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Meanwhile, the French government has asked Danone and other French companies to cut their prices on consumer goods, according to Reuters. Like most other countries, consumers are seeing higher prices in the supermarkets in France, although ironically, British retailers have quickly gone back to their ways of involving milk in their price wars, Farmers Guardian reported in a recent blog by Liz Haines, a dairy farmer in the UK. (www.farmersguardian.com) 

That being said, optimism is the long term outlook, as more people continue to consume dairy. An Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) Export conference last week discussed the increasing demand for meat and dairy worldwide. Global fresh dairy production consumption is expected to increase by 2.53% to 2024, according to the OECD, and the UK government has added £2 million to the pot for global trade shows and missions, along with a £1 million bespoke export support fund for the UK dairy sector, which was announced in the government’s “Farm to Fork Summit” recently, Nicholas Saphir, AHDB chair noted. AHDB for its part has unveiled Beyond Borders, a strategy for delivering enhanced services for the agricultural sectors for international trading. (www.ahdb.org.uk) 

As they say in sports, it’s all to play for. 

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• Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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In Singapore, Carbery marked the official opening of the new Carbery Group Asia Business and Innovation Centre. This event also coincided with the Carbery team celebrating the tenth anniversary of the opening of its Synergy flavours manufacturing site in Thailand. 

Group chairman Cormac O’Keeffe and chief executive Jason Hawkins travelled to the region this week to mark the two important occasions and to celebrate with local teams in Thailand and Singapore. 

Speaking on the significance of the trip, CEO Jason Hawkins said: “Ten years ago we made an important strategic commitment to expanding our business and better serving our customers in South East Asia with the opening of our premises in Bangkok. The team and our business has gone from strength to strength in those ten years and we are delighted to mark this occasion with the team. The decision to expand our footprint in the region with a business and innovation centre in Singapore is a natural extension of that success.” 

Carbery chairman Cormac O’Keeffe noted, “Any expansion of our business is a good news day for Carbery and for our farmer shareholders. I want to thank them for their support as we continue to expand and diversify our business model and seek new customers in new markets. Asia is a key growth area on both the dairy and flavours sides of our business, and we look forward to the new opportunities our presence in Singapore will bring.” 

Sebastiano Pagano, CEO of Synergy Europe and Asia, and Gordon Eng, head of business development & strategy, Asia, will be based in the Singapore office. Pagano said, “The objective of opening in Singapore is to fully take advantage of the strong, established and available ecosystems and networks to enable growth across the wider region. This in turn will allow Carbery Group to foster stronger collaboration with industry partners, start-ups, universities and research institutes, and with strategic key customers.” 

The official opening of the Innovation and Business Centre in Singapore was carried out by Her Excellency Sarah McGrath, Irish Ambassador to Singapore, with Eng. Carbery Chairman O’Keeffe, CEO Hawkins and Ciarán Gallagher and Patrick Lim from Bord Bia were also in attendance. 

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Ornua delivered a brand premium and bonuses paid to member co-operatives with a €72.5 million value payment. There has been €2.3 billion Irish dairy products purchased (387,000MT), with €555 million in working capital facilities provided to member co-operatives. Expansion of Kerrygold Park is underway, which will see the production volume double at the facility, responding to growing demand in global markets. The output amounted 16,500 containers of Irish dairy ingredients sold and shipped globally last year.

John Jordan, CEO, Ornua said: “Ornua continued to build on its strong and consistent growth trajectory, delivering a robust performance in what was a uniquely challenging year with factors such as rising inflation impacting the entire supply chain. Ornua responded to these shifting market dynamics by remaining focused on our strategy and committed in our efforts to deliver for customers, consumers and our member co-operatives. This is reflected in the exceptional sales performance, underpinned by the hard work and commitment of our 3,000-strong global team.

“We are very optimistic for the future of our brands and our business, supported by a newly-remodelled five-year strategy, focused on addressing emerging challenges and opportunities to drive sustainable growth in key markets, ensuring we continue to deliver value for our Member Co-operatives and the 14,000 Irish dairy farming families we represent.”

Looking at the year ahead, it is expected that Irish dairy supply will be modestly ahead of 2022. Milk supplies are currently ahead of demand, but markets are likely to stabilise in the coming months. Volatility looks set to continue in the areas of energy and input prices however, and an uncertain global economic forecast, and its potential impact on consumer spending, will also present challenges.

Persistent challenges around rising input costs, inflationary pressures, and supply chain issues, as well as macroeconomic factors such as geopolitical uncertainty and climate change continue to cause market disruption. In late 2022, the Ornua board of directors approved a new five-year strategic plan for the business, Path to Prosper, which will now guide Ornua to 2027, the firm says. It aims to stimulate continued sustainable growth for Ornua, building on the consistent progress and success achieved by the business in the last number of years, while responding to new and emerging opportunities and challenges.

