LycoRed enters the US premix market
drawing on five years' experience in Europe to garner opportunities
in the US market as fortification grows beyond traditional areas.
Once limited to breakfast cereals, fortification using premixes is now sought after by a gamut of food manufacturers looking to enhance the nutritional profiles of their products.
The Israeli-based ingredients maker says it is set to draw on this trend by tackling the two main problems facing premix industry clients: manufacturing and taste.
Premixes provide food manufacturers with a pre-made "bag of solutions" so they don't have to add individual minerals or vitamins to their product, LycoRed marketing director Udi Alroy told NutraIngredients-USA.com.
A premix, which usually comes in powder form, is a combination of active ingredients used to fortify processed foods.
The company develops premixes with the balance of nutrients required by each customer and says it has developed technologies, some based on microencapsulation, to overcome fortification challenges such as off-tastes and overages. Overages occur when fortification is increased to make up for less stable ingredients losing value in the manufacturing process.
LycoRed already supplies some of the major food players in Europe, such as Nestle and Kellogg, with premixes. Alroy said that the company is banking on this strong presence to help secure sales in the US, as companies are more comfortable knowing their European counterparts are using LycoRed premixes.
LycoRed strengthened its position in the European premix market with the 2003 purchase of premix firm Nutriblend, who brought with it a host of large premix clients.
Then, in 2005, LycoRed paved the way for operations in the US market with the acquisition of ingredients supplier Buckton Scott Nutrition.
"The group has grown to the level where we can grow into the US market in a way that we couldn't a few years ago," said Alroy, citing staff as an obstacle they faced for the US.
"If you are not in the premix industry then you are missing part of the action," he added.
