As part of its focus on Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa, Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) is expanding its worldwide innovation network with its first Creative Studio in the region. By streamlining product development and time-to-market, the supplier of sustainable plant-based specialty oils and fats will be pioneering products that tap into the latest food trends and help customers “stay ahead of the competition,” while keeping pace with government regulations on trans fats. It will develop solutions with food manufacturers across bakery, confectionery and dairy sectors. 

In an in-depth interview with FoodIngredientsFirst, Feike Swennenhuis, Marketing Director for BLC Europe, explains the strategic position of the Creative Studio, the Middle East’s increasing appetite for innovative products and the populations’ growing sweet tooth. 

“In some countries, notably in the Gulf, trans fats are being banned, and suitable replacements require quite some tweaking and tuning. The Creative Studio is a physical place for BLC to drive innovation, co-creation and insight building together with our customers. They are the creative spaces we can co-create, engage and interact with each other and to help them to become more successful. It is important to get close to our customers, to understand the regional needs of them, so we can co-create innovative solutions for the food categories we operate in,” he says.

“In Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa we have a lot of local customers that show significant dynamics in the innovation of traditional and modern food applications.”

The state-of-the-art studio, adjacent to the Bunge Turkey office, is a dynamic workshop environment that provides on-site support to regional confectionery and bakery manufacturers to co-create new products with sensory appeal, vibrant flavors, and enhanced total nutritional value, while staying ahead of constantly evolving trends, supporting them in the design of exciting new solutions to meet regional tastes.

Opportunities for growth in the region and within confectionery
Whether balancing nutritional profiles or creating indulgent treats, it will help BLC’s customers gain an edge on market trends and innovate quickly. 

“There has been a rise recently in more regional food companies serving consumer needs. Health is a key concern and this comes through in the interest to remove hydrogenated and trans fats, improve the nutritional values, reduce calories and sugar, while keeping the best taste,” Swennenhuis explains. 

“We expect customers will benefit from our expertise and creative facilities to support reformulation for improved great taste and mouthfeel, temperature tolerance, as well as to improve the nutritional profile of their products, e.g. remove hydrogenated and trans fatty acids, reduce sugar, and so on,” he continues.

“The Creative Studio will on the one hand be staffed with regional talents to get a good consumer and customer understanding. On the other hand, the Creative Studio can use the BLC network when it comes to understanding food trends and it is locally adjacent to our Bunge office with a strong regional sales and customer network. We can help them in creating better-for-you products, using plant-based fats and still keep the crispness, color and look and feel of delicious baked foods or desserts,” he says. 

Capturing food trends
The Istanbul Creative Studio will be managed by Öznur Köse, Application & Technical Support Manager Turkey, supported by a local team of experts, and is the latest addition to the existing global network of Creative Experience Centers. 

Aside from developing solutions with food manufacturers across key categories, including working with networks such as Le Cordon Bleu, it will also provide training in specific ancillary issues, such as reformulation of products according to new regulations including SAFA, trans-fats and food safety.

Swennenhuis notes how BLC has a number of studios in the pipeline for the EMEA region. “It’s part of expanding our network of Creative Studios to be closer to our regional and global customers. With the creative studio’s we aim to serve customers with the capabilities we have across all food-segments and customer needs. We have Creative Studios in Xiamen, Pasir Gudang, Channahon, St Louis, Wormerveer and Neuss and now also in Istanbul,” he says. 

The official opening ceremony of the new studio is scheduled for October 2020.