The post Ornua turnover up 36.7% to €3.4 billion appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

“As we marked Kerry’s 50th year in 2022, we achieved record organic revenue growth against the backdrop of an exceptionally dynamic operating environment. I am proud of the broad-based volume growth we delivered across our end use markets, channels, regions and emerging markets despite the macroeconomic conditions,” says Edmond Scanlon, CEO of Kerry. “Our teams worked closely with our customers to actively manage through the inflationary environment, while continuing to innovate and develop their offerings to meet evolving marketplace needs.

“We completed a number of acquisitions aligned to our strategic priorities of taste, nutrition and emerging markets, and since year-end we announced the potential sale of our sweet ingredients portfolio, as we continue to enhance and refine our business to areas where we can add most value.

While recognising the current market uncertainty, we believe we are strongly positioned to continue to grow our business through this period. In 2023, we expect to achieve 3% to 7% adjusted earnings per share growth on a constant currency basis, before the dilution from the potential sale of the sweet ingredients portfolio.”

Group EBITDA increased by 12.9% to €1.2 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 13.9% (2021: 14.7%), as the dilution from the impact of passing through input cost inflation was partially offset by accretion from portfolio developments, operating leverage, mix and efficiency initiatives.

Constant currency adjusted earnings per share increased by 7.3% to 440.6 cent (2021: 12.1% increase). Basic earnings per share was 341.9 cent (2021: 430.6 cent) as the prior year included a credit from the sale of the Consumer Foods Meats and Meals business.

Research and development expenditure amounted to €303m (2021: €297m) and net capital expenditure was €217m (2021: €315m) as the group continued to invest in its strategic priorities.

Good progress was made in the year against the Beyond the Horizon sustainability strategy and commitments. Kerry increased its nutritional reach to 1.2 billion consumers globally. The group achieved a 48% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions, while strong progress was made in reducing food waste in Kerry’s operations by 32%, the company says.

“The overall demand environment remained robust through the year despite the macroeconomic backdrop. Consumers continued to seek new taste experiences, cleaner labels and added functional benefits through food and beverages. The cost-of-living crisis has resulted in many consumers looking for relative value options to meet their purchase preferences, depending on their available resources,” the firm noted in its summary.

“Customers continued to prioritise the resiliency of their supply chains through this period of inflationary pressure. Innovation has become increasingly more targeted, as they seek to meet various consumer preferences within different price ranges. Customers are working with and looking for supplier partners to support them in addressing these current market challenges and opportunities, as they navigate through this dynamic operating environment.”

At the outset of 2023, while market conditions are currently uncertain, Kerry remains strongly positioned for growth ahead of its markets, it says. The group will continue to manage input cost fluctuations with its well-established pricing model. Kerry will continue to invest capital aligned to its strategic priorities and strategically evolve its portfolio.

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Founded in 2017, Lyras was built on three years of research into sustainable pasteurisation processes and the development of its Raslysation technology alongside public health experts, academics and figures in the dairy and juice industries.

Raslysation is a non-thermal treatment that uses UV light at a specific wavelength to pasteurise opaque liquid food and non-food products, including dairy, juice and enzymes. The liquid is directed past the light source in a controlled movement so that everything is illuminated to inactivate bacteria and other microorganisms.

Lyras’ approach reduces energy use by 60-90% and water use by 60-80% while reducing operational costs and heightening product quality when compared to traditional techniques which require the product to be heated and cooled again.

By creating its Raslysation technology and bringing it to market, Lyras is enabling the processing industry to achieve a reduction in the usage of energy and water in the pasteurisation process, and ultimately accelerate the global reduction of CO2 emissions created by the industry.

Lyras recognises the UK and Ireland as leaders in the liquid food production market, particularly for dairy products, and the importance of the food industry reducing its carbon footprint.

Rasmus Mortensen, CEO at Lyras said: “For the past 150 years, pasteurisation has been a process focused on heat. At Lyras, we have invented a technology that uses light to remove pathogens from liquid products. This is a much gentler approach to processing opaque liquid products, which not only maintains standards but enhances the quality of the product at the end of the process by causing less impact to the nutrients and taste.

“Lyras is quite literally shining a light on an industry that has been a source of high levels of water and consumption, as well as a significant producer of CO2. Our goal is to support the processing industry to reduce energy and water consumption and usage, and ultimately create a better, more sustainable way to produce products that millions of people use and consume every day. This is especially important during the energy crisis, plus an increased focus on the shelf life of food products.

“Bringing our innovative technology to the UK and Irish markets is a significant step forward, and we’re excited to see the positive impact that we can have to improve the sustainability and quality of liquid products being produced here.”

