Outlook 2018: Epi Ingredients in Asia

KEEN to pursue its plans of expanding its market in Asia, Epi Ingredients emphasises innovation in developing nutritious and healthful products that complement the modern lifestyle. Known for supplying dry dairy ingredients for use in the global food industry, the company acknowledges the challenges it faces to enable food and beverage manufacturers worldwide to meet consumers’ diverse requirements.

Besides its more than two decades of experience in dry ingredients, Epi Ingredients is capitalising on continuous active R&D. It also taps into strong investment support from parent company, France-based cooperative firm Laïta.

Epi Ingredients’s marketing manager, Mathieu Lucot, points to strong demand for healthful products as one key driver. “There are big trends in the world focusing on gut health, bone health, muscle health and so on. Whilst there are existing products that cater to these, and in fact we offer milk products, dairy products, we want to develop the market further and provide nutrition for all,” he added.

Mathieu Lucot, Epi Ingredients’s marketing manager 

Nutritious, convenient snacking

One of the latest breakthroughs from the company targets the snacks sector and is specifically designed for on-the-go snacking. Award-winning SoFlexi is a powdered mix of five simple ingredients and packaged in individual pouches for easy use anywhere, anytime.  The product can be used to prepare a milk shake by simply blending it with ice cubes.  It can alternatively be mixed with water for an instant yogurt drink or added to fruit juice for a tasty acid drink.

“It’s flexible. You can use it for different kinds of beverages and even dairy snacks. Even more, it’s clean label,” said Mr Lucot.

This highly versatile yogurt-based finished product concept is exactly that as well: a concept. The objective behind SoFlexi goes beyond offering food and beverage manufacturers a premade blend to use, Mr Lucot said. The idea is to drive innovation, to inspire manufacturers to develop their own new products using the ingredient.

Besides highlighting the company’s application expertise, SoFlexi hopes to promote the firm’s Epilac Lowfat Yogurt Powder 48, which is part of the Epilac range of premium fermented powders.  Epilac Lowfat Yogurt Powder 48 provides natural acidity for any potential end product. It also creates a pleasant yogurt flavour and smooth creamy texture, which help further enhance the food experience. Beside these sensory attributes, Epilac Lowfat Yogurt Powder 48 also contains the same live and active cultures as the one found in traditional yogurt. This is made possible thanks to the company’s milk transformation expertise combined to a unique know-how and a perfectly mastered manufacturing process. Epi Ingredients has indeed the unique capability to dry blends of milk and live cultures, keeping them alive throughout the process and into the finished powder. Using Epilac Lowfat Yogurt Powder 48 in a finished product can therefore offer some nutritional benefits such as immune and digestive health enhancement.

Building upon this, SoFlexi received industry recognition at FIE 2017 by winning the French Innovation Award from Business France in the category “Probiotics & Cultures”.

“Our vision for SoFlexi is to motivate our customers—both present and future—to develop their own products. The challenge for us is to inspire them to innovate. So we are providing a concept, an idea to start with, through SoFlexi,” shared Mr Lucot.

The Epilac range of products consists of yogurt, fermented milk and quark powders that can be easily incorporated in a variety of foods. These products feature a strong but pleasant dairy flavours. Furthermore, the living bacteria in some of thesepowders can offer some health benefits.

Taking nutrition to infants

Consistent with its commitment to develop nutrition products for all whilst showcasing its range of fermented products, Epi Ingredients is currently awaiting approval to distribute its powdered infant formula across China.

“It’s easier to get approval in other countries in Asia, but China is a big market so we are eager to gain traction in this market. Although we are eyeing not just China, we are also interested in other Asian markets as well for this infant nutrition product. There is a lot of development in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia,” Mr Lucot said. 

The products are designed for companies who will put their brands and adapt our product to their specific market constraints. Epi will supply both infant grade dairy powders for local manufacturers to use in their own finished products and infant formula ready to market under local manufacturers’ own brands.

“It’s our way of helping manufacturers around the world boost their brands and grow their business.”

Competitive Asian market

Despite its strong global presence, Epi Ingredients acknowledges establishing a footprint in Asia is a big challenge for the company.

“The Asian market is not easy to conquer. Manufacturers in the region have different requirements. They are also particularly sensitive about pricing,” shared Mr Lucot.

Epi Ingredients currently has a sales office in Thailand that does double-duty overseeing sales in Asia, including that in Southeast Asia. The company has been working with distributors in the different Asian countries. It has established a following for some of its products, in particular solutions for beverages, ice cream and yogurts. The firm is setting its sights on developing its dairy market even further, and as such plans to increase production volumes and find pricing references for the different Asian markets.

“One challenge for us is to find the middle ground between the premium way we develop and manufacture our products and the pricing structure in the different Asian markets. This is so we can match the requirements and capabilities of our target markets,” Mr Lucot said.

Epi Ingredients notes that only very few companies are engaged in the manufacture of fermented products, making the sector a bit high-end. With the company’s nearly 30 years of experience and technological expertise in developing fermented products for the food and beverage industry, the company is confident it can address the diverse demands of the market, even pricing.