Israeli food-tech company Amai Proteins has appointed Doug Brown as chief executive officer as it moves to accelerate the commercial development of its sweet protein ingredient, Sweelin. Doug Brown Brown took up the role on 1 September 2026, bringing extensive experience across the food, beverage and dietary supplement sectors in the US and Europe. His appointment comes as food and beverage manufacturers continue to explore alternatives to conventional sugar and high-intensity sweeteners, driven by consumer demand for lower-sugar products as well as regulatory and nutritional pressures. Amai says its lead ingredient, Sweelin, can enable up to 70% sugar reduction in food and beverage formulations while aiming to maintain taste, cost and sustainability performance. Brown joins Amai from Sirio Pharma and Best Formulations, where he most recently served as chief commercial officer and head of global account management. He previously held the position of chief commercial officer at UK-based Clasado Biosciences and headed business development for Nutritional Lipids at DSM Nutritional Products in Switzerland. His career spans multinational businesses and scale-up companies, giving him experience across commercial development, business-to-business relationships and international market expansion. Brown said his immediate focus would be helping Amai move into its next phase of growth, describing Sweelin as well positioned for what he called the “GLP-1/peptide era”. Amai's Sweelin is a monellin-based sweet protein inspired by the serendipity berry. The company says it is approximately 3,000 times sweeter than sugar by weight. The ingredient is produced using precision fermentation, a technology increasingly being explored by food-tech companies as a means of producing proteins and other functional ingredients at commercial scale. Unlike traditional sugar-reduction approaches that can require blends of sweeteners, bulking agents or taste-masking technologies, Amai is positioning Sweelin as a protein-based alternative designed to deliver sweetness at very low inclusion levels. The company says the ingredient has been developed for stability, affordability and compatibility with industrial food processing. Potential applications include beverages, confectionery, chewing gum, condiments and dietary supplements. Amai's latest leadership move signals a shift towards commercial scale-up following a period of development and strategic refocusing. The company thanked outgoing CEO Dr Amir Guttman for leading the business through that period. Guttman will remain involved as an executive board member.

Jose Cuervo is expanding its ready-to-drink (RTD) offering in the UK with the launch of new Sparkling Margarita cans, as demand for convenient cocktail formats continues to grow. The 250ml single-serve cans combine Jose Cuervo tequila with citrus flavours and a light carbonation, delivering a pre-mixed Margarita at 4.5% ABV. The new product will be available in the UK from September, with an RRP of £2.55 per can. It will initially launch through WHSmith and independent off-licences. The launch comes as the Margarita gains momentum within the UK drinks market. According to NielsenIQ data for the 52 weeks ending 12 July 2025, demand for ready-made Margarita drinks increased by more than 150% year on year, according to Jose Cuervo. The cans are designed to be served chilled directly from the fridge or poured over ice, making them suitable for occasions including festivals, social gatherings, picnics and informal at-home drinking. The product is also suitable for vegetarian and vegan consumers. The launch comes as tequila continues to gain ground within the spirits category, while RTDs provide brands with an opportunity to broaden consumption beyond traditional at-home cocktail preparation or on-trade serves. The launch extends Jose Cuervo's presence beyond traditional tequila and Margarita mix products into the fast-moving RTD segment. The brand, which traces its history back to 1795, is part of Proximo Spirits' portfolio, alongside brands including Bushmills Irish Whiskey, The Kraken Black Spiced and 1800 Tequila.

