Solvay Natural Vanillin: Consumers Go for Natural and Sustainable Products

Nowadays, consumers’ demand for natural food is rapidly growing. According to the Global Health and Wellness study conducted by NielsenIQ*, 63% of consumers across 17 diverse global markets outline naturalness as one of the top requirements in their food choices. The Covid crisis has pushed consumers towards healthy food choices, showing a strong willingness to pay for authenticity, natural & “free-from” products. In fact, a majority (72%) of surveyed global consumers feel that companies have a big role to play in the availability and access of healthy food for all. Such trends motivate manufacturers to source solutions that enable them to meet the clean-label criteria and gain share in the market. Thus, shifting from synthetic to natural vanilla extract is becoming a major competitive advantage.

Driven by consumer desire for natural

Customers’ choice in favor of clean labels has triggered innovations in the food industry. This has led to the steady demand for natural vanillin, a key ingredient used in a variety of products. Caldic stays ahead of the curve, offering a range of tempting aromas and unique flavors to make your bakery and confectionery delicacies pass the taste test. Thanks to a strong European wide collaboration with Solvay, a global producer of vanillin, ethylvanillin and natural vanillin, Caldic ensures natural vanillin supply for current and new customers to solve natural, functional, and taste improvement challenges.

What is the recipe for natural vanillin? It is hard to find a market where vanillin is not used as a flavor, booster or neutralizer for other flavors: ice-cream, chocolate, bakery, confectionery, dairy, beverages – the list is endless. However, the current vanilla bean production only covers 1% of the global demand for vanillin and it is therefore a luxury item to purchase. Often, the taste of vanilla in cake formulations originates from industrially produced vanillin extract. The greatest portion of this vanillin is produced through chemical synthesis, using crude oil, which comes at an environmental cost and contradicts today’s consumer trends. Driven by this challenge, Solvay has developed a natural way of producing vanillin extract from a sustainable raw material, ferulic acid obtained from non-GMO rice bran oil, through a fermentation process which has been approved by the European Food & Safety Authority (EFSA).

"Solvay’s strong portfolio of vanillin and their outstanding expertise with natural solutions will benefit our customers and ultimately consumers who prefer natural products."

Securing reliable sourcing of natural vanillin in Europe

For over 15 years, Caldic has successfully developed business opportunities with Solvay in the Benelux, Iberica and Italy. Recently Caldic and Solvay Aroma Performance have agreed to enlarge the geographic scope of the collaboration by concluding a partnership for natural vanillin distribution in France.

Yves Maltête, Business Development Director Food, Caldic Europe says, “We are delighted to extend our partnership with Solvay Aroma Performance in France. Vanilla is an iconic flavor that is well-loved around the globe. Solvay’s strong portfolio of vanillin and their outstanding expertise with natural solutions will benefit our customers and ultimately consumers who prefer natural products”.

Solvay offers a reliable natural solution that meets food safety regulations while mitigating key concerns about taste, competitiveness and reliability of sourcing. Thus, the new partnership allows Caldic Ingredients France to expand its offer of clean label solutions for the French bakery, dairy, nutrition and beverage markets. Corine Pin, European Sales Manager of Solvay's Aroma Performance Business Unit, concludes, “We can count on the insights and expertise of the professionals at Caldic to provide our French customers with solutions that fully correspond to our vision of the commercial relationship: excellent product, excellent service".

* Source: NielsenIQ Global Health & Wellness Study of 17 markets, September 2021