protein and low in fat with carbohydrates
that are readily available
at the same time?
Worlée offers very specific expertise
for many of these topics. “In the
end, however, one thing
counts above all: the
taste,” emphasizes
Michiel Blijdenstein,
“and our natural raw
materials such as
mushrooms bring a
particularly smart and
honest taste to many
products without artificial
aromas, although our specialties often
only have a very small share of 2-5%
in the end product ".
The company is concerned, like
many other companies, but currently
not only due to the Corona crisis,
but also, for example, in regard to the
rapidly rising freight costs, because the sea
containers have become many times more
expensive. “September to January is the
most important time of year to conclude
contracts, because the harvests for the
main products are during this period. Large
retailers have already announced that there
will be no price increases. “That doesn't
seem realistic,” says M. Blijdenstein. Of
course, this leads to extraordinary burdens,
because contracts that are still open can
sometimes only be settled with a loss. “The
retail sector should actually price this development
in. But that refers to its allegedly
narrow range of only 5%, while the industry
who is also passionate about the company's
digitization. "A lot is currently
changing due to digitization, and not
just since the pandemic," said Wild.
"Worlée works very actively on product
development and often works
together with start-ups,"
she added, although
digitization opens up
new opportunities here.
Of course, there is no
avoiding direct contact
here either, but new possibilities
open up that are only
possible through digitization. The
Worlée technical center opens up additional
synergies here, where recipes
and new trend products are developed
in close cooperation with customers or
the Nutri-Score is checked and adjusted
once if necessary. New products
such as milk and meat alternatives are
often developed in workshops.
“We are the experts for natural raw
materials and their applications; With our
expertise, we can often take a completely
new perspective”, emphasizes M. Blijdenstein.
Large international customers as
well as small, ambitious start-ups often
approach us for a specific project and
need our specialist knowledge”, says the
native Dutchman. For example, Worlée is
replacing sugar in many formulations with
date powder (manufactured using a specific
process that is also used to produce
other very fine fruit powders such as mango
powder). The fruit powders are used
in delicious smoothies, smoothie bowls
or porridge preparations and give these
modern products the finishing touch. One
of the more recent developments is, for
example, “Savoury Porridge”.
"In our tasting kitchen we research
new products and constantly develop
new recipes, e.g. how to prepare sweet
or savoury porridge with our high-quality,
dried, vegan products", says F. Wild.
Of course, the company is also certified
in accordance with the “Halal” and
“Kosher” regulations for raw materials.
The range that the market demands is
getting bigger and bigger and the specificity
of the individual products is getting
more and more individual. “What can
the product do?” is one of the most frequently
asked questions; is it suitable as
a "health product" or as a "sports product",
for example is it particularly rich in
Interview 21