Lyras’ core systems, the Raslysation Sirius and the Raslysation Spica, are both easily installed solutions that are scaled and customised to industry specifications. The Sirius system operates using specially designed light filters to treat bacteria and spores in light-sensitive food and non-food liquids such as dairy products, wine and juice. The system saves enough CO2 to travel around the world by car 164 times. The Spica system operates on the same principles as the Sirius but is designed to treat low transparency liquids that are not light-sensitive, including tap water, brine and non-food liquids.

Lyras’ technology has already been sold to companies in the US, Australia, Spain, Sweden and Denmark that operate within the dairy, juice and industrial fermentation industries. In the spring, the method was chosen to secure one of the world’s most expensive dairy products, namely the protein lactoferrin, which is used, among other things, in infant formula. Its team of 68 is based in North Jutland, Denmark and recently won the EY Future Impact Award 2021.

For more information, visit lyras.com

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DCI signed a royalty-bearing commercial license agreement with EnWave in September 2020, granting it processing rights for a portfolio of natural, sweet and savoury, shelf-stable, hand-held dairy snacks. To facilitate initial REV processing, DCI forged a commercial relationship with MTL, a leading provider of commercial pilot plant and research services for customers in the food industry. DCI and MTL have collaborated to combine leading technology with food innovation strategy to launch new and exciting dairy-based products to the market in Europe.

MTL previously purchased a 10kW REV machine from EnWave in September 2019, and this machine has been used commercially by DCI since September 2020. In March 2021, EnWave sold a second 10kW REV unit to DCI to expand its manufacturing capacity at MTL, and the addition of a third 10kW REV machine will continue to increase production capacity at the MTL facility.

DCI will use all three of the existing REV machines at MTL for the production of CheeseO’s and its premium specialty cheese brand Moorepark.

The post EnWave sells third 10kW REV Machine to Dairy Concepts IRL appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

As with so many other shows and conferences in recent times, the focus was on the future, with plant-based and sustainability recurrent themes throughout the day. Convenience has been the biggest driver of food innovation in the last 50 years, and alternative proteins are going to be the biggest driver for the next 50, we were told, which is why for Kerry, the spotlight has to be very much in this area. Its focus is to create and supply ingredients that improve the taste and texture of plant-based products, as it wants people to choose them for the taste, rather than because of environmental consciousness or health benefits. At the end of the day, food is more than a functional experience – it is emotional and people are never going to choose foods long term if they don’t bring some kind of joy.

In the ‘Discovery Lab’ – an adaptive space with whiteboards on the walls and a modular format that apparently allows it to be converted to mimic cafés, bars and kiosks depending on the client’s requirements – we were given tasters of the experimentations with ice cream. It merely teased us with dairy here as we were quickly informed that they were all plant-based and using pea protein to mimic the creamy and aerated texture of dairy ice cream.

Similar technologies were used in the three-course tasting menu we were treated to at lunchtime, created by in-house Michelin star chefs. The starter of a plant-based tortellini once again demonstrated an ability to replicate the taste and mouthfeel of dairy-based products, and the subsequent two courses showcased more of the ingredients including texturisers and natural flavourings.

Image: Kathryn Brand

The other topic of the day was food waste, or more specifically, plans to reduce it. With apparently 1,500 times the weight of Golden Gate Bridge of food wasted a year, Kerry is working improve the microbial, textural, and flavour shelf life of products, in line with the UN’s sustainable development goal to halve global food waste by 2030. Expect to see projects in this area from Kerry in the next couple of years as well.

• Kathryn Brand, editorial assistant, Bell Publishing
  Keep in touch via email: kathryn@bellpublishing.com
  Twitter: @dairyindustries or LinkedIn: Dairy Industries International magazine.

The post The case of Kerry appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

Some of the key results included:

• Excellent trading performance with Group turnover up 6.9% to €2.5 billion ($2.68bn).
• Kerrygold volume growth up 12%, with over 11 million packets of butter and cheese sold globally each week. 
• Group EBITDA* and Operating Profit* up 0.7% and 1.3% respectively. 

• Strong returns for Irish dairy farmers across 389,000MT of Irish product purchased, delivering an additional €78 million ($8.36m) Ornua Value Payment to member suppliers, up 13.5% year-on-year. 
• Ornua Ingredients doubled its footprint in the US market with the acquisition of Whitehall Specialties Inc, unlocking significant growth and innovation capacity. 
• Approval granted for a €40m ($4.28m) expansion of Kerrygold Park to meet the growing global demand for Kerrygold. 
• Bank facilities totalling €580m ($622m successfully refinanced until 2026, supporting Irish dairy industry growth.  
• Launched an ambitious five-year CSR & Sustainability strategy incorporating environmental, animal welfare, and community targets.

