The Danish producer of enzymes will take on Fiske, a subsidiary of Dutch chemical firm Univar as the firm's main European distributor for enzymes in key food and beverage sectors including cereal foods, brewing, juice, vegetable and fruit processing, dairy, flavour, nutrition plus meat, egg and fish processing.
"Local customer knowledge, contact and infrastructure, full technical support and existing market penetration are critical deliverables. Fiske further impressed us with a clear commitment to driving this partnership forward; visible throughout the organisation," says Andreas Dietrich, Novozymes commercial director Europe.
By simplifying the supply chain, we benefit from one dedicated management team which in turn ensures cost-efficient product delivery, coordinated pan-European product launches and access to valuable technical resources, he adds.
For Fiske, the deal equates to a significant push on enzymes in its 2000 strong ingredient portfolio.
"We identified enzymes as a gap in our product portfolio. We have now successfully resolved that issue," comments Neil Blackburn, Fiske European brand director.
Novozymes dominates the enzyme market with about a 50 to 60 per cent share. US biotech firm Genencor, that now belongs to Danisco after acquisition clearance earlier this year, falls into second place with an approximate 30 per cent slice.
While the volumes of pure enzyme protein produced are very small, their value reached over $2 billion (€1.53bn) in 2004. A recent report from Business Communications Company estimates that by 2009 the market will reach €1.83 billion.
Lacklustre growth for enzymes is coming in at about 2 to 3 per cent year on year. But there are signs - reflected in Novozymes recent first half results - that the bakery enzyme market, currently constituting about a third of the overall food enzyme market, could actually bring the strongest gains.
Recent research from market analysts Frost and Sullivan pinpoints these enzymes as the fastest growing segment with a compound annual growth rate of about 7.2 per cent. The market for bakery enzymes came in at €32.1 million in 2003, expected to climb to €52.3 million by 2010.