Kellogg’s is to extend financial and agronomic support for British wheat farmers through a new five-year regenerative agriculture programme covering 100% of its UK wheat supply on a mass-balance basis. The programme will see Kellogg’s work with agricultural specialist Soil Capital and 25 wheat growers farming almost 4,000 hectares across the UK. Kellogg’s sources more than 20,000 tonnes of British wheat annually for use in its cereal portfolio, including Special K. The new initiative is intended to encourage the adoption of farming practices focused on soil health, water management and biodiversity, while improving the resilience of the company's agricultural supply chain. Under the partnership, participating growers will receive guidance and financial incentives to adopt regenerative farming practices. Soil Capital and Kellogg’s will also provide access to digital tools combining field data, soil measurements and satellite monitoring. The intention is to give farmers a clearer picture of how changes in farming practices are affecting selected indicators over time, while providing a commercial incentive for making those changes. Kellogg’s says agriculture accounts for approximately two-thirds of its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, putting farming practices and agricultural sourcing at the centre of its efforts to reduce value-chain emissions. The company says investment in on-farm practices will contribute to emissions reductions within its agricultural supply chain while supporting farmers in adopting more sustainable production methods. Initial data from the 2025 harvest suggests participating farmers are already increasing adoption of some regenerative practices. Direct drilling, the process of establishing crops with minimal soil disturbance, rose by 13.84% across the participating farms' total cultivated area. On the wheat area specifically, adoption increased by 56.06%. The programme's participants have also reported benefits from changing input and soil-management practices. West Oxfordshire wheat farmer Nick August said the financial support had helped him assess changes suited to the particular conditions of his farm, while making improvements more commercially viable. For Kellogg’s, the approach reflects an attempt to balance environmental objectives with the practical realities facing farmers, rather than imposing a uniform production model across its supply base. The partnership comes as UK farmers contend with increasingly unpredictable weather alongside pressure to maintain productivity and manage input costs. That combination presents a challenge for food manufacturers reliant on domestic agricultural commodities. Disruptions to yields, soil degradation and weather-related volatility can ultimately translate into greater procurement risks and costs further along the supply chain. Kellogg’s has worked with UK wheat growers for more than a decade. The latest initiative builds on that relationship by linking procurement with measurable on-farm practices. Dean O'Brien, UK General Manager at Kellogg’s, said supporting growers to improve the resilience of their farms was particularly important given the challenges facing British agriculture. The company has also highlighted the connection between domestic farming and its manufacturing operations. At its Wrexham factory, around two million bowls of Special K are produced every hour, with UK wheat forming part of the cereal's supply chain. The partnership with Soil Capital reflects a wider shift in corporate sustainability programmes from commitments and targets towards mechanisms designed to change farming practices at field level. Chuck de Liedekerke, CEO and co-founder of Soil Capital, said the organisation's role was to combine agronomic insight and measurement with financial incentives for farmers. Kellogg’s says progress under the programme will be monitored through agreed data and indicators, with its climate-related objectives informing the approach.

The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) has commissioned a new production line for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pints at its factory in Heppenheim, Germany, as part of an ongoing €30 million expansion programme. The investment brings additional European manufacturing capacity closer to consumers and aims to ‘support the next chapter of Ben & Jerry’s growth as an integral part of the TMICC portfolio’. Heppenheim is the largest factory in TMICC’s European network, spanning 100,000 square metres. The company said the new pint line reflects growing demand for the brand in Europe and will see the site working alongside other existing Ben & Jerry’s ice cream production hubs in Europe including Hellendoorn, Netherlands, and Gloucester, UK. TMICC’s Heppenheim site serves as a key manufacturing and distribution hub for domestic and neighbouring European markets. Alongside the new Ben & Jerry’s line, other local investments include logistics, cold warehousing and energy infrastructure upgrades. Nikolaus Huber, general manager DACH at TMICC, said: “Our team in Heppenheim has been making ice cream for 66 years. This expertise, combined with the site's central location in Europe, made Heppenheim the natural choice for expanding Ben & Jerry’s production for the European market.” He added: “Producing premium pints with large chunks and swirls is technically demanding and building this capability at Heppenheim strengthens our ability to bring innovative products to consumers across Europe in the years ahead”. Ben & Jerry’s has reported growth through ‘new flavours, formats and consumption occasions’ in Germany, with around 40% of sales in the country occurring through the winter months. The ice cream brand, founded in the US in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, is known for its premium ice cream range with swirls and inclusions, and its social activism work. It was acquired by Unilever in 2000 and is now under the portfolio of TMICC, Unilever’s demerged ice cream unit, which now operates as a standalone business. The brand has been involved in an ongoing legal dispute with parent companies Unilever and TMICC in recent years, regarding its governance and the social mission commitments that were made as part of the $326 million acquisition in 2000. Co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned from Ben & Jerry's in 2025 amid escalating tensions between Unilever and the brand's two co-founders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced its new Orbitrap Isora Mass Spectrometer and Orbitrap Isora Pro Mass Spectrometer, the company’s first Orbitrap instruments with a dedicated isotope ratio analysis mode. Together with the company’s Vanquish Duo UHPLC System and new Isotope Discoverer Software, the instruments form an integrated workflow designed to make molecular-level isotope ratio analysis accessible to more laboratories and researchers worldwide. Isotope ratio analysis helps researchers across food authenticity, as well as environmental science and other disciplines, determine a compound’s origin and the molecular processes that shaped it. These insights can help researchers confirm food and beverage authenticity, trace the source of contaminants more effectively, or understand how the body uses nutrients at the molecular level. Thermo Fisher noted that access to these insights has largely been limited to specialised isotope laboratories until now. While traditional isotope ratio techniques require samples to be converted to a simple gas, the Orbitrap Isora workflow measures isotope ratios directly at the molecular level. This provides a more detailed picture of a sample’s history, Thermo Fisher said. Meanwhile, the workflow simplifies an analysis that traditionally requires multiple script-based tools and complex manual data processing. According to the company, Orbitrap Isora delivers results in ‘hours instead of days’ and makes isotope analysis more practical for a broader range of laboratories. In food and beverage manufacturing, the technology can help to distinguish synthetic ingredients from natural ones and help confirm whether a product matches its label, detecting adulteration before it becomes a recall. The workflow includes the Orbitrap Isora MS and Orbitrap Isora Pro MS, which combine electrospray ionisation (with high-resolution accurate-mass (HRAM) detection to measure isotopologues and isotope ratios directly from intact molecular ions. The instruments capture multiple isotopes in a single run and offer researchers different levels of analytical capability, with up to 240K maximum resolution (at m/z 200) on Orbitrap Isora MS and up to 480K maximum resolution (at m/z 200) on Orbitrap Isora Pro MS. It also includes the Vanquish Duo UHPLC System, which automates the introduction of samples and reference materials using known standards to help ensure accurate, reliable isotope ratio measurements. Finally, the Isotope Discoverer Software turns the resulting isotope data into usable results by extracting isotope ratios, filtering data and applying corrections. Dieter Hofmann, VP and general manager of Applied Analytical Technologies at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said: “Isotope ratio analysis can answer questions few other techniques can address”. “By bringing these capabilities to a familiar Orbitrap platform and simplifying what has traditionally been a highly specialised workflow, we can put powerful isotope insights in the hands of more scientists and help accelerate discoveries across human health, the environment and our planet.”

New York Bakery has launched a range of three Stuffed Pizza Bagels into Tesco, marking the brand's first move into the frozen category. The products arrived in 497 stores nationwide on 8 September 2026. New York Bakery is part of Grupo Bimbo UK, the UK arm of one of the world's largest bakery businesses, with the range being developed through a licensing partnership with Food Brands Now (FBN). The bagels are being released in three variants, which each take their names from neighbourhoods in Manhattan: Little Italy Margherita, Brooklyn Deli Ham & Mozzarella, and Manhattan Pepperoni Melt. New York Bakery bagels are made by boiling and then stone baking, a process the brand says produces the characteristic texture of its products (chewy exterior, soft interior). The pizza bagels apply that same base format to a stuffed, frozen product designed for meal and snacking occasions. Stephen Jones, UK sales director at Grupo Bimbo UK, which holds the New York Bakery brand, said the move into frozen was intended to introduce the brand to new eating occasions while "continuing to innovate and drive excitement around the wider bagel category." Oliver Gilding, sales & licensing director at Food Brands Now, said: "Our ambition was to create a range that remained true to the brand's New York heritage whilst delivering something genuinely innovative for the frozen aisle." The launch retail price is £3.50, with a Tesco Clubcard promotional price of £2.75 running until 28 September 2026.