Commenting on the positive performance delivered in 2021, John Jordan, CEO, Ornua said: “Ornua maintained a strong, stable, and sustainable performance year-on-year, as we marked our 60th year in business. Despite persistent challenges, we are pleased to report a 6.9% increase in turnover and a 1.3% increase in operating profit* for 2021. This performance delivers on our commitment to maximise returns to our member co-operatives and the 14,000 farmers who supply them, with a 13.5% increase in our Ornua Value Payment in the year.

“It was another record year for Kerrygold, with volume growth up 12% on 2020. Kerrygold continues to be the fastest selling brand on supermarket shelves in Germany and is the no.2 butter brand in the US; a market serving 330 million consumers. Our Ingredients business also performed strongly as we completed the acquisition of US cheese ingredients business Whitehall Specialities Inc. The addition of these four facilities across Wisconsin and Pennsylvania unlocks substantial growth in both the US and in other markets as we enhance our innovation and manufacturing capabilities, as well as adding 450 new skilled professionals to our workforce.

“While challenges persist in 2022, we are commercially and strategically well-placed to manage their impact on our business and continue to return value to our member co-ops and the Irish farming families that they represent.

“We have been devastated by the tragic events that have unfolded in Ukraine these past months and recognise the plight of the Ukrainian people at this very difficult time. As a longstanding organisation with a global footprint, we acknowledge the impact of world events on our customers and the communities we serve and will continue to support all our stakeholders in navigating the knock-on effects of this terrible situation.”

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To submit a news item for inclusion, please contact Suzanne Christiansen at suzanne@bellpublishing.com or Alex Rivers at arivers@bellpublishing.com.

• New tethered caps, introduced by BBL in Ireland, Cido Grupa in the Baltics, LY Company Group and Lactalis Puleva in Spain and Weihenstephan in Germany, have been designed to prevent litter and accelerate transition to renewable materials.
• Olympia Dairy has become the first company in Belgium to fill products in SIG aseptic carton packs with SIGNATURE 100 packaging material with no aluminium layer.
• Elopak and GLS have entered into a long-term strategic partnership to deliver sustainable packaging solutions to consumers across India.
• OPENLab represents IMA’s network of cutting-edge technological laboratories and testing areas, dedicated to the research on sustainable materials, technologies and production optimisation processes.
• As children in Southeast Asia grow and shift to eating a varied diet, they tend to consume less dairy, according to a recent Mintel blog.

The post Roundup: Packaging appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

All three cheeses are made by the O’Doherty family at their award-winning Old Irish Creamery located in County Limerick on the west coast of Ireland. Produced using grass fed milk and delivering superb taste and texture the new Claddagh Bó range represents the very best in the cheesemaking tradition of the Emerald Isle, according to Somerdale. The importer also believes the colourful and distinctive packaging of the range will give any cheese fixture or cheeseboard real standout appeal and theatre and will be sure to tempt the discerning cheese lover.

Available all year round, the new extended Claddagh Bó range comprises:

Claddagh Bó Original Irish Cheddar – sealed in a distinctive tricolour wax, this 12 month aged Cheddar is a perfectly balanced creamy Cheddar which has a natural sweetness that complements its buttery texture. Available in: 1 x 5lb Wheel; 12 x 14oz Truckles and Pre-Pack 12 x 7oz packs.

Claddagh Bó Irish Whiskey Cheddar – is a rich and creamy Irish Cheddar laced and flavoured with single malt Irish Whiskey giving a distinctive, strong and bold flavour. Available in: 1 x 5lb Wheel.

Claddagh Bó Irish Porter Cheddar – is a creamy Irish Cheddar is covered in original Irish Porter stout giving both a deep flavour and beautiful marbled look to this stunning cheese which will be a must for any specialty cheese counter. Available in: 1 x 5lb Wheel.

Commenting on the launch of the new range, Alan Jenkins, director at Somerdale International said: “British and Irish specialty cheeses are growing in popularity in the States. As such, we are focused on providing our retail and food service customers with a comprehensive range of great tasting authentic cheeses that will tempt and tantalise the tastebuds and provide real standout appeal on the cheese counter or as part of a menu. Our new extended range of Claddagh Bó Irish cheeses will deliver the taste, texture and demonstrable provenance that American cheese lovers are looking for not just around St Patrick’s Day but now all year round.”

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Julia Luscher, vice president, Marketing, Tetra Pak, comments: “We are delighted to be supplying a number of customers with tethered cap solutions, helping them to ‘walk the talk’ towards their sustainability ambitions. Understanding our customers’ needs and having collected consumer insights through multiple pieces of research across various markets, our new tethered caps have been designed to enhance convenience. For instance, they are easy to open and re-close for subsequent consumption, while featuring carefully sized diameters for smooth pouring and drinking.”

