Source:  FOOD MARKETING & TECHNOLOGY magazine, October 2002, Vol.16, No. 5

The European read-meals market will increase nearly 4% per year to Euro 6.8 billion by 2005, according to Leatherhead¹. Within this sector, frozen and chilled meals are expected to continue gaining market share from canned and ambient meals. The ready category also includes meals prepared from dry mix or sauce (Jaegersauce for example) made from powdered ingredients. Consumers want convenience, but they demand that the finished product closely resemble in taste, smell, and look - the original home-made recipe “from scratch”.

A specialist US company meets these consumer needs by supplying coloring ingredients to leading companies that manufacture ready-meals and other convenience foods. Caramel color is a vital link to the eye-appeal of traditional foods that European consumes insist be present in their ready-meals. Liquid caramel colors have been available for decades; the use of powdered caramel colors has widened to meet rising demand for European dry mixes. The company produces more than fifty liquid and twelve powdered types of caramel color to give convenience foods their reassuring look.

“We operate seven plants on five continents, including one in Cork, Ireland, which serves our European customers,” according to Tibor Hanzely, Commercial Manager for Central & Eastern Europe. “But even more critical to our ability to spot and react to trends (such as the growth in read-meals) is the fact that we have our ears open to our customers in nearly every European country. There’s no substitue for that kind of intelligence in terms of being able to think globally and act locally.”

“To become the ‘go-to’ company for caramel color worldwide, we first have to understand that all of our business is local,” added David Barrett, Export Manager.

As the world’s largest manufacturer of caramel color, the company works closely with many of the leading sauce and soup companies. Owen Parker, the firm’s Director of Research & Development, is experienced in formulating an appealing, appetizing look for customers. Parker recommends the following dosages in European convenience foods (table 1).

The company manufactures caramel color formulated in leading global brands. Each day, more than one billion servings of foods and beverages containing these caramel colors are consumed around the world. The company’s mission is to meet or exceed its customers’ expectations by continuously improving its processes, products, and services.

Most of the caramel color formulations are categorized in the following three major product applications:

Sauces, Soups, and Seasonings - dry soups, canned meals & soups, brown sauces, frozen & chilled meals, bouillon, gravies, vinegars, marinades, soy sauces, spice blends, dry seasoning mixes, rice mixes, etc.

Baking - cocoa extenders, biscuits, cakes, desserts, puddings, ice cream wafers, muffins, frozen & refrigerated dough, dry mixes & concentrates, etc.

Beverages - soft drinks (carbonated & non-carbonated), flavors, beers & ales, malta, spirits & liqueurs, fruit drinks, instant coffee & tea, iced tea, powdered drink mix, etc.

The company’s caramel color can also be found in cooked meats, meat substitutes, snack dustings, breakfast cereals, and hard candies. Non-food applications include pet foods, shampoos, cosmetics, cough syrups, mouthwashes, and vitamin tablets.

¹Readymealsinfo.com, “The European Ready meals Market”, Leatherhead Food International
²Pierce Hollingsworth, “The European Food Blender”, Food Technology, January 2000