Saputo, the Canada-based dairy giant, has signalled its intention of building a presence in the plant-based area.
But it said it has no plans to launch branded plant-based products.
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In a call with analysts after the company released its third-quarter financial results this week, CEO Lino Saputo was asked what the recent appointment of a senior vice president for plant-based food signified and he admitted the company is looking to expand in this area.
“We need to be where consumers are,” he said.
Mr Saputo added: “Plant-based for us is not that different from the dairy infrastructure we use to process milk and we can leverage the expertise we have, including manufacturing expertise.”
He said Saputo has the capacity in its facilities to produce more fluid products, whether dairy or non-dairy. The company is prepared to make investments “for the long haul and for the long-term viability of the business,” the Saputo CEO insisted.
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By GlobalDataHe added: “Our plant at Port Coquitlam in British Columbia is being built with this opportunity and the ability to segregate dairy and non-dairy products.”
The CEO said the company has been in discussion with industry and non-industry players to tell them “we can provide a good resource for them as a co-packer for their products”.
His colleague Kai Bockmann, the company’s chief operating officer, said co-manufacturing and private label is seen as the big opportunity in this area by Saputo.
“There is no focus on building brands,” he said.
He added: “At the moment we are looking at folks already in this space.”
Bockmann pointed out Saputo already has expertise in non-dairy cheese through its Vitalite brand in the UK – acquired as part of the Dairy Crest acquisition last year – and that the company would look to take advantage of its UK innovation centre to develop non-dairy cheese for the foodservice sector with a better taste and texture than that currently available and with better nutritional properties.
Yesterday (7 February), Saputo revealed it is to close two of its production facilities as part of “continual” moves to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
The company said two of its plants in Canada would shut in moves “aimed at improving its operational efficiency and right-sizing both its manufacturing footprint and sales force” in the country.
