NIGERIA – Cormart Nigeria, a chemicals and raw materials company, has commissioned a new caramel plant to boost supply to the food and beverage sector.

The plant, located at its factory in the Lagos, has a capacity to produce 15 metric tonnes of caramel per day and will supply beverages, brewery and food industries with caramel as a colorant.

“We will be producing the caramel with three basic ingredients: dextrose, water and ammonia. It is called Class-3 or ammonia caramel,” says Olakunle Atoki, the plant manager.

The company’s General Manager, Dr Johannes Flosbach, said that the firm will continue to expand its operations aimed at offering “customers a premium product which combines higher quality and a lower price than most imported products.”4

Cormat Nigeria also works in partnership with the Puratos Group and Nutrinova for the production and distribution of ingredients and tailor made solutions to the bakery, patisserie & chocolate sectors.

The company, which also provides flavours and colours to the food, confectionery, pharmaceutical and beverage industries, also works in partnership with other multinationals including, EFF, Cargill, Sensient, DD Williamson, BASF and Kerry.

Africa’s growing food and beverage industry has continually attracted major investments in the flavour, fragrance and colourants sector marked by the expansion of local companies as well as setting up of operations by multinational companies in the continent.

In 2014, Symrise in collaboration with its longstanding agent Allied Technol Systems Ltd, launched a subsidiary in Lagos, Nigeria which the global fragrances and flavourings supplier said was part of its strategy of strengthening its presence in Africa.

Within the past five years, the sector has recorded an upsurge in investments and notably Mane Flavours inaugurated its first innovation centre in Nairobi, Kenya, as a strategic hub that aims to provide cutting-edge taste solutions to food and beverage manufacturers in the region.

In January this year, Guividan also opened a new Flavours technical and commercial centre in Morocco after investing about US$1.22 million aimed at serving the local and regional markets in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Malta, Ivory Coast and Guinea.

Givaudan said that the Morocco facility will also work closely with Givaudan’s Flavour Development Centre in Dubai and Regional Innovation Centres in Netherlands and Switzerland to offer additional support.

Other multinational have also commissioned facilities Including Ingredion’s new state-of-the-art Idea Lab innovation centre in Nairobi, Kenya, aimed at aimed at improving technical support and culinary know-how to customers across the African market.