FDBusiness.com

Olam’s Cocoa Innovation Centre is to launch a new cocoa powder after months of development.  The deZaan M558V cocoa powder will debut at the Food Ingredients Asia (FiA) trade fair in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 21 – 23, 2016. Already it has been officially selected as a finalist – one of only 13 products – to be featured in the FiA Innovation Zone.

Experts from Olam Cocoa’s Product Development and Innovation team will be presenting the new cocoa powder to trade fair visitors and collecting feedback by offering samples of one of the M558V’s primary application uses, chocolate beverages.

The creation of this new cocoa powder has been driven by growing market demand in Asian nations, Olam said, where the expansion of more affluent demographic segments is resulting in increased demand for higher-end cocoa and chocolate products.

“This is an exciting product launch for us,” said Rinus Heemskerk, Global Head of Cocoa Product Development and Innovation. “It will bring our medium-fat cocoa powder processing technology to the market for the first time in this region. We are particularly pleased about the creation of M558V as it will be produced in our Jurong factory in Singapore, using origin cocoa beans from nearby Indonesia, and it will allow us to open up new opportunities in Asia, one of the world’s most rapidly expanding cocoa product markets.”

The deZaan M558V cocoa powder will mainly be used in drinks, ice creams and breakfast cereals.

At FiA, Olam will be showcasing products and applications from across its cocoa, spices & vegetable ingredients (SVI) and dairy businesses.

For the past three years the Olam SVI team has been conducting a series of agronomic trials to evaluate the production of new white onion varieties in Egypt. Only recently has the team been able to celebrate the successful completion of the first, large scale harvest of these onions – a story that will be shared with Olam stand visitors in Jakarta. This is particularly significant for customers as the proprietary, US-bred onion seed utilised in Egypt delivers unmatched consistency, quality, flavour, and product application performance.

“SVI’s white onion programme gives us control of the supply chain…we supply the seed, we plant it, we provide growing oversight to our contract growers, and then we do the harvest,” said Dave Watkins, Senior Vice-President, Olam SVI. “This allows us to provide complete traceability, food safety assurance, and outstanding quality to our processing plants.”

Olam’s differentiated global dairy business operates across the entire value and supply chain. From dairy farming in Russia and Uruguay, to manufacturing in New Zealand and Malaysia, dairy ingredients are supplied to customers worldwide.

“As we build-out our global dairy supply chain business, the APAC region will be a priority market,” said Joe Kenny, Managing Director & CEO, Olam Dairy and Sugar. “Our expansion will include growth of existing product volumes, product choices and dairy market insights. Food Ingredients Asia is a great opportunity for regional customers and partners to meet with our Asia based team of dairy experts and to learn more about both our expansion plans and how we can support their dairy ingredient requirements.”