"Although we are keeping the Duckworth name, we have now made the jump from a family business to become part of a huge multinational operation," said Jack Proctor, key accounts manager at UK-based Duckworth Flavours. "What this means is that our pockets are now a lot deeper and that there is more potential for us to invest in new and expanding markets."
"This is a market we are not very familiar with as we have had only limited business dealings in this region so far. The first thing for us will be to get an agent. Once we have an agent then we will be able to forge the correct cooperative partners," Proctor added.
The Duckworth group has been involved in the area of food flavours for 100 years. It is divided into five main groups: alcohol, dairy, savoury, soft drink and confectionery.
Proctor explained that in the eastern European market he is expecting Duckworth to aim at the savoury flavours market in particular. This, he says, is due to the fact that there is such a sizeable meat eating tradition, which invariably spurns a sizeable demand for these kind of flavours.
"Countries such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech republic traditionally have high levels of meat consumption, and in line with this savoury flavours for meat cook-in sauces and basting products prove to be very popular. We intend to carve out a niche for the company as a supplier of flavours for these types of products.
Proctor added that Duckworths is aiming to supply a broad selection of savoury flavours for both ambient and frozen meals, snacks, soups and sauces.
Currently Duckworth is in the top 30 ingredients manufacturers in Europe, backed up by its increased investment potential, the company is aiming to make it into the top ten players. Proctor says that a significant proportion of that growth could come from the eastern European region.
"Growth had reached a plateau when Duckworth was still a family-owned company, now we have the potential to go into markets such as eastern Europe. With our increased investment potential we can now buy up new businesses in that region as part of our drive to increase our overall scope. Furthermore, being part of the Cargill Group will allow us greater leverage in our cross-functional business groups within the organisation, allowing us to deliver total food solutions."
"We can also add significant value in developing markets because we can offer our sizeable research and development capabilities to prospective customers. Often in developing markets smaller companies do not have the resources for research and development, but at Duckworth around 40 per cent of our staff are employed in a technical capacity."