For further information you can visit www.niro.com.
44
8. Perception study on Egyptian MAP products abroad
The meetings conducted by EMAP team during Fi Europe & Ni Exhibition had a double purpose as
explained formerly: 1) Identifying potential product, process and business development opportunities for
the Egyptian MAP and 2) Measuring/assessing the importers level of satisfaction and perceptions on the
Egyptian MAP products and service.
The importers perception was measured by means of a questionnaire conducted with 100 companies
participating in the Exhibition. A wide range of strengths and weaknesses of the Egyptian MAP products
and companies were pointed out though the questionnaires exercise.
Figures 4 and 5 below show a summary of the most relevant findings of the perception analysis. The
information is presented with a list of statements which derivates from the questionnaires. The following
should be taken into account to interpret correctly the information in Figures 4 and 5:

All findings refer to Egyptian MAP sector/products/companies.

For findings/results 1 and 2, the percentage shown in the red-colour portion of the bar indicates
the percentage of interviewed entities for which the statement of the finding is true in view of their
replies to the questions (e.g. 32% of the companies were found to be unaware of the presence of
some newly produced varieties in Egypt).

For the rest of the findings, the percentage shown in the red-colour portion of the bar represents
the percentage of interviewed entities whose replies on the questionnaire are in agreement with
the finding (e.g. 83% of the companies pointed out that Egyptian MAP products’ prices are
reasonable in comparison with other supplying countries in one or more replies of the
questionnaire questions).
Figure 4: Opportunities and strengths of Egyptian MAP products According to Perception Analysis
Findings
Familiar with conventional Egyptian
MAPs
96%
Lack of awareness on newly produced
varieties
32%
4%
68%
Reasonable prices in comparison with
other suppliers
83%
Logistical comparative advantage due
to proximity to Europe & Middle East
17%
56%
0%
20%
44%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Figure 5: Risks and weaknesses of Egyptian MAP products According to Perception Analysis Findings
45
Quality problems
39%
Food safety problems
47%
Lack of new highly demanded varieties
53%
30%
Difficulties due to prices variation
Risk due to non-subjection to contracts
61%
70%
43%
67%
14%
Delays and other services deficiencies
86%
38%
Value addition issues
62%
66%
0%
20%
40%
34%
60%
80%
100%
More extended information on the perception study’s findings is provided for further clarification of foreign
companies and entities perceptions:

Familiar with conventional Egyptian MAPs (96%): The big majority of companies were able to
name with assistance not less than 6 of the main Egyptian MAP crops. The most commonly
mentioned MAP herbs and spices were basil, marjoram, chamomile/calendiola, parsley,
coriander, fennel, peppermint and spearmint, dill and caraway.

Lack of awareness on newly produced varieties (32%): When asked about some specific MAP
plants in Egypt (some newly produced varieties such as chives and parsley curly), approximately
one third of the companies replied that they were not aware of its production and availability for
exports in Egypt.

Reasonable prices in comparison with other suppliers (83%): The big majority of the companies
and entities stated that Egyptian prices are acceptable when contrasted with the prices of
supplies from other countries. This shows that probably Egyptian products are not overpriced
(and they ever be underpriced in some cases).

Logistical comparative advantage due to proximity to Europe & Middle East (56%): Around half of
the interviewees mentioned Egyptian neighboring geographical position as a potential reason for
preference of the Egyptian products in comparison with far-Asian products. This represents a
comparative advantage of Egypt in relation to Far East due to lower transportation times and
costs.

Quality problems (35%): Slightly more than one third of the companies mention quality problems
in the supplies coming from Egypt such as packing and labeling deficiencies, bad color or odor,
product purity (existence of dust, ashes, etc.), non-homogeneous cuts of herbs, lower oil
percentage than the specified by the importer, etc,…

Food safety problems (47%): Almost half of the interviewed value chain members mentioned the
lack of food safety as a deterrent or disincentive for buying Egyptian MAP products. Some of the
mentioned troubles summarized under the term “food safety” were contamination of the products
such as existence of microorganisms, pesticides residuals and other foreign substances (plastic,
wood, etc.)
46

Lack of new highly demanded varieties (30%): Nearly one third of the interviewed individuals
explained its preference for other markets as a consequence of the unavailability in Egypt of
some products with a growing international demand (eg. Stevia, red basil and verbascum). The
importance of this finding is bigger if we take into account that in general all this products can be
grown without major difficulties under the Egyptian weather conditions.

Difficulties due to prices variation (43%): A little less than half of the questionnaires showed that
foreign companies feel deterred to work with Egyptian suppliers due to the high frequency of
variations in their selling prices. This behavior causes that the importer have to assume a higher
business risk than the level of risk that he is often willing to assume.

Risk due to non-subjection to contracts (14%): When mentioning difficulties caused by the
supplies prices variation, some of the interviewed entities mentioned that their preferred solution
for it is to work under a contracted-price with a contract with a medium to long term contract and
that they could not yet find acceptance on this working style in Egypt.

Delays and other services deficiencies (38%): A remarkable percentage of interviewees referred
to deficiencies in the quality of the service receive when trying to make business or keep contact
with Egyptian companies. The most repeatedly mentioned
example for this finding which was declared to be a source
of unhappiness was the high frequency of repeated and
long delays in supplies and non-convincing explanations on
them.

Value addition issues (66%): The lack of the required
format of the products (lack of value additions on the
products) that they used as inputs was underlined by two
thirds of the companies as a constrain to buy Egyptian
MAP products.
47
9. Recommendations
Findings and key lessons learnt from EMAP mission to Fi Europe & Ni are summarized in the following
recommendations:

An Egyptian MAP Quality Scheme is highly needed. It is also prefered to make it mandatory. In
addition to the benefits that it will create for the improvement of the Egyptian products, it is
expected that the qualiy scheme will greatly contribute to generating trust in Egyptian products’
quality and food safety.

The international market of MAP products has significant potential to grow further in several
countries. which are available in many different countries. Thus, there is a large global MAP
market with space for many new suppliers.

They are market opportunities for the companies venturing into new areas for products with
higher value-addition, and even SME’s can benefit from this kind of opportunity if the focus is in
niche profitable markets.

There is a need to be effectively responsive to the new varieties demanded by world markets in
order to work in products that has larger profit margins in general.

In order to market and promote positive image of Egyptian MAP sector and products,
collaboration between public and private Egyptian MAP institutions for effective promotion is
highly demanded. Examples of activities that public and private entities can organize and/or
finance together are:

-
Participation in fairs
-
Promotional campaign directed to foreign buyers, R&D institutions and Media
-
Matchmaking activities
It is beneficial to consider the use of funded programs and projects for increasing the promotion
of Egyptian MAP sector and products and for fostering progress in terms of products’ value
addition. SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Project) and EMAP project are example of potentially
beneficial programs to be taken into account.
Egyptian Pavillion, Fi Europe & Ni, Paris,
November 2011
Chamomile Flowers
48