40 years of successful cooperation in South Africa

Olsen decided that the country offered a prime opportunity to start a business, which he called Foodspec. He went into partnership with local entrepreneur and international dairy equipment promoter Gino Ramasray.

Olsen was introduced to German flavour house Silesia by a colleague in the stabiliser industry. He visited Silesia’s headquarters and was very impressed with the company’s culture and technology. An agency agreement was struck between the two companies in 1980.

The dairy industry was the initial focus of the partnership. The first delivery, consisting of two flavour canisters, arrived from Germany by post and was delivered to a highly regarded dairy factory in South Africa.

After 40 years of hard work, enduring the political and economic challenges in South Africa, Foodspec and Silesia have become major players in the flavour industry.

Jean-François Richard, Silesia’s regional sales director explains the partnership, ‘Foodspec has put an excellent delivery and logistics system in place. Their approach to the business is based on top quality service, partnerships and adding value to customers. This matches Silesia’s sales strategy 100 per cent. It was the perfect synergy to develop and grow our flavour business in South Africa.’

Creativity, customer briefings, internal objectives and current market trends form the basis of Silesia’s flavour development. Knowledge gained from analytical and sensory research concerning flavouring components detected in fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, and prepared food is continually used in development work.

Silesia/Foodspec has evolved as a market leader in the supply of savoury flavours. The range of cheese flavours is often considered as benchmark products by food scientists and formulators. The company also places a special emphasis on beef and chicken flavours.

The suppliers are also very active in the beverage industry (mainly in the juice segment). Silesia’s range of apple, mango, pineapple and other tropical flavours are highly regarded. The business in the confectionery industry has developed enormously in the last decade, thanks to Silesia’s expertise in this product category.

A new generation is now leading the business at Foodspec: Ralf Olsen is now managing director and Jenal Harduth, daughter of Gino Ramasray heads up the flavour division.

‘Silesia brings top-quality flavours to market. They have invested a great deal in developing taste profiles that suit consumer preferences in South Africa and are very aware of local price constraints and offer costeffective solutions. As a company, they support customers at every stage of product development - from concept ideas to the recipe formulation and production process. They can finetune flavour profiles to match market demand,’ Harduth points out.