UK meat-free brand Quorn has introduced a new frozen food offering as part of its Takeaway range, Hot & Spicy Bites, launching into retail this month. The bites are described as ‘packing a fiery punch and satisfying crunch,’ designed for recreating takeaway occasions at home with minimal effort. Ready within ten minutes in the air fryer, the bites are described as high-protein and offering a good source of fibre while being low in saturated fat. Hot & Spicy Bites launch in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose in September, followed by Morrisons in October. The launch is accompanied by a new look for the Takeaway packaging, featuring bold and ‘foodie-focused’ branding across the portfolio – which also includes Quorn Crunchy Fillet Burgers, Quarter Pounders and Salt & Pepper Tenders. Lucy Grogut, marketing director at Quorn Foods, said: “Quorn continues to grow ahead of market, seeing particularly strong growth in frozen meal centres, with our delicious Takeaway range driving that success”. “Hot & Spicy Bites will be the first innovation to launch in the new look, filling a fiery gap in frozen meat-free and delivering the triple win shoppers are looking for: big flavour, convenience and better-for-you credentials – plus all the satisfaction of a takeaway.” In addition to the new launch, Quorn has extended its No Artificial Ingredients range with the addition of Quorn Chilled Pieces. The pieces are now made from just three ingredients and with no artificial additives, catering to clean-label demand. This follows the addition of Quorn Chilled Mince earlier this year, and expands the clean-label range to seven frozen and chilled SKUs. Grogut commented: “The response to our No Artificial Ingredients frozen range demonstrates that clear ingredients, strong nutritional cues and convenience resonate with shoppers”. “Bringing Quorn Pieces into chilled gives retailers another familiar and versatile product that answers demand for quick, nutritious meal solutions. It also gives shoppers more choice across the store and creates a further opportunity to recruit consumers into meat-free.”

UK supermarket Tesco has restricted the use of 114 additives across its own-label range as the company steps up efforts to respond to growing consumer concern around ultra-processed foods (UPFs). The move represents a significant expansion of the retailer’s existing additive policy, with the number of restricted additives rising from 65 last year. Tesco said the issue of UPFs had become “much more than just a trend” and that it wanted to work with consumers and suppliers to address growing health concerns while continuing to prioritise food safety, quality and affordability. Alice Ritchie, head of healthy and sustainable diets at Tesco, said: "We’re working hard to reformulate our products to make them healthier and more nutritious and we provide clear guidance to our Own Brand suppliers on the use of additives. As part of this, we have restricted the use of 114 additives in our Own Brand products.” Tesco said the 114 additives covered by its policy include ingredients that are either banned outright from its own-label products or subject to additional restrictions, innovation requirements and supplier engagement. Examples of additives Tesco said are banned outright include artificial colours, aspartame and monosodium glutamate (MSG). The retailer stressed, however, that its approach is not focused solely on removing additives. Its own-label suppliers are required to use additives only where they are considered necessary for food safety, shelf life or quality, and then at the minimum amount required. The expansion of the policy forms part of a broader reformulation programme that Tesco said has been under way since 2018. The retailer also said it was increasing transparency around UPFs in response to customer demand for simpler, more recognisable ingredients on packaging. Tesco said it would continue to monitor scientific evidence, industry best practice and policy developments as the debate around UPFs evolves. The supermarket has also introduced a dietary and lifestyle filter on its online platform, allowing customers to identify products without additives. The move comes as food manufacturers and retailers face increasing scrutiny over the role of processing, additives and formulation in consumers’ diets. Tesco said its strategy remained aligned with the Eatwell Guide and its support for healthier diets lower in foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). At the same time, it said it remained committed to making whole-food choices, including fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans and pulses, affordable and accessible to consumers. The retailer added that its work would continue to focus on making healthier choices “simple and accessible”, rather than relying solely on the removal of individual ingredients.

A Bunge-owned oilseed processing facility in Dnipro, Ukraine, has been damaged in a Russian attack, Reuters reported. The facility was struck on 10 September, according to local officials. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrij Sybiha, said in a statement: "Russia once again struck a civilian sunflower oil production facility in Dnipro, owned by the American agribusiness giant Bunge. At least two people were killed, and the plant sustained serious damage." Speaking to Reuters, a Bunge spokesperson said: “As a result of the morning attacks in Dnipro on September 10, a section of our Dnipro facility was impacted. No employees were injured. We will continue to monitor and assess the situation.” The incident is the latest in a series of attacks affecting Ukraine’s oilseed processing and vegetable oil infrastructure. It is the second time the Bunge facility has been caught up in the violence, according to the reporting. Ukraine plays a major role in the global sunflower oil market. Prior to the war, the country was the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil, shipping between 5 million and 6 million tonnes annually. The Dnipro facility is one of Ukraine’s five largest oilseed processing plants, with capacity to process approximately 1,600 tonnes of oilseeds per day.

