“Sustainability and innovation go hand in hand”

How to stay ahead of time as a company in the food industry? At Griffiths Food, producer of food ingredients, it’s about combining innovation and sustainability. Johan Boot, Vice President Research and Development at Griffith Foods Europe & Africa, states the following concerning the strategy of the company: growing sustainably with the help of innovations. The company was founded about a hundred years ago in Chicago’s meat district and slowly spread to Europe and other parts of the world. 

We produce various food ingredients like spices, sauces & dressings, marinades and coating systems. We deliver to local as well as global players for application in savory snacks, meat and fish products as well as meat and fish alternatives. We offer taste, texture and healthy and nutritious solutions to our customers.

Ultimately, our goal is “to blend care and creativity to nourish the world”. This is the company’s way to develop products as sustainably as possible, for our own customers as well as the end user. Taste and texture are central. For the development of our ingredients, chefs and product developers collaborate intensively.

When it comes to innovation, we are working hard on developing meat alternatives. This is an important growing business. Many companies deliver good products but there remains a lot of room left for this category to expand and improve. Thanks to our year-long (culinary) expertise in mixing spices, sauces, marinades and coatings we offer complete solutions to our customers in the realm of taste, texture, structure and bite. These companies then proceed to make nuggets, burgers or sauces with it – all plant-based.

Sustainability is our core value. Hence why we formulated clear goals. For instance, we are currently researching new applications for products that look less attractive or develop as side products during the production of other food items. We process less good looking vegetables into tasty and crunchy green coatings for use in cocktail nuts, schnitzels and more. The upgrading of these side tracks helps with waste minimization.

The times when we could do everything individually have passed. The world of knowledge and experience expands at great speed. As engaged members of society we have the obligation to apply our knowledge as best as we can, by working together as much as possible. IFFI offers a beautiful platform for the sharing of knowledge through meetings, training programs and masterclasses. Besides, IFFI plays an important role in representing the ingredients industry to other societal parties, in the largest sense of the word. Collaborating does not mean that we can no longer concur with each other. There is space for all parties.

(This column was originally published in EVMI, in Dutch)