Ambitious Israeli soy ingredients company Solbar Industries keeps the new products rolling out with the launch this week of Solpro 900, a soy protein isolate for infant formula, nutritional foods and beverages, as well as emulsified meat and poultry products.
High in protein (90 per cent minimum moisture free), highly soluble, low in fibre and cholesterol free, the product is also available fortified with vitamins.
Soy foods continue to grab the limelight as a leading functional food, with soy food sales in the US and Europe showing strong growth.
In the US alone, overall sales in the soyfoods market grew by 13 per cent in 2002 to reach $3.65 billion and in 2001, soyfood sales were $3.234 billion, a 16.9 per cent rise on 2000 (Soyfoods: The US Market 2002, speech presented by Peter Golbitz, Soyatech in September 2002).
Solbar Industries was formed in 2000 by Hatzor members' Agricultural Cooperative Society and took full ownership of Solbar Hatzor, the manufacturer of soy protein concentrates, and Solbar Plant Extracts, a producer of natural soy isoflavones, in 2001. The company saw sales leaping to €71.7 milllion in 2002, up 37 per cent from the previous year.
By all accounts Solbar Industries is keen to maintain its sales growth, increasing production and sales of all the products it currently manufactures.
During 2001-2002, Solbar introduced a number of new products including Bontex, steam-textured soy proteins, Solcon S, Solgen 10/S soluble soy isoflavones, and Solgen SR, a slow release isoflavone.
Last year, Gary Brenner, marketing director at Solbar Industries, commented: "Thanks to dramatic sales growth during the fiscal years 2001 and 2002, Solbar is expanding its already sizeable investment programme."
This week he added: "With the introduction of Solpro 900, Solbar has completed the first stage of a major capital investment, to offer its customers the full range of soy proteins, functional and textured concentrates, lecithin, soy isolates and soy isoflavones."
As a result of the strong sales growth at Solbar Industries, the Dun & Bradstreet (Israel) guide that each year ranks key companies in the Israeli business community, placed Solbar Industries in position 104 for 2003, up from 137 in 2002.