Making food tastier, prettier and longer lasting

Aditya Birla Chemicals is a leading manufacturer of food grade phosphates in Thailand and a leading supplier of phosphates globally

Aditya Birla Chemicals is focusing on introducing innovative solutions in line with fast changing trends and regulations

Our relationship with food is ever changing. In the past decade itself, we have gone from eating home cooked meals to depending on convenience and fast food, eating out and are now back to eating at home. This constant change in our food consumption habits has led to a rapid and steady growth of the food processing sector. Food processing requires inputs of specialty chemicals and that’s where Aditya Birla Chemicals’ innovation capabilities have supported the food sector.

Witnessing the growth of the food processing industry in Asia, especially the seafood and the dairy segment, the company made the most of this opportunity and started manufacturing food grade chemicals. From a portfolio that comprised 90 per cent commodities, it has transitioned into a specialty chemicals producer.

Aditya Birla Chemicals is now one of the leading food ingredient manufacturers, offering a wide range of branded solutions to the food processing industry – emulsifiers, acidifiers, moisture retention agents, raising agents, pH adjusters, etc.

Manufacturing expertise

Spread across India, Thailand, Germany and USA with 20 manufacturing locations, Aditya Birla Chemicals serves customers in more than 80 countries. The company is a leading manufacturer of food grade phosphates in Thailand and a leading supplier of phosphates globally. Its food-grade phosphate derivatives manufactured at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility have applications in baking, edible oil refining, sugar refining and general health food supplements.

Aditya Birla Chemicals has the advantage of backward integration in key inputs such as phosphoric acid. The company has constantly worked towards improving its processes and systems to stay ahead of the competition. It has made robust investments in manufacturing high-grade and superior quality phosphates to take care of the forward value chain.

Branded for quality

The company’s products have been branded to address specific food segments. Its range of phosphates for bakery processing are marketed under the brand name Delice and are specially formulated for specialty breads, sponge cakes, batter mixes and doughnuts and are widely used in large and small scale commercial bakeries.

Corino, Gusto, Pearl and Delice find wide acceptance in the market and are known for their preservation and moisture retention properties

Under brands Gusto and Pearl, the company manufactures phosphates which are used to preserve meat and seafood respectively. Both the brands are preferred in the market for their moisture retaining and stabilising properties, and prevention of microbial spoilage.

Corino is a specialised range of phosphates targeted at the food industry’s cheese processing requirements. It is a customer favourite and is known for its emulsification, ion exchange and pH regulation properties.

Embracing trends

Fuelling the market growth has been the drastic change in what customers expect from their food products. Lifestyle changes first created a need for convenience food and fast food.

As people became more health conscious and regulations and compliances became stricter, the demand for healthy products increased. Today, the consumer is conscious about the different ingredients in their food and reads labels. From fast and convenient food, today’s consumer demands fat-free, low-calorie, vegan and plant-based options.

An interesting trend was the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic and global lockdowns on market demand for food processing ingredients. There was a sharp decline in demand from hotels, restaurants and cafes as people stopped eating out. Instead of consuming food at restaurants the consumption shifted to homecooked and take-away meals. A notable example is the hit to the potato processing segment. Yes, people consumed fewer French fries!

Focus on innovation

Despite the blimp caused by the pandemic, Aditya Birla Chemicals continues to focus on introducing innovative solutions in line with fast changing trends and regulations. The company plans to expand its portfolio by adding more products which are suitable to the current lifestyle.

It is currently working on a product range based on calcium, magnesium and iron and is also looking at targeting the nutraceuticals segment. In future, the company also plans to introduce plant-based solutions, and trials are already underway. The future for food processing definitely looks appealing.