The European Commission has this week unveiled its Communication on a new Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation for agriculture, forestry, rural areas and food systems. Published on 8 September, the document brings together two closely related frameworks to guide future research, innovation, deployment and uptake across the agri-food sector. It aims to strengthen the innovation ecosystem across agri-food with an emphasis on stakeholders’ challenges and needs, and on the delivery of on-the-ground impact through collaborative initiatives between end users, researchers and businesses. The strategy also aims to support start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs in bringing new innovations to market and moving faster from lab-scale to commercial deployment. The two frameworks are AgRI 2040, focusing on agriculture, forestry and rural areas, and Food 2040, covering food systems including fisheries and aquaculture. Six areas of action have been identified within the Food 2040 framework: place-based food systems; healthy and sustainable diets; resource efficiency and zero pollution in food systems; food environments and consumer empowerment; scaling innovations, business models and fair food systems solutions; and aquatic food. The frameworks are guided by six shared priorities: competitiveness, start-ups and scale-ups; food security, resilience and preparedness; natural resources and circularity; food and feed safety, nutrition and health; fairness; and global cooperation. Governance, technologies, and territories and communities are identified as common enablers. EU food security and resilience is emphasised significantly throughout the food systems strategy. It emphasises the need to reduce dependencies on imports and fill in vulnerability gaps by strengthening domestic production of certain ingredients, such as vitamins, amino acids and enzymes. The approach highlights the need to diversify protein supply, and mentions advanced fermentation technologies, using organisms like yeasts, algae and bacteria, as a key area targeted for investment. It calls for greater investment into open-access biomanufacturing infrastructure, as well as into technological solutions that can further support scale-up, such as AI and automation. The strategy states that more financial support is required to help start-ups in this space overcome the ‘second valley of death,’ where companies struggle to move their innovations into industrial scale-up phase due to lack of capacity and infrastructure. Additionally, it proposes a more integrated approach to research and innovation across nutrition, health and food safety, highlighting microbiome science as a promising area of focus, while food chain integrity is flagged as a priority with regards to ensuring traceability and transparency, and preventing/detecting food fraud. The focus on food environment proposes research into the environments that shape consumer eating behaviours, including food availability, affordability, accessibility, labelling, packaging, and the transport, distribution and marketing of food, as well as the role of social media in influencing consumer perceptions of food. Meanwhile, resource efficiency, food waste and reducing pollution are highlighted as key components of food chain sustainability amid ongoing efforts to decouple food production from fossil fuels. This emphasis spans across areas such as decarbonising food processing, reducing reliance on petrochemical-based packaging and protecting biodiversity. To strengthen farmers’ position in the value chain, the food systems strategy addresses support for fair distribution across food systems with benefits for farmers and rural communities. It emphasises on-farm and local food processing and improved governance of rural food systems while reinforcing urban-rural linkages, as well as investment into digitalisation and decarbonisation initiatives and EU quality schemes, including organic production and geographical indications. Christophe Hansen, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, said: “Research and innovation can make a real difference to how we farm and manage our rural areas: from crops that can better withstand drought and extreme temperatures, to faster ways of detecting plant diseases, more sustainable crop protection and digital tools for smarter use of resources like water”. “Our task is to make sure these ideas do not stay in the laboratory, but are tested, adapted to local conditions and turned into practical solutions that can be used and scaled up. In this way, research can have a real impact on the ground, helping farmers and foresters respond to new challenges and build a more competitive, resilient and sustainable agri-food sector.” Further efforts will be discussed at the EU AgRI 2040 Conference, taking place in Brussels on 24-25 September. Hansen will open the conference, which brings together key stakeholders from across the agri-food and research community to contribute to shaping future priorities. Alternative protein industry non-profit The Good Food Institute welcomed the strategy’s ‘promising’ references to diversifying protein supply and scaling up fermentation capacity. However, it called for more ‘concrete’ commitment to funding the alt-protein research needed to achieve the aims set out in the strategy, which is expected to guide food research financing decisions under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme from 2028-2034. In particular, GFI noted that the strategy falls short of including renewed support for dedicated research pathways to improve the taste, texture and price of plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-derived foods – despite an accompanying evidence review of the current Food 2030 agenda that acknowledged the success of such research. Alessandro Gardino, policy officer at GFI Europe, said: “While it’s great to see a renewed focus on scaling up Europe’s fermentation manufacturing capacity, the lack of dedicated research to improve the taste and price of alternative proteins is a missed opportunity, particularly as the Commission has acknowledged their benefits in its own evidence review”. “Europe’s alternative protein researchers also need support to address the remaining scientific challenges around taste, texture and price, so these foods can help to realise the EU’s ambitions for a more resilient, sustainable and healthy food system.”

