Branded ingredients: the Path to Growth?

FOODnavigator.com: The news this month that the world’s number one drinks giant Coca Cola has linked up with Tate & Lyle’s Splenda sweetener in a new branding venture could signal the beginning of a new wave of ingredient – manufacturer tie-ups.
Danisco’s head of global marketing services Henrik Vesterborg Andersen speaks to Lindsey Partos about the challenges and benefits such a symbiotic venture can bring to both ingredients supplier and food maker.
Danisco’s marketing director believes two barriers need to be overcome before an ingredient can be put on the road. “The ingredient plucked for promotion must be aligned with the brand strategy of the food manufacturer: and the end consumer must understand the value of the ingredient,” he says.
Competition is fierce in the food industry; and with price pressures, squeezed margins and higher costs eating into their revenue stream, any additional leverage the ingredients player can supply the food maker is a clear competitive advantage.
Essentially, innovation is the impetus to drive the food industry forward. But if the ingredients players can take their knowledge, founded on hard investment and a watertight understanding of the market, to the manufacturer, they could be on the way to a successful co-branding venture.
Branded ingredients: the path to growth in pressurised industry? [FOODnavigator.com]