Tethered caps play an important role in preventing litter, as the cap will stay attached to the package. They could also help reduce the carbon footprint of the carton when they are chosen by food manufacturers as plant-based options, made from polymers derived from responsibly sourced sugarcane, thereby increasing the renewable content of the package. Additionally, a majority of Tetra Pak’s tethered cap portfolio features a reduced amount of plastic. Depending on the various solutions, the company achieved a plastic content reduction ranging between 7% and 15%.

Tetra Brik Aseptic carton with tethered caps. Image: Tetra Pak

Marco Marchetti, vice president, Packaging Materials, Sales and Distribution Solutions, Tetra Pak, adds: “Starting with these five new introductions, we are planning to equip approximately 300 packaging lines with tethered caps in Europe by the end of 2022. Considering the scale of change required across the value chain, early collaborations like these are putting the food and beverage industry on a fast track to accelerate the transition to a low carbon circular economy.”

• In May, Borrisoleigh Bottling Ltd (BBL) is set to start commercial production of the new plant-based C38 Pro tethered cap on Tetra Top 330 and Tetra Top 500 carton packages. Based in Ireland, BBL is an experienced and awarded water producer, who’s seeking ‘to lead the industry towards a more responsible and sustainable future’.
• The new HeliCap 26 Pro closure – on a Tetra Prisma Aseptic 1000 Square package – is being tested since February 2022 in the Baltics with Cido Grupa, who is leading the juice segment in that region since many years and exporting its products to over 20 countries across the globe.
• In Spain, LY Company Group – that is driving the growth of carton-packaged water in the country, with the mission of ‘reaching a turning point in which both society and companies are aware of the importance of choosing sustainable packaging for the conservation of the planet’ – will soon start commercial production of the new plant-based DreamCap 26 Pro closure on a Tetra Prisma^® Aseptic 330 Square package.
• In the same country, Lactalis Puleva – part of the Lactalis Group, a world leading dairy company – has chosen to test the new HeliCap 23 Pro closure. The cap, in its plant-based option, has been applied to Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Slim packages for the brand Lauki, on shelf since March this year.
• Weihenstephan, one of the oldest and most popular German dairy brands, will soon test the production of the new LightWing 30 closure, on a Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge carton.

The company has also heavily invested towards an improved manufacturing experience for customers. Tetra Pak’s new high quality, automated production lines for tethered caps utilise Artificial Intelligence technology for increased efficiency.

Marchetti concludes: “We are on a journey towards creating the world’s most sustainable food package, a carton that is fully made from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, is fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. We are ramping up investment in the development of alternative solutions across our packaging portfolio such as tethered caps and other drink-from systems, to reduce littering while increasing the renewable share of our cartons.”

“In total, we are investing around €400 million in the development and roll-out of tethered cap solutions, including a €100 million investment last year in our Châteaubriant plant in France to accelerate the production of tethered closures. By working seamlessly across multiple project streams and covering approximately 40 different packages with tethered caps, we expect to sell over 1.5 billion such closures by year end.”

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The new network consolidates food-systems expertise on the island of Ireland, bringing together key academic, industry and government stakeholders to realise a step-change in the sustainability, security and integrity of the food system.

The ‘All-Island Agri-Food Research Ecosystem Mapping Report’ was also launched at the event. The report is the first of its kind ever to be completed for the island of Ireland and maps the agri-food research ecosystem across the entire island for publicly funded research awarded between 2015 and 2020.

The world’s food systems are facing unprecedented challenges, with climate factors, increasing population size and geopolitical conflict threatening food security for all. This is compounded by the need to reach Net Zero greenhouse gas and carbon emissions by 2050.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Poots said: “At today’s event we have heard from eminent speakers who have been outlining the challenges and opportunities ahead as we strive to transform how food is produced and consumed and to enhance our global competitiveness and the reputation of our agri-food sectors.

“I fully recognise that science and innovation are key enablers of long-term economic productivity and growth and are also vital in underpinning environmental sustainability. I am confident that the science delivered by FOOD-I will rise to meet these challenges and create new opportunities for the agri-food sector – placing sustainability at the heart of a living, working landscape valued by everyone.”

Minister McConalogue added: “I welcome the FOOD-I initiative, which provides the unique opportunity to bring stakeholders from all over the island of Ireland together to support innovation and research capability and capacity, in order to implement change in the sustainability, security and integrity of our food systems.

“Both FOOD-I and (Irish Government strategy) Food Vision 2030 recognise the benefits and need for a collaborative food systems approach, encompassing economic, environmental and social sustainability. The FOOD-I initiative aims to consolidate food systems expertise and this, along with the initiative’s key aims and objectives, will greatly benefit the island of Ireland, as well as helping to inform the transformation of global food systems.”

