Five minutes at FI Europe with …
Michel Burla – Managing Director
Agro-Food Industry Hi-Tech: Are you presenting new developments at FIE 2017?
Michel Burla: Yes:
- Very interesting flours from our Marbacher Ölmühle, HOCHDORF’s premium oil mill
- The new radar charts for oils other than olive oil
- Excellent crispy dried fruits and vegetables
AF: Do your recent acquisitions mean a new strategy in children’s nutrition?
MB: We are completing our range of healthy ingredients – healthy protein, whole grain and fibre-rich products, fruits and vegetables. Some of our crisps are even produced in infant-grade quality. Our production platforms allows us to offer integrated solutions like B2B and private-label formats combining fruits and extruded products.
AF: What do you think about the rise in plant-based protein products?
MB: There is a wide debate covering several aspects currently. It basically makes a lot of sense but a careful choice of products is required to ensure balanced amino-acid profiles.
AF: What trends will be important for healthy nutrition in the future? And how will Hochdorf tackle them?
MB: When we look at the global burden of disease (WHO report), nutrition is of paramount significance. High blood pressure and high blood glucose combined with physical inactivity lead to weight problems and obesity that cause a significant proportion of disability-adjusted life-years. Ranked 12th on the list is low intake of fruit and vegetables. HOCHDORF can now offer new products that reflect our changing lifestyles.
AF: How can we balance flavour and health concerns in our ingredients?
MB: As far as HOCHDORF is concerned, good flavour, texture and appealing foods guarantee a second consumer purchase. We have looked carefully at different aspects of flavour. A lot of companies just say that they have good quality, but we know how to run production processes in a way that gets the right flavour. A broad range of awards in the oil segment proves that we are on the right track.
AF: What can we expect from Hochdorf in the next year?
MB: With the two new activities just added in November 2017, we will be working on integration and streamlining. In this context, we will offer diverse opportunities to our customers, with B2B and private label options. We also plan to promote our newly acquired healthy snacking brand “Snapz” to a broad market.
