A taste for healthy living Vandemoortele

a taste for

healthy liviNg

The Vandemoortele Group is a European brand leader that manufactures and markets high quality food products. The company’s product portfolio includes margarines, oils and dressings, as well as pastry and patisserie products. Philip Yorke reports.

Vandemoortele is a well-established family-run food group with Belgian roots and a European perspective. The company occupies a leading position in its two core business activities; bakery products and lipids. In 2017 it recorded revenues of more than €1.4 billion with over 5200 employees working in 35 production facilities and 17 commercial sites across 12 European countries.

Vandemoortele is a premier household name in Europe with its margarines, oils, dressings, breads, donuts, pastries and patisserie products, which find their way into the lives of millions of people every day. The company manufactures and markets high-quality food products focused on its two main business sectors: frozen bakery products and margarines and fats (lipids).

In the bakery products sector, the company offers a wide range of frozen bread products, pastries, American products and patisserie for professional users in the bakery and food service industries. This is in addition to supplying a wide range of food retailers, who rely on the high quality and convenience of Vandemoortele’s products.

In Lipids, the company targets European professional users with a broad portfolio of products with exceptional taste and flavour. The company also appeals to European retailers with private label margarines and frying fats. In addition, it has a number of strong consumer brands of its own, including Vandemoortele, Vitelma, Diamant, Reddy and Gouda Glorie.

Cheery Chupa Chups launch

Vandemoortele recently announced that it was partnering with another leading foods group, Perfetti Van Melle, in order to create a brand new range of donuts under the iconic international lollipop brand, Chupa Chups. The new product will leverage the sweet flavours of its lollipops, with the colourful and playful designs that are associated with the brand. These cheerful and fun donuts have just been launched in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with other countries set to roll out later in the year. Once launched, the new donuts will be available across all major distribution channels, as well as online. The final agreement was brokered recently by Perfetti Van Melle’s brand extension agency, Beanstalk.

Founded in 1958, Chupa Chups is an iconic brand that has become part of Europe’s popular culture. It is also globally renowned for its colourful imagery and unique flavour profile, which in turn lends itself well to brand extensions outside its core confectionery area.

Marta Ballesteros, licencing area manager for Perfetti Van Melle, said, “We are very pleased to partner with Vandemoortele. We share the same values of product excellence and a dynamic approach to the market. This is a great project that will bring innovative new products across Europe and our loyal consumers will enjoy the sponge texture of the donut with the crunchy, Chupa Chups on top.”

Vandemoortele’s licencing area manager, Eddy Van Blanken, said, “We are delighted to cooperate with Chupa Chups, whose fun and Colourful DNA and iconic taste gives us the opportunity to innovate in the donut market. We look forward to engaging our consumers with a unique combination of the well-known Chupa Chups flavours and delicious Vandemoortele donuts.”

This important licencing agreement was brokered by the global branding company, Beanstalk, which is headquartered in New York and has regional offices worldwide. Beanstalk offers a broad range of consultancy services including brand representation, retail partnerships and creative services as well as legal and financial consultancy among many others.

expanding own-brand options

Tapping into the unrivalled experience and know-how of the Vandemoortele Group is something that more and more companies are considering. The company is able to compliment other brands with

innovative recipes and research options that can create exceptional products and greater operational production efficiency.

As a leading European food group, Vandemoortele is fully aware of its important role in the procurement of raw materials such as palm oil. In 2009 the company became a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and thus committed to source 100 per cent sustainable palm oil. It is also committed to using only traceable NDPE (no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation) palm oils in its supply chain.

Being active in many different channels allows Vandemoortele to share knowledge and consumer insights that can result in fat-free alternatives that balance functionality, taste and healthier choices.

Progress in sustainable palm oil

Vandemoortele’s margarines, fats and frozen bakery products are sold by leading retailers and restaurants across the EU and as a privately owned business the company considers its values, including trust and integrity, as central to the way that it operates. Since becoming part of the RSPO in 2009 it has used only certified RSPO palm oil for its own retail brands and many of its production sites have been certified using RSPO ‘Mass Balance and Segregated’ certified sustainable palm oil.

In 2013, recognising the importance of traceability in helping to bring transformation in the palm oil industry, Vandemoortele also became a member of the French Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil, and is an active participant in many other initiatives to promote the uptake of sustainable palm oil internationally.

With a clear focus on improving its progress towards achieving its sustainability charter’s obligations, Vandemoortele’s latest report confirms that it reached 98.5 per cent traceability to mill level for all the palm oil it purchased in 2017. It will continue to work towards achieving 100 per cent of its palm oil volumes covered by suppliers committed to an NDPE policy (no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation).

For further details of Vandemoortele’s high quality consumer products and value-added consultancy services visit: www.vandemoortele.com