FOOD-I is co-ordinated under a partnership between Queen’s, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Ulster University, Teagasc, UCD, UCC and NUI Galway. The network will provide evidence-based solutions for industry and government, develop disruptive new technologies and drive behaviour change among all actors along the foodchain in the shared island food system.

Co-Chair of FOOD-I, Professor Aedin Cassidy of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s said: “One of the biggest challenges facing humanity this century is to provide the growing world population with healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The climate crisis, Brexit, geopolitics – such as what’s happening in Ukraine – and the Covid-19 pandemic have all put pressure on an already creaking system.

“Transformation is urgently required and can only be achieved by an inter-disciplinary approach. Our broad and distinctive skill sets in food-systems research across Ireland place us in a unique position to address these challenges and develop evidence-based solutions that will showcase our world-leading research and have consequences for food systems internationally.”

Co-chair of FOOD-I, Professor of Plant Health in UCD and member of the G20 Global Wheat Initiative Scientific Board, Professor Fiona Doohan said: “We face unprecedented challenges to ensure the integrity and security of our food supply, on this island and globally. By working together, harnessing the world-class research skills and resources across the whole island, we can lead the world in providing innovative solutions to ensure the sustainability of agri-food systems.”

The ‘All-Island Agri-Food Research Ecosystem Mapping Report’ highlighted that agri-food is the largest indigenous industry on the island of Ireland but, year-on-year, public investment in agri-food research has declined annually since 2015, falling by 44 per cent in 2019 across the island.

The report recommended continuous public investment in agri-food research in all-island partnerships across the ‘whole food system,’ to ensure the sustainability of the region.

Delivering the keynote speech at the launch, Ireland’s Special Envoy for Food Systems and Chair of the EU Commission’s High Level Expert Group (to assess the need for an International Platform for Food Systems Science), Mr Tom Arnold said: “There is huge scope for enhanced all-island agri-food cooperation. Working more closely on an all-island basis provides significant opportunities to jointly contribute expertise to co-develop solutions to shared global challenges in food security impacting on the jobs of the future on the island.”

He continued: “The FOOD-I initiative will help to position the island as an international leader in sustainable food systems and in food and nutrition security.”

The post DAERA launches all-Ireland food security & sustainability initiative appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

Feeding a growing population while agricultural practices and dairy production are under environmental scrutiny is a huge challenge. Already one of the most carbon efficient dairy producers in the world, Kerry is committed to providing leadership in reaching science-based climate targets while ensuring the environmental, social and economic sustainability of farms, contributing to deliver a world of sustainable nutrition.

Commenting on the announcement, Pat Murphy, CEO of Kerry’s Dairy Business, said: “Consumers globally want to consume food in a more sustainable way and it is important to examine how we can deliver dairy in a better way for people and the planet. Our Beyond the Horizon sustainability strategy sets out ambitious targets and our dairy business is committed to supporting our milk suppliers in the adoption of sustainable actions. Our milk-suppliers are already amongst the most sustainable milk producers in the world and we will continue to work with them to build upon that advantage and accelerate the enhancement of bio-diversity and water-quality across our catchment and in reducing carbon and ammonia emissions. Our ambition is to reach over two billion people with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030. A central element of this strategy is a commitment to work with our suppliers to reduce emissions intensity by 30% across our supply chain. This dairy sustainability programme underpins our ambition to work with our milk suppliers in achieving these targets and in forging a sustainable future.”

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He joins Müller from Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) with more than 17 years of regional and local country marketing and strategic experience.

Prior to that he enjoyed a successful career at Kraft Foods and Mondelez where he worked on a stable of brands across the coffee, confectionery, biscuits and cheese categories.

Justin Cook, chief executive of Müller Yogurt & Desserts said, “Toby joins Müller at an exciting time as we look to create millions more Müller moments for our consumers.

“We intend to set the pace in the categories we serve, innovate to expand our reach and accelerate the development of our business, and I look forward to having him onboard.”

Michael Inpong, who held the post for 9 years, left the business at the end of 2021.

Justin commented, “We are grateful to Michael for his hard work, energy and commitment and we wish him all the best for the next chapter of his career.”

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The refinanced facility comprises of two distinct parts:

• €200 million committed syndicated Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”) to fund Ornua’s working capital requirements and its global growth strategy via strategic capital investment and acquisition
• €380 million committed syndicated Reverse Invoice Discounting Facility (“RID”) to fund the working capital requirements of Ornua’s member suppliers, Ireland’s dairy processors

In addition, a further €100 million is available, if required over the five-year period, under the facility (€50 million under the RCF and €50 million under the RID), by way of an uncommitted tranche of funding, which would bring the total RCF to €250 million and the total RID to €430 million.

