Klaus Bjerrum, category director for pectin & carrageenan, told FoodNavigator.com that sales have rebounded this year, justifying the release of phase two, for which will be used for purchasing new equipment, expanding bottle-necks, and increasing throughput.
Bjerrum said there has been a general pick up in pectin demand and the GENU LMA pectin product was identified as the one particularly good growth in demand, and the most urgent need for investment.
Mostly used in food, the LMA pectin is suitable for use in low-sugar and sugar-free jams, spreads, and fruit preparations for yoghurts, as well as for thermo-reversible bakery glazes and ice cream variegates.
“We see stronger demand for taking out sugar, and for yoghurts in general,” Bjerrum said, adding that the yoghurt observations are in line with reports from major producers such as Danone.
The industry desire to reduce the sugar load in food and beverage products is understood to be an important market trend, and the growth seen by GENU LMC is “sometimes pure growth, sometimes at the expense of HM [pectin for high sugar products]”.
Bjerrum declined to reveal the anticipated capacity of the plant in Denmark, but he called it “significant in market terms”. CP Kelco has two other pectin plants, one in Germany which was expanded in 2000, and one in Brazil, which has been the subject of several upgrades since 1999, the last of which was in 2006.
The expansion in Denmark is expected to be completed by June 2011.