Kjeld van de Hoef, Business Director Baking, Brewing, Confectionery & Ingredient Processing, DSM

Considering the market volatility, supply chain disruptions, energy costs, and workforce scarcity, what does this past year look like for your company when you draw the line? 

The global bakery products market performed well in 2022. However, this sector was not without its challenges, which ranged from changes in consumer demand patterns to the global supply of grain and sunflower oil being disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The price & availability of ingredients from grain to emulsifiers have subsequently become highly volatile, exacerbated by the rising fuel costs and inflation affecting the food and beverage industry as a whole. As a result, bakers have had a tough time and are looking for innovative alternatives to solve their ingredient and manufacturing challenges. At DSM, we have been working with bakers to help them work more efficiently and flexibly so they can continue to provide consumers with baked goods that meet consumers’ expectations on taste, texture and health.

What are your expectations for next year, keeping in mind the legacy of 2022, but also the current challenges? 

Going into 2023, the outlook remains highly volatile. At DSM, our goal is to support our customers in bringing nutritious, sustainable and great tasting products to consumers. Our focus will be on continuing to deliver innovative solutions that help bakers maintain production, reduce costs, generate process efficiencies or fortify baked goods to appeal to increasingly health-conscious consumers while mitigating the price & availability problems for bakes worldwide.

How do you estimate the market will evolve and what is your priority list for 2023? 

Increasing inflation has meant that the cost of ingredients and manufacturing processes have risen, it’s been our priority to help our customers mitigate these growing costs. Bakers looking to replace these emulsifiers such as DATEM, SSL and CSL, can instead turn to DSM’s Panamore^® range of enzymes. Not only does this change help bakers reduce costs, it can also improve dough tolerance, baking performance, crumb structure, softness and volume as well as preserving the quality and consistency of the finished product. DSM’s recently launched Panamore^® Xtense is a newly developed phospholipase for bread producers, designed to offer a suitable solution to working with challenging flour types and qualities. 

Sustainability will also remain a top priority for consumers going into 2023. Food waste is a growing global concern and it’s easy to see why, one third – 1.3 billion tonnes – of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted each year and the baking industry is disproportionally affected. Reducing food waste in the bakery sector represents a significant opportunity for the industry to operate more sustainably. 

Where did the growth opportunities come from and what is the most important lesson you have learned in recent times? 

Navigating a volatile global landscape is never enjoyable. However, it’s sometimes during these times that the best innovation happens. The most important lesson we have learned over the past couple of years is that being flexible and responsive in the face of these challenges enables us to get our customers the solutions they need, when they need them.

What do you consider to be the most valuable asset you have in 2023 as a company?

Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and are our most valuable asset. Our highly technical teams have the in-depth knowledge of global and local industries, ingredient science and the latest consumer trends help our customers develop and deliver nutritious and delicious baked goods. When this expertise is combined with our broad and innovative solutions portfolio, we’re able to offer brands a one-stop-shop for their baking needs.

Which are the most important drivers of change for your business in 2023? How do you plan to prepare for them?

Consumers are focusing on both their health and the health of the planet but at the same time, the rising cost of living is making affordability an increasingly pressing concern. We are helping our customers tackle these rising costs and help then meet consumers’ health and sustainability goals. 

We are moving towards a healthier, more sustainable food system through a series of Food System Commitments. With these, DSM is building on its purpose-led portfolio and strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance targets aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. One of the key commitments as part of this is to reach 150 million people with nutritious, delicious and sustainable plant-based protein foods by 2030. We can also support our customers manage the rising costs of both ingredients and manufacturing through process and recipe reformulation, ultimately helping them to maintain the supply of quality, tasty and nutritious foods while meeting their own commercial needs.