Savola Foods: Growth in the age of disruption
March 23, 2018 at London (invitation only)
Future thinking …
Splash out on dinner at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant, and you might find an iPod accompanies your seafood risotto. Sounds of the sea enhance the perceived freshness and flavours, and can also affect our sense of sweetness and saltiness.
Caterpillars, already popular in Africa, contain 28mg of protein per 100g, more than minced beef, and add 35mg of iron too. If you’re in search of a calcium boost, try grasshoppers.
Rising food prices, the growing population and environmental concerns make food one of the big debates for governments, and interest areas for investors. Meat production takes up huge amounts of land, consume water, diverts crops from humans, and adds to carbon emissions.
Insects, perhaps rebranding as micro-protein, could become a staple of our diets – low cost, requiring little space or water. With 1500 edible species, we could soon be tucking into nutrititous crickets and grasshoppers, ground into burgers. Wasps are a delicacy in Japan.
If you still want meat, your next steak could be sourced from a test-tube. Strips of muscle tissue using stem cells taken from cows, a little like calamari to look at, are grown in a lab, and then shaped to expectation, similar to existing meat substitutes such as Quorn.
Of course you could just become vegetarian, and still get a balanced diet.
Another source of improved eating, is sensory-engineering. Scientists have shown that look and smell affect how we taste. Condiment Junkie, a sonic-branding company is exploring how certain frequencies can compensate for sugar in foods, thereby improving health, as well as enhancing the whole cooking and eating experience.
However the most significant source of future food is likely to come from algae. 145 species of green, red, and brown seaweed is already eaten in huge quantities across Asia, often as a delicacy. Ground into other foods, its strong flavour can dramatically reduce the amount of salt used, for example in bread or prepared meals. Algae farming, for food as well as energy, could become the world’s largest crop industry by 2030.
Whilst 3d printing, biotechnology, genetic modification, and new business models, the future of food is also about authenticity and relevance – traceability of supply chains, natural and local ingredients, convenient and well designed packaging, and fantastic, inspiring taste
“Gamechangers” in the world of food range from those who are delivering science fiction like Aerolife’s breathable pizza, more profitable business models like Nespresso, to others who are turning commodities into brands like Zespri and richer experiences like Juan Valdez.
About Savola Foods …
Since 1979, Savola’s diverse brands have earned their spot on supermarket shelves in 30 countries and many are now market leaders in their category. Through our company Savola Foods, we offer a wide range of products including household staples such as edible oil, sugar, pasta and ghee. And we must be doing something right: the total sales volume for Savola Foods brands was in excess of 4 million tons in 2016.
Savola Foods owns operations in seven countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco and Sudan), and manages a broad portfolio of B2C food brands. These are mainly household staples such as edible oil, sugar, pasta and ghee, and many of these brands are market leaders in multiple countries. Three decades of investment mean that output is higher today than ever before. Customer loyalty and market leadership saw Savola Foods achieve total sales volume 1.59 million tons of edible oil and 2.23 million tons of sugar in 2016.
What does the future look like for Savola Foods? It may be in a strong position right now, but we also have a clear vision for how to ensure future expansion and growth. In the coming years, Savola plans to give more and more autonomy to both entities, Savola Foods and Savola Retail, so that they can invest in improving their product portfolios. Savola Foods will move into higher-value products and product categories. For example, in 2015 it launched a range of children’s pasta under the Italiano brand and it also entered the seafood and baked goods market. In 2015, we agreed to a $50 million partnership with Thai Union which will enable Savola Foods to bring the John West seafood brand to 12 countries.
Change is a vital part of securing growth. But there are some things that never change for Savola. While our brands may each have a unique personality and history, we take pride in making sure that they operate in accordance with our ethical principles.
Peter’s keynote will include …
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