SUPPLIER NEWS
Fortress Technology
Former Manufacturing Manager of Dynamic Inspection Tim Whyte was named general manager of Fortress Technology’s fourth global manufacturing hub in New Zealand. He succeeds founders of the firm, Bob Philpott and Steve Atkins, who are stepping down after growing the company into the market leader of food contaminant and checkweighing equipment in New Zealand, Australia, and neighboring APAC countries.
Bühler
In November, the Swiss technology group Bühler opened its expanded innovation center for food in Uzwil, Switzerland. The new Food Creation Center is a central part of this hub. According to the company, it offers an integrated perspective on product and process development for a wide variety of foods. Bühler teams support customers from the idea phase through rapid prototyping and implementation in the industrial process, to validation and scale-up.
WIXON
Wixon has announced the newest division to its team, Mitch Madsen. He joins the company’s Protein Division as an account manager. With nearly 30 years of experience in B2B food ingredient sales, Madsen brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Wixon. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing customer sales in the domestic market, ensuring continued success for the Protein Division.
Kalsec Inc.
With the opening of Kalsec Inc.’s Finishing and Distribution Centre in Singapore, the company continues to expand its international footprint to serve food and beverage brands and manufacturers. Kalsec is a natural ingredient solutions provider with global headquarters in Kalamazoo, MI, and regional headquarters in the UK and Singapore. The new Kalsec Singapore Finishing and Distribution Centre is located at JTC Food Hub @ Senoko, a shared facility fostering an ecosystem of players in the food industry.
T. Hasegawa USA
T. Hasegawa USA has released its 2024 Food and Beverage Flavor Trends Report, summarizing what its experts believe will be the most impactful trends of the coming year. According to the report, the company’s official 2024 Flavor of the Year is ube. A bright purple tuberous root hailing from the Philippines, ube has gained international recognition for its purple hue and distinctive earthy, nutty and sweet flavor profile. Fast becoming a mainstream ingredient in the U.S. thanks to its trademark color, ube offers a multitude of applications including desserts and baked goods.
PrINOVA
Prinova has identified a growing demand for ingredients benefiting the mind as one of nine emerging food, beverage and nutrition “mega-trends.” In its new report on functional health trends, the company also spotlights the increasing prominence of branded ingredients, and growing demand for “real foods.” The provider of ingredients and premixes commissioned expert researchers to analyze patterns in retail and foodservice, and to conduct social media listening. This allowed it to build a framework of nine macro-trends that will shape the industry in 2024 and beyond.
AB Mauri North America
AB Mauri North America has named sales executive Fred Elias its new senior vice president of sales and technical services for the region. Elias will fill roles served by Bohrer and Tremayne, who respectively led the technical sales and commercial sales components for the organization. Both were longtime senior executives previously at Innovative Cereal Systems, a baking ingredient enzyme technology leader in Wilsonville, OR, acquired by AB Mauri in 2005.
NOVOLEX
Packaging provider Novolex introduced food packaging containers that are both recyclable and made with a minimum 10% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. Manufactured by its brand Waddington North America, the new products include various sizes of dessert cups, tamper-evident containers, cake containers, and bakery clamshells. The newest products made with at least 10% PCR include signature dessert cups, CakePak bases and lids, BreakAway tamper-evident containers, and multi-use clamshells.
Butter Buds Inc.
Butter Buds Inc., a global provider of dairy and non-dairy concentrates, introduced a line of ingredient solutions designed to help food manufacturers serve up a creamy mouthfeel and rich cheese flavor. Its new creamy product line reportedly offers a cream-forward cheese flavor profile with savory butter base notes, with a much lower usage rate than standard cheese powders to deliver unprecedented formulation flexibility.
Royal Avebe
Royal Avebe, a farmers' cooperative known for its providing potato-based ingredients, launched PerfectaSOL, reportedly the next generation of potato protein products. As pioneers in the field since 2006 with its Solanic potato protein, Avebe has strived to contribute to the evolution of plant-based protein. One of the key highlights of PerfectaSOL is its reported ability to create consumer products with favorable texture. In collaboration with its clients, the company received substantially better results when it came to creating end-products with convincing taste and texture.
