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Oils and fats company AAK has teamed up with US food-tech start-up Savor, in a two-year collaboration to develop speciality fat solutions for dairy alternative and bakery applications.

As part of the partnership, Sweden-headquartered AAK is backing Savor’s technology with an equity investment. The agreement will target customers globally, with a particular focus on the US and European markets.

Savor, based in California, creates sustainable fats and oils directly from carbon using its proprietary technology platform. The start-up aims to deliver high-performing, scalable ingredient solutions that can be produced without the need for conventional plant and animal agriculture.

Meanwhile, AAK, headquartered in Malmö, brings more than 150 years of experience in plant-based oils and fats. It will contribute its formulation expertise and commercial infrastructure to the partnership.

According to the two companies, the new fats jointly developed through the collaboration could require 1,000 times less land use, and up to 98% lower carbon emissions, than their conventional counterparts.

The dairy alternatives and bakery categories face growing demand for highly functional fats that can deliver high-quality taste and texture, while remaining resilient to today’s supply chain vulnerabilities.

This is why Savor and AAK have chosen to focus on these segments initially, with Savor’s Chiara Cecchini, SVP of commercialisation, noting significant pressure on food manufacturers to reduce environmental footprint and strengthen resilience.

Savor’s technology platform can be implemented anywhere in the world, eliminating the need for fertile land, fertilisers or fresh water. In combination with plant-based oils, it aims to enable more diverse supply chains and reduced market volatility, with more stable costs in the long-term.

Ronald van der Knaap, global head of dairy, early life nutrition and savoury at AAK, said: “The unique solutions that are unlocked by the AAK-Savor strategic collaboration address a market need across the food industry.”

“Beyond supply chain resilience and sustainability, we will create applications with great taste and texture for our customers within two very important segments, and in this way, ticking all the boxes and improving the overall consumer experience.”