Cargill, hydrocolloids specialist Unitec Foods, and sugar manufacturer Fuji Nihon Seito Corporation are joining forces to boost innovation and go-to-market for food ingredients solutions in Japan and Asia-Pacific. 

FREMONT, CA: Together, Cargill, Unitec Foods, a maker of hydrocolloids, and Fuji Nihon Seito Corporation (2114: TYO), a sugar producer, will increase innovation and market penetration for food component solutions in Japan and the Asia-Pacific area.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Nihon Seito Corporation is Unitec Foods. Since 1972, Cargill has collaborated with Unitec Foods to expand its pectin business in the Japanese market.

“They are thrilled to broaden their collaboration with Unitec to jointly target larger markets in the Asia Pacific, particularly Southeast Asia. They are grateful for the 50 years of mutual respect and enduring collaboration,” says Ming Peng, managing director of Cargill's Asian division of starches, sweeteners, and texturizers. The reaffirmed partnership will enable us to share technical know-how and expertise in food ingredient solutions to serve Asia Pacific customers better.

Joining Forces on Production and Distribution

The three businesses will cooperate on technical, operational, and commercial projects under a new memorandum of understanding. The businesses will collaborate on commercial activities by exploiting each other's manufacturing capacities and distribution networks throughout Japan and the larger Asian market.

This involves collaborating on creating novel products and technologies while utilising the technical know-how of Unitec Foods' development facilities in Japan and the experience of the Cargill Innovation Centre in Singapore.

According to Shinichi Sekita, president and director of Unitec Foods, "customer eating habits have changed significantly over the past 50 years, and pectin is now widely employed in a huge variety of desserts."

"Consumers can easily find foods made with pectin in convenience stores and department stores. As they enter the new alliance, they'll broaden their cooperation with Cargill to explore other food component solutions and strengthen our local competitiveness throughout Asia-Pacific."

Recent commercial changes at Cargill include the corporation joining up with Givaudan and Bühler, two other significant global food businesses, to form a consortium in cooperation with the Food Tech Hub LATAM and the Institute of Food Technology. The group will create a "Tropical Food Innovation Center" in Campinas, one of Brazil's technological epicentres.

To address the domestic and international demand for oilseeds, the company has planned to construct a soybean processing facility in the US with an annual capacity of 62 million bushels. To become operational in 2026, construction on the project will begin early in the following year.

With the establishment of the House of Chocolate last summer, the agri-food giant improved its position in the rapid development of chocolate and consumer-focused gourmet offers.