Vanillin is the aromatic substance associated with vanilla. It is usually made from oil derivatives or wood, and pricey natural vanillin from vanilla beans is said to make up less than 1% of the market. Borregaard is a producer of wood based Vanillin.
Thomas Marwedel, business director Aroma Chemicals, Borregaard said sustainability is an important trend in the food business and more and more food manufacturers are asking for sustainable raw materials.
Solvay China factory
Only this month, Food Navigator Asia reported competitors like international chemical group Solvay is the latest aromas company to choose China to produce its ingredients.
Its new facility in Zhenjiang City, in Jiangsu province, will manufacture vanillin for the group’s aroma division and is expected to boost its production capacity by 40%. It’s other facilities are in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Saint-Fons in France.
Marwedel said the main challenges in the market place include the ‘shear volume’ of producers in China.
“As far as we can see, a couple of new players entered the market and added capacity to a balanced market over the last years, such that capacity grew faster than demand,” he said.
Development in the market place
“Time will tell, if and when the market for vanillin made from crude oil as raw material is balanced again. This is the impression we have, proven by development in the market place, while there are no hard facts available.”
He added sustainability was a growing trend and there was an increasing interest in vanillin from wood because it is made from renewable raw material, trees that re-grow.
“The majority of vanillin is made from mineral or crude oil, which by definition is not sustainable, since it is consumed and gone,” he said.
“Our vanillin from wood comes with a 90% lower CO2-footprint.”
Ahead of the competition
Marwedel said many major and middle size food companies around the world will need to acquire the FSSC22000 certificate in future and it was happy to get ahead of itself.
“It is another opportunity to prove our commitment to safety, quality, security and compassion as a manufacturer, who understands what it takes to be part of a global supply chain for food,” he added.
“The positive thing about FSSC22000 is it requires the attention and compassion of the whole organisation. Trainings assure that everybody involved is updated and aware of rules and regulations. We do not look at FSSC22000 as a burden we are forced to carry, but we rather look at FSSC22000 as an competitive advantage.”
Prior to the certification, all food safety at Borregaard was accomplished according to HACCP. The demands of the FSSC22000 are to do with documentary purposes and the education and training of the whole organisation.