CP Kelco underscores sustainability in products, processes

CP Kelco, a leading nature-based ingredients supplier, keeps sustainability at the centre of its business – from product development to manufacturing and operations through growth and expansion initiatives.

Across all facets of business, CP Kelco adheres to a “Triple Bottom Line” principle of People, Planet and Profit at the core of its global sustainability strategy. The US-based company, which now serves customers in more than 100 countries and maintains production plants in the US, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Germany and China, and commercial offices around the world, has developed and implements a core set of standards across all its facilities worldwide to ensure sustainable processes are adopted. It is keen to further reduce its energy and water use intensity. It is also looking to minimise carbon dioxide emissions.

Besides offering high-quality, nature-based solutions to its customers, the company supports the communities where it has operations and acknowledges it is part of its customers’ supply chain – a responsibility that goes beyond providing ingredients. CP Kelco also makes sure it uses raw materials obtained in a sustainable way.

As part of its commitment to people, the company places a premium on employee safety and wellness and strives to provide them with a good working environment. It invests in employee learning and career development, and encourages diversity across the company. It also creates avenues for volunteerism in line with efforts to work with its communities.

To reduce the company’s environmental footprint (in line with its commitment to the planet), two-thirds of CP Kelco’s facilities, including its plant in Wulian, China, achieved zero waste-to-landfill status in 2018. The company is geared up to achieve its goal of 90 percent zero waste-to-landfill status for its facilities by 2022. Toward this end, it will boost its use of renewable energy whilst reducing waste and landfill usage, and increasing recycling programs.

Robert Dunn, senior director for Global Strategic Segments and Regional Marketing, noted how sustainability is becoming more important with companies and consumers all over the world who are now more aware about environmental issues and food safety. “Sustainability is definitely now more on the radar of customers and consumers alike. For us at CP Kelco, sustainability has been at the very heart of our operations from day one. It’s something we have pursued for a long time now and it’s very much a part of the company’s DNA.”

Nature-based products supporting health trends

CP Kelco’s products are a clear testament of its commitment to sustainability.  The ingredients are either plant-derived or fermentation-derived.

“Nature is the source of our ingredients. For plant-derived ingredients, we have solutions based on citrus peels and seaweed. For fermentation-derived ingredients, we have gellan gum and xanthan gum,” said Dunn.

Many of the company’s product grades are non-GMO, vegan and organic-compliant to help customers achieve their clean label goals.

CP Kelco showcased a range of innovative prototypes at Fi Asia 2019 in Thailand. The range comprises high-performance solutions that can be used alone or in combination to provide stability, varying mouthfeels and textures, and great taste. 

One of their beverage prototypes was an acidified protein drink featuring nata de coco inclusions, as well as the company’s KELCOGEL^® Gellan Gum.

CP Kelco in Fi Asia 2019, Bangkok. From left: Robert Dunn, Senior Director for Global Strategic Segments and Regional Marketing, Cara Zhuang, Senior Manager, Asia Pacific Marketing, and Richard Yin, Vice President for Asia Pacific  

To address the need for reduced sugar in foods and drinks, CP Kelco showcased a low-sugar chocolate milk featuring KELCOGEL^® Gellan Gum and a sugar-free confectionery based on GENU^® Pectin.

The chocolate milk drink combines enjoyable taste and nutritional benefits in a single beverage to meet the demands of end-users for delicious yet healthy drinks. “The gellan gum delivers good suspension needed for the chocolate powder and provides the mouthfeel without compromising the nutrition level because it keeps the sugar level low,” said Yin.   

CP Kelco’s gellan gum is dried and milled into powder after the fermentation process for use in a wide range of applications – from food and beverages like flavoured milk to oral care, personal care and household care. Providing excellent suspension and texture, gellan gum comes in two types—high- and low-acyl. The first type can be used to make soft, elastic gels. Low-acyl gellan gum can be used to make firm, non-elastic brittle gels.

“The gellan gum sort of serves as a one-stop shop for manufacturers looking for a solution that can help them achieve the suspension they need whilst also ensuring good mouthfeel and stability. Because it is a nature-based ingredient, it allows companies to offer a clean label product that consumers desire,” Yin said.  

Another nature-based ingredient from CP Kelco, GENU Pectin helps to provide protein stability. Made primarily from citrus peels and sugar beets, this product can be used in jams, jellies, yoghurts, acidified protein beverages and dairy desserts. This label-friendly ingredient meets organic compliance requirements.

GENU Pectin also contributes to the heat stability of gummies to ensure these products do not melt easily in warm climates in  areas like Asia Pacific.

The move toward plant-based

CP Kelco is a pioneer in the transition from dairy proteins to alternative dairy, plant-based proteins. Ambient drinking yoghurts (ADYs) and low-pH protein drinks are fast gaining popularity in Asia. They are made from a fermented protein base and have a longer shelf life, allowing for storage for months at ambient temperatures without risking a change in the taste, mouthfeel or nutritional values.

“The ADYs present a good example of how CP Kelco has participated in the evolution of a category and continues to do so. We expect this category to continue evolving and transform dairy proteins into alternative-based proteins. That’s a whole trend and something that CP Kelco continues to work with our customers to develop,” said Dunn.

Capacity and growth expansion plans

CP Kelco’s newly launched brand strategy captures the company’s emphasis on innovation and customer collaboration amidst continued efforts to be in harmony with nature.

According to Dunn, the company’s tagline of “Unlocking Nature-Powered Success” has two elements: first is CP Kelco’s passion for unlocking the science and power found in nature, and second is the company’s commitment to  work in close collaboration with customers in addressing their needs and those of the consumers.

“Texture trends have been important for us, and now protein trends including, of course, non-dairy or alternative proteins, and clean-label solutions. Underpinning all these is sustainability: our commitment as a company to work with sustainable suppliers, to manufacture products in the most sustainable way possible, and to support our customers and the end-consumer in their sustainability efforts,” Dunn said.

CP Kelco sees the Asia Pacific as a growth region, with many of its recent investments in facilities expansion and manpower growth focused on Asia. The company is investing in building gellan gum capability at its plant in Wulian, China. Besides strengthening CP Kelco’s footprint in the Asia Pacific, this will reinforce the company’s capability to provide a world-class customer experience.

“Our customers in the Asia Pacific told us they value proximity and having a reliable, high-quality supply. This is definitely one way we add value to our customers and continue to be a problem solver for them, by helping to address their needs and concerns,” Dunn said.

The gellan capacity investment in Wulian is also expected to enable the company to shorten the supply lead time to its customers and help them to improve their supply chain efficiency. CP Kelco has also initiated expansion initiatives at its plant in Brazil for pectin and in its Denmark facility. 

Yin said the company is working more closely with major customers in the dairy, beverage and confectionery segments to learn more about their concerns and requirements.

“In terms of countries, Indonesia and Vietnam remain very important markets for us. Thailand is another important market, but since it is already relatively mature, we’re looking at different trends there,” Yin said. 

“Different customers have different needs. That’s why we complement our strong and in-depth application knowledge with a very capable technical service team to work with customers in developing their products. It’s really about the whole supply chain and ensuring that our customers have a fully functioning offering from CP Kelco, from helping them develop their products to production and delivery to the consumer,” Dunn closed.