The Right Ingredients
In the face of a challenging year, overall business has been strong for Carbery: “The year, so far, has been good,” Eimear says. “Global dairy markets have been poor and recovery very slow so this, along with many climate pressures, is impacting our farmer shareholders but we are supporting them through it.”
The co-operative’s 2022 annual report, published earlier this year, showed that the company experienced record market performance with revenue growth of 31 per cent compared to 2021, or from €535m in 2021 to €700.8m in 2022. It introduced a sustainability initiative, FutureProof, for its farmer suppliers, which saw €3m paid to farmers in 2022 (and a 95 per cent uptake) and reaching a potential €6m (equivalent to 1c/L) for participating farmers in 2023.
It set aside €10m in a stability fund to support farmer shareholders through future challenges, and continued to invest across the group, including developing a visitor centre as part of its Farm Zero C climate-neutral farm project, and a new savoury innovation centre in the US, to support the acquisition of a savoury flavour company in 2021. All this set the company up for the challenges of 2023, of which Eimear cites FutureProof and Farm Zero C as being just some of the year’s highlights. “Our digital transformation continues as well as investments in people and facilities. Next year, 2024, priorities will focus on innovation and the launch of our new three-year strategy. We were also lucky enough to win 2023 Irish Exporter of the Year recently," says Eimear.
This top honour, bestowed by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) came in addition to Carbery being announced as this year’s winner of the Sustainable Trade Exporter of the Year award. The ‘co-operative’s approach to research and development at every level of the business, sourcing input from their scientists, manufacturers, and stakeholders alike impressed the IEA judging panel. “Carbery has created an exemplary model, incorporating innovation and sustainability to the benefit of their industry and supply chain,” commented Simon McKeever, chief executive of the IEA, at the awards ceremony.
Innovate and create
Innovation is a key word in Carbery’s lexicon. Since its establishment by four west-Cork creameries and the UK’s Express Dairies back in 1965, the co-operative has always tried to think outside the box and find new markets for the milk supplied by its farmer owners, which now stands at 1,220.
Its longstanding dairy heritage has seen it become a renowned cheese producer – 63,000 tonnes in 2022, the same year that it won six golds at the International Cheese Awards, and that Dubliner Cheese won two bronze awards at the World Cheese Awards. Its taste and flavours division, Synergy, enjoyed a strong performance in 2022, in a global food-flavours market that is projected to reach $19.2bn by 2030, according to Carbery.
The nutrition side of the business sees its whey-based ingredients used in infant formula, clinical nutrition, and sports nutrition products, with customers located across the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Middle East. The sports nutrition market, in particular, is lucrative, worth about $14.6bn in North America, $3.4bn in western Europe, $1.55bn in Japan, and $811m in China. Carbery's slicing of that pie is inevitable.
The science bit
The recent FiE trade show, which took place in Frankfurt, Germany, saw Carbery showcase its market-leading Optipep whey protein hydrolysate range. This range, according to Eimear, delivers scientifically supported nutritional and performance benefits and is suitable in a wide variety of applications from bars, snacks, ready-to-drink and powdered beverages. Carbery’s nutrition business, explains Eimear, provides a comprehensive range of advanced whey proteins for infant, sport, clinical nutrition, and mainstream food and beverage markets. Informed by its expertise in infant and performance nutrition, the co-operative has developed new heat-stable Optipep RTD (ready to drink) whey protein ingredients for clinical nutrition and high-performance protein shots. “One of the key benefits of Optipep RTD is its excellent heat stability, delivering great tasting whey protein that can withstand UHT treatment and has a 12-month shelf life in pack,” says Eimear. “Optipep RTD 9026, for example, can deliver up to 15 per cent protein in neutral pH oral nutrition supplements (ONS) to provide optimal nutritional support. The Optipep RTD range is rapidly absorbed and easily digested, made from milk of grass-fed cows and is suitable for vegetarians,” she says.
Photographed at the official opening of the Carbery Group Innovation and Business Centre in Singapore: Carbery chair, Cormac O’Keeffe; Carbery head of business development and strategy in Asia, Gordon Eng; Patrick Lim, Bord Bia; her excellency, Sarah McGrath, Irish Ambassador to Singapore; Sebastiano Pagano, CEO of Synergy Europe & Asia; Carbery CEO, Jason Hawkins; and Ciarán Gallagher, Bord Bia.
The functional-foods sector
The demand for healthier products has seen the global functional-food market valued at $305.4bn in 2022 and it is predicted to hit around $597.1bn by 2032. “The functional-food sector continues to grow, addressing consumers’ demand for ingredients and foods that support overall health and wellness. In general, busier lifestyles drive the demand for more nutrient-dense, convenient delivery formats like protein bars, gummies, electrolyte gels and ready to drink [products] that are backed by scientifically validated ingredients. We see an increase in the demand for pro-, pre- and post-biotics, supporting immune health and adaptogens and nootropics to enhance cognitive function are on the rise,” says Eimear.
“As consumers are also more educated about the role their diet has in helping combat illness and injury, they seek out products that are more protein and antioxidant rich, and interest in fermented ingredients that can support microbiome diversity is steadily increasing. Ongoing scientific research around the additional health-promoting benefits of dairy proteins and the development of bioactive-based whey proteins will create growth and added value in this sector,” says Eimear.
And there are opportunities for Irish manufacturers in this sector, she says. “Consumers’ priorities and purchasing behaviour have changed over the years with an increased focus on optimising physical health and supporting immune and gut health. More importance is placed on food and beverage choices, increasing the demand for ingredients with health promoting benefits like bioactive dairy proteins, wholefoods, mushrooms, seaweed and antioxidants. There is an opportunity for Irish manufacturers to develop more advanced, functional ingredient solutions and expand product formats.”
Global growth
Earlier this year, the company opened the new Carbery Group Asia Business and Innovation Centre in Singapore. This event coincided with Carbery celebrating the tenth anniversary of the opening of its Synergy flavours manufacturing site in Thailand. “The objective of opening in Singapore is to fully take advantage of the strong, established and available ecosystems and networks to enable growth across the wider region. This, in turn, will allow Carbery Group to foster stronger collaboration with industry partners, start-ups, universities, and research institutes, and with strategic key customers. The Centre is just getting off the ground but the team there, led by Gordon Eng, is growing, and the presence of our Innovation Centre there cements the importance of this region for us – Singapore is a key hub for opportunities across Southeast Asia,” says Eimear.
*Reporting by Bernie Commins and Tara Corristine.
Sustainability – a team effort
What processes have been introduced across the Carbery group to improve sustainability?
Eimear comments: “Our sustainability programme is extensive and covers many areas of our business including production, operations, procurement, people and supply chain. We have several initiatives in place, but some recent ones would include the formation of Green Teams across our sites, which are employee-driven action teams. We have had a very successful energy reduction and recovery campaign in 2023 with great results and our teams across the world continue to be very involved in their communities carrying out a range of environmental and charity initiatives.
“On the facilities side, we have been innovating in environmental sustainability terms for many years now, Carbery has always prioritised operating efficiently and responsibly. We have exciting projects ongoing in the area of recycled packaging. In recent years our focus has shifted to supporting our farmer shareholders to make the same transition, and the initiatives mentioned above like FutureProof, like Farm Zero C and many more are aimed at helping them to farm more sustainably and secure the future of family dairy farming.”