Prinova expands global manufacturing with acquisition of Lycored's premix business

26-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 24-Oct-2023 at 15:10 GMT

Food ingredients giant Prinova is accelerating its global expansion strategy with the acquition of Lycored's premix business. Lycored, in turn, will expedite its move toward concentration in its carotenoid and encapsulation businesses.

IPrinova, based in Carol Stream, IL, is a privately held provider of food and flavor solutions. The company offers a wide range of food ingredients, as well as some that are aimed at the dietary supplements sector, including CoQ10, botanical extracts, vitamins, amino acids and proteins.

Expanding the global footprint

Mike Petrushka, general manager of Prinova Solutions, said that the acquisition matched his company’s long term strategic plan. The company already has substantial premix capabilities in Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee which it was look to expand both in capacity and global footprint.

“If you look at Prinova, we have a very large food ingredients division. We have more than 2,000 ingredients. We are very big in vitamins, amino acids and minerals,”Mike Petrushka, general manager of Prinova Solutions told NutraIngredients-USA.

“We got into premix originally because our customers said as long as we were already selling them the ingredients it would be good if we could blend them for them, too. Our premix facilities are all US-based, but we have a global supply chain and customers around the world,” he said.

Asia plan accelerated

Petrushka said the company’s near-term goal was to expand its manufacturing capabilities to Europe, which is why Lycored’s facility in Aylesford near London was attractive. Getting Lycored’s facility in Changchou, China, was icing on the cake.

“We were not thinking about China immediately. The fact that we were able to get a facility as nice as the Lycored facility enables us to move that forward,”he said.

Petrushka said that in addition to the manufacturing plants, Prinova will take on all of the 90 employees working at those centers.

“This is an exciting transaction for both companies.For Lycored it is a key step in realizing our strategic direction and brand promise to cultivate wellness. By focusing on our core technologies and our fully vertically integrated business, we will be able to enhance our offering and maintain our dedication to customers,” said Rony Patishi-Chillim, chief executive officer of Lycored.

“Prinova is inheriting some great teams and bringing in its own expertise. We are confident that it will continue to provide excellent service to premix customers across the world while we will even better focus on our main business areas,” he said.

Lycored first entered the US premix business in 2006, with the growth of demand for fortification premixes as the functional food sector ramped up. The premix sector has generated considerable investment attention. Competitors included Fortitech, which was acquired by DSM in 2012 for $634 million. Details of the Lycored–Prinova deal were not disclosed. All of Lycored’s premix assets, located primarily in the UK and China, will transfer over to Prinova.

Refocusing on ingredients

Lycored announced a change in corporate strategy two years ago, with the goal to refocus on its carotenoid and micro encapsulation businesses. Those two schools of thought came together with a collaboration with fellow Israeli firm Algatech for a micro encapsulated version of that company’s astaxanthin.

Lycored’s new direction was built around a message of ‘cultivating wellness’ that emphasized the company’s vertical integration in tomato production from which the company’s flagship product, lycopene, is extracted. The extracts are used as natural bio-actives in nutrition products and as natural colors and ingredients for taste and texture improvement in foods and beverages. The company’s new logo introduced at that time is meant to be reminiscent of a tomato cross section.