Citrosuco announces launch of food ingredients unit

Brazilian orange juice maker Citrosuco has created a food ingredients business, an executive said on Wednesday, taking advantage of plentiful supply of raw materials while exploring a lucrative niche market.

Evera, as the venture is called, will process orange peels, leaves, flowers and seeds to produce fibers and oils that can be mixