The Israel-headquartered supplier believes the new pre-mix manufacturing plant in Changzhou will help it to leverage the food fortification market in those countries.
The company intends to market its products to all sectors of the food industry including breakfast cereals, baked goods, beverages, daily products, soups, confectionary and snacks.
In addition to this, LycoRed said it plans to use the new facility to export products from Changzhou, as well as market its range of premixes to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The company expects the plant to be up and running by the end of this year.
Why China?
Speaking to FoodNavigator-Asia.com, David Roberton, director at LycoRed, explains that for the past seven years, LycoRed “has been actively evaluating the premix market in China.”
He mentions that “a large number of individual food companies” were visited both in China and in the South East Asia region, and that it was the “information gathered from these numerous contacts” which “encouraged and convinced LycoRed that it was worthwhile to invest in Changzhou.”
He says that there are “two key reasons” which further validate this investment. Firstly, he states that “there is a growing market in China and South East Asia for nutritional premixes.”
These premixes are used to fortify staple foods in order “to help overcome dietary deficiencies of key nutrients such as Vitamin A and iron.” In addition, they are also used in other foods such as breakfast cereals, drinks and products designed specifically for infants and the elderly.
Secondly, Roberton adds that “LycoRed will be better able to service customers in the South East Asia region” from its factory in China.
Bespoke products
According to Roberton, “the Changzhou facility has been designed so that capacity can be rapidly expanded as customer requirements and sales volumes grow.”
LycoRed faces competition from other local and multinational premix manufacturers in China, but Roberton believes that the company’s “bespoke” service and “unique range” of natural colours and nutrients will help its business to develop further.
He adds that “in essence, LycoRed will provide premixes that contain any nutrient that the customer requires including but not restricted to vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids.”
Roberton sees great potential in the food fortification market. He notes that premixes are “very cost effective” because they “enable the food manufacturer to reduce analytical costs and inventory levels” as well as “help build quality into the food manufacturing process.”
LycoRed’s medium term project will be “to evaluate the need to build other facilities in different parts of the world” but Roberton says that at present all efforts are focused on making a big success out of the undoubted opportunity that Changzhou represents.