SOUTHERN AFRICA – Chr. Hansen Natural Colors, the world leader in food colouring solutions developed from natural sources, has appointed Barentz as its strategic partner for the distribution of its product portfolio in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Barentz is a global life science ingredients distributor for the human nutrition, pharmaceutical, personal care and animal nutrition markets.
The appointment is an extension of an exciting partnership between the two companies and gives Barentz’ customers in the two Southern African countries access to the largest and most vibrant colour portfolio in human nutrition.
The portfolio covering natural colors and fruit and vegetable concentrates features more than 600 products, with applications spanning the beverage, confectionery, dairy and prepared food sectors.
“We are excited with this new opportunity to give our growing customer base in South Africa and Zimbabwe access to the market’s leading and innovative product portfolio.
Global natural food colour market is expected to reach US$3.5 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.4%
Allied Market Research
“Together with our technical experts and application specialists of our joint venture company SK Chemtrade, we will not only deliver the full range of Chr. Hansen Natural Colors but also support our customers with application & full-recipe know-how and tailormade solutions,” said Mr. Gökhan Oran, Global Vice President Human Nutrition at Barentz.
The use of natural colours over artificial colours in the food and beverage sector is gaining momentum across the global as the market was valued at US$2.1 billion in 2019, according to Allied Market Research, and is expected to reach US$3.5 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.4%.
In 2019, Barentz strengthened its presence in Southern Africa by entering a joint venture (JV) with SK Chemtrade Services, a functional ingredients and product development supplier to food and beverage manufacturers in South Africa and neighbouring countries.
SK Chemtrade has fully staffed offices, development centres and warehouses in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Harare.
“Partnering with Barentz in South Africa and Zimbabwe is a great outcome. Their breadth of market knowledge spanning almost 40 years, coupled with a team technically trained on value-added ingredients will perfectly complement our natural color portfolio,” said Mr. Adam Dundas, Global Head of Customer, Sales & Distributor Excellence at Chr. Hansen Natural Colors.
Meanwhile, Chr. Hansen Holding has entered into an agreement with private equity firm EQT to sell its natural colours division for €800 million.
The divestment is part of its 2025 strategy with the company aiming to become a pure-play, microbial and fermentation company.
The transaction, which is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first half of this year.
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