Dairy Dialog podcast 72: MANE, Aggreko, salon du fromage
Our guests are Jonathan Barroso, marketing & business development manager - dairy & ice cream and Jean-François Pelletier, category director, at MANE; Ruth Martin, business development manager, from UK company Aggreko; Charles Duque, managing director for the Americas for the French dairy board (Cniel) and Constantin Bretonneau, co-founder of French startup Cha.
We also have our weekly look at the global dairy markets with Charlie Hyland from INTL FCStone.
Dairy alternatives image: Getty Images/happy_lark
Aggreko
Aggreko is a global provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy services.
The company said it works at the forefront of a rapidly-changing energy market and solving challenges to provide cost-effective, flexible and greener solutions.
With many challenges currently facing the planet, from economic issues such as Brexit, to the coronavirus outbreak, emergency cold storage is important.
Last year, Aggreko launched new temporary air-cooled low temperature AC units.
Delivering 100kW of design cooling capacity at -22°C air outlet temperature, the machine is a plug and play solution housed in a 20ft container. The temporary solution can ensure stored refrigerated products are safeguarded.
Available as an air- or water-cooled machine, it can cool down existing cold stores to freezing temperatures as low as -40°C, helping the cold storage and logistics industry to blast freeze during peak production or in case of emergency.
Interference with any cold store warehouse is minimized because the unit is installed outside, which Aggreko said increases safety and avoids costly installation fees.
The units also allow for temporary cooling during planned shutdowns, allowing the operation of the cold store to continue while a fixed cooling installation is being maintained or upgraded.
Matt Watson, sales manager at Aggreko, said, “Companies who rely on cold storage warehouses face two risks: not having enough capacity during peak production and system failure. Our new unit helps increase production levels and is available to hire, avoiding expensive upgrade of the existing warehouse. It can also be delivered and installed at short notice, meaning production isn’t disrupted or damaged.”
Other features of the unit include Aggreko’s wireless temperature sensors and built-in management system, which controls the temperature of the air, even when a system is out of order.
Aggreko’s access to temporary power generators also means warehouses can be supplied with enough energy if no electricity is available from the grid.
MANE
French fragrance and flavor company MANE supplies ingredients for a variety of products, including dairy and dairy alternatives.
MANE said that, with an 11% growth in volume between 2014 and 2018, and pushed by consumption changes - with a rising interest for nutrition and sustainability – and an increasing protein production challenge to feed a growing worldwide population, plant-based products are more than a simple trend.
Opportunities exist but this market is a race, MANE said, adding that to ‘win’, MANE has identified three steps: understanding the market, embracing the importance of sophistication and optimizing the product bases & taste to provide the best experience.
“From our knowledge of the market to the development of dedicated taste solutions, we aim to develop concepts that are fitted to our clients’ objectives and are assets to win the dairy alternatives race,” the company said.
MANE also recently received a Platinum ranking from EcoVadis, placing MANE in the top 1% among more than 60,000 companies assessed by EcoVadis throughout the world.
The rating highlights MANE’s performance in the Environment, Labor & Human Rights as well as Sustainable Procurement categories.
Salon du fromage
Dairy Reporter recently attended the salon du fromage event in Paris, which is a part of the larger salon de l’agriculture event.
Held every two years, the salon du fromage saw a record number of exhibitors in 2020; of those 281 companies and organizations, 43% were first-time attendees.
The show also saw a record attendance of 8,486 visitors.
In 2018, UK cheeses were featured, this time, Spain was the country in the spotlight, and 46 exhibitors from the country were present.
Cniel, the French dairy board (Centre national interprofessionnel de l'économie laitière), was represented at the event.
Cniel’s main mission is to organize to promote its economic development. It facilitates relationships between dairy producers and processors in the country, in particular by developing shared tools and standards for the entire industry; and it also collectively promotes French milk and dairy products globally.
The privately-run organization is financed by membership fees paid by dairy producers and processors. In 2017, these dues amounted to €39.2m. Some collective marketing campaigns are also co-financed by the French and European authorities; in 2017, the co-financing amounted to €4.7m.
Dairy Reporter spoke to Charles Duque, Cniel managing director for the Americas.
At the event, more than 100 new products were launched, by existing companies and start-ups. One relatively new company to the market is Cha, a family business founded by Constantin Bretonneau and his brother Christos Andréadis.
Inspired by the flavors of their childhood, they are promoting and marketing fermented products in France.
Under the Maritsa brand, Cha produces several flavors of kefir, three from cow’s milk (plain, peach and lemon), and a plain goat’s milk variety, as well as two vegan kefir alternatives in lemon-ginger and peppermint flavors.
The brand also includes fermented vegetables, and the company said it plans to expand into other fermented products in the future, as well as reach new markets.
We spoke with one of the founders, Constantin Bretonneau, at the show.