Rancho La Gloria is tapping into two of the season’s biggest drinks trends with the launch of a limited-edition Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini. The 14.9% ABV ready-to-drink cocktail combines espresso and coffee flavours with pumpkin spice in an agave wine-based format, bringing together the familiar autumnal flavour profile with the growing popularity of the espresso martini. Available in Rancho La Gloria’s signature 1.5-litre party-size bottle, the seasonal product is designed for occasions including holiday entertaining. The brand says the ready-to-pour format is intended to simplify serving espresso martinis for groups. Ashley Akolade, brand director at Rancho La Gloria, said: “Every fall, America loses its mind over pumpkin spice. We figured it deserved a martini. Our Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini is essentially the Pumpkin Spice Latte’s fun older sister – rich, indulgent, 14.9% ABV and ready for a party.” The launch brings together the pumpkin spice flavour trend and espresso martini occasion in a single RTD product. Its flavour profile is built around bold coffee and espresso notes alongside warming pumpkin spice, with the brand positioning the drink as a decadent option for autumn and post-dinner occasions. The 1.5-litre format also differentiates the product from single-serve RTD cocktails, with Rancho La Gloria targeting consumers looking for a convenient option when entertaining a group. The Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini joins the brand’s wider portfolio of ready-to-drink cocktails in bottled and canned formats. Rancho La Gloria describes itself as the original creator of an agave wine-based margarita and has subsequently expanded into premium RTD cocktails. The seasonal product is available for a limited time at select retailers nationwide in the US, while supplies last, with an MSRP of $15.99.

Lesaffre subsidiary LIS by Lesaffre is investing in new drying capacity and processing technology at its Strasbourg facility in France. The company, which specialises in drying services for ingredient manufacturers, has integrated the Lesaffre Culinary Strasbourg facility into its operations and installed new fluidised-bed drying equipment. The investment adds to LIS by Lesaffre’s existing drying infrastructure and is designed to give the business greater flexibility in serving both internal and external customers. LIS has more than 60 years’ experience in spray drying and provides processing services for food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients. Its capabilities range from laboratory-scale product development and testing through to industrial production, alongside services including liquid formulation, powder blending and contract packaging. The integration of the Strasbourg site expands LIS by Lesaffre’s geographic reach in Europe while bringing additional drying capacity into its network. Existing equipment at the facility includes a box dryer with a capacity of approximately 4,000 tonnes per year. Alongside the additional capacity, LIS has invested in a new fluidised-bed (FB) system, which the company describes as multifunctional technology capable of supporting several powder-processing applications. These include intensive granulation to improve powder dispersibility, flowability and compressibility; coating to protect active ingredients; co-drying to enable precise dosing of a compound onto a carrier; and over-drying to adjust moisture content. Franck Auger, general manager of LIS by Lesaffre, said: “These investments not only enable us to expand our production capacity, but above all to gain unique technological agility." Auger added that the expanded capabilities would allow the company to offer a broader range of services and customised solutions for innovative applications and support its entry into new markets. The Strasbourg investment comes as LIS positions itself to serve a wider range of ingredient-processing requirements. The company operates production sites in France and Poland and describes itself as a European partner for drying services across the human and animal food, nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets. LIS is part of Lesaffre, the global fermentation specialist, which reports €3.2 billion in revenue and employs 11,700 people across its operations worldwide.