The participant Banks are: Allied Irish Banks p.l.c (acting as RCF Agent), Bank of Ireland, Bank of America – Europe, HSBC Continental Europe (acting as RCF Sustainability Co-Ordinator), Rabobank Dublin (acting as RID Sustainability Co-Ordinator & Agent) and BayernLB.

Commenting on the refinancing, Donal Buggy, group finance director, Ornua said: “The successful refinancing ensures that Ornua retains access to the banking liquidity it needs to deliver strategic growth initiatives and strong product price returns for our members and Irish dairy farming families. Not only does the €580 million facility strengthen our capital structure, but it also provides increased working capital support to our members and ultimately the dairy community across Ireland. We are very pleased that the deal was again over-subscribed – a clear indicator of our banking partners continued support of Ornua’s ambitious growth strategy.”

Ornua has continued to deliver strong growth across global markets in 2021. Recent highlights include the expansion of its US cheese ingredients business with the acquisition of Wisconsin based cheese business Whitehall Specialties, maintaining continuity of supply during the global shipping crisis with 500 containers shipped weekly and the sale of over 10 million packets of Kerrygold each week.

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The announcement follows a strong financial year for Glanbia Nutritionals, with the company reporting an EBITA pre-exceptional of €69.7 million at HY 2021, up 17.1% constant currency on the prior HY (up 6.6% reported).

Glanbia Nutritionals, which has over 2,900 employees across the world, says new technology and equipment at the facility will support the ideation and creation of ingredient solutions for bars, snacks, beverages, baked goods and more for the European food and drink industry.

The upgraded site aims to encourage more face-to-face customer interactions and meetings, supporting a rapid development process and delivering efficient prototyping, ultimately offering a swift route to market for brands creating new products. Increased customer collaboration will be supported by an investment in new equipment including bar and beverage processing technology.

According to a study by Glanbia Nutritionals, 33% of UK consumers who snack admit to eating more when working from home. Low calorie and high protein claims in snacks are especially high priorities for millennials and Gen Z, demonstrating that the market for healthy snacks is experiencing rapid growth and increased consumer demand.

Glanbia Nutritionals’ CEO Brian Phelan commented: “This new, enhanced R&D facility will allow our teams to better deliver innovative solutions to our EMEA-based food and beverage, lifestyle and nutrition brand customers as a key part of our market strategy in the region. It is another fundamental element of our global investment strategy in research & development facilities, as we bring our unique solutions capability to our regional and global customers.

“The nutritional sector is increasingly competitive, so we wanted to ensure that we continue to offer first-class equipment to match the top quality expertise, consumer insights and operational knowledge that our customers have come to expect from Glanbia Nutritionals.”

Loren Ward, chief research and development Officer at Glanbia Nutritionals, said: “The new research facility will provide a collaborative environment with our customers and accelerate prototype development. It will help deliver a competitive advantage to our customers in launching new products, aligned with market trends and consumer demand.” 

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Following in the top five is Austria, the UK, Finland and Switzerland. The ten-year anniversary of the index has shown how important it is to look at hunger from a food-systems approach. This involves weighing up the affordability, availability, quality and safety of food, as well as assessing how resilient nations are in protecting their natural resources to enable them to keep producing food now and in the future.

Over the past ten years, new sub-measures have been added to the GFSI, reflecting the growing importance of markets, financial products, technology and innovation in enabling food security. At the same time, structural factors cannot be ignored, so the index weighs gender and income inequality, along with political and social risks posed by corruption and conflict. The existential threat of climate change is now also a major consideration. All of these measures reflect broader trends that have reshaped food security over the decade.

In assessing the specific drivers of food insecurity over ten years, the report presents the following key findings:

• After making rapid gains in the first few years of its inception, the GFSI scores across all nations peaked in 2019, before dropping over the past two years amid the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict and climate variability.
• This drop in GFSI scores has been seen across all regions and nations in all the different income tiers. However, high-income nations in Europe still lead the index, as they did a decade ago, taking up seven of the top ten places, with Ireland getting top spot, scoring 84 (all GFSI scores are marked out of 100).
• Similarly, Sub-Saharan African nations continue to dominate the bottom ten spots on the index, taking up seven of these places, with bottom-scorer Burundi’s score of 34.67 only 43% that of Ireland.
• The GFSI shows that hunger (using undernourishment as a measure) and stunting in children are most tied to the quality and safety of food. Populations with diets that lack quality protein and micronutrients, and where access to drinking water is limited, score worse in food security.
• Affordability is also closely linked to hunger. The GFSI shows that countries without comprehensive, well-funded national food safety-net programmes have higher levels of hunger (and stunting in children). Funding for these nets is the measure that has dropped the most over the decade, followed by a greater dependency on food aid.
• Greater volatility in food prices since 2019 have affected how affordable food is. Seventy countries slip in this year’s GFSI rankings because of rising costs. Indeed, among the four pillars that make up the GFSI, affordability has fallen the most over the decade.
• Natural resources and resilience is the lowest scoring pillar among the four categories of food security, dragging down the GFSI score overall. The countries in the index score only 50.8 out of 100 for this pillar, compared with a GFSI score of 60 across the board. While this is an improvement from 2012, it is only a slight rise from 50.1 in 2019, at a time when climate risks are taking centre-stage.
• Conversely, the highest scoring pillar is for quality and safety of food. The average score across all nations is 68, driven by the widespread adoption of nutritional plans or strategies. This is key because diet-related diseases are the primary cause of premature death globally.
• Finally, the availability of food is ranked third after food quality and safety, and affordability, with a score of 56.7. This is a jump from 53.4 in 2012; however, most of this rise came before 2019. While the overall availability score is buoyed by a 41.5-point jump in crop storage facilities for all countries, it is dragged down by a drop in public expenditure on agricultural research and development (R&D).
• The countries that are models for food security are those that score highly on all four pillars of food security. For example, top-scorer Ireland scores above 92 points for affordability, and quality and safety of food, and above 74 points for the availability and resilience pillars.
• These trends have been replayed to some extent across the top ten most improved nations over a decade, which include countries like Tanzania, Oman and China, who have moved up because they have been able to tackle affordability, instil safety nets and boost market access. They have also cut back on volatility in production and committed to food security strategies and adaptation policies.
• Conversely, those nations that have deteriorated the most, like Venezuela and Burundi, have done so because they have been unable to keep food costs down, have not had sufficient food supply or market access, and have suffered from volatile production. The bottom ten nations have often not had the capacity to grow food security through investing in R&D, safety nets, food security strategies, national adaptation policies, risk management plans and nutritional guidelines. These policies, investments and regulations are essential to the construction of food-secure economies.

For more information about the Global Food Security Index 2021, click here.

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Commenting, Donard Gaynor, chairman of Glanbia plc said: “Glanbia Ireland has a successful heritage, and for many years we have valued the partnership with Glanbia Co-op in creating a strong business under our joint stewardship. This is the right time for the proposed transaction. The Co-op is the right owner to continue the strategic development of Glanbia Ireland for the benefit of the Co-op’s members, and the PLC can continue to maximise the opportunities for its own business in the post-Covid environment, with our focus on health, wellbeing and nutrition.”

Siobhan Talbot, group managing director of Glanbia plc, who is set to retire from her position on the co-operative when the transaction is completed, says, “This announcement represents the next stage of our transformation journey following many years of successful collaboration with Glanbia Co-op as joint venture partners in Glanbia Ireland. If approved, the transaction will continue the alignment of our portfolio to our strategy, which is focused on driving growth through our market leading positions as a brand owner and ingredient solutions provider, playing into strong underlying consumer health and wellness trends. We expect to deploy the capital received from the transaction in investment to drive further growth and to return capital to shareholders.”

The PLC will increasingly focus on its global nutrition strategy as a brand owner and provider of value added nutrition solutions, serving high growth markets.

The proceeds from the proposed transaction will be primarily invested in growth opportunities with up to 50% of the proceeds being returned to shareholders via a share buyback.

Key terms from the MOU are as follows:

• Transaction consideration fixed at €307 million, expected to be paid in cash, and not subject to any adjustment mechanisms post completion. If the proposed transaction completes, GI is not required to pay any dividend to the PLC in respect of the 2021 financial year or otherwise, prior to completion.
• GI and the Co-op will change their respective names following a transitional period post completion to names which do not include “Glanbia.”
• The PLC will fund costs of €8 million to be incurred by GI, related to pension obligations, separation and rebranding costs in connection with the proposed transaction.
• Post completion of the Proposed Transaction certain corporate, business and IT services will continue to be provided by the PLC to GI for a defined period.
• GI will maintain certain commercial arrangements with the PLC for the sale, purchase and agency of various products until the GI name change has been implemented.
• Within one year of completion of the proposed transaction, all amounts owed by GI to the PLC in respect of an existing shareholder loan of €28.8 million will be satisfied, (which repayment is in addition to the consideration payable for the proposed transaction).
• On or before completion of the proposed transaction all PLC representatives on the boards of GI and the co-op will retire and
• Effective immediately the PLC group managing director will retire from her position on the board of the co-op.

Glanbia has been informed by the co-op that it intends to finance up to 50% of the proposed transaction through the sale of shares it owns in the capital of the PLC, with the balance to be funded through borrowings.

Furthermore, the co-op intends to transfer via a spin out to its members up to 12 million shares it owns in the capital of the PLC. These proposals will be subject to a co-op member vote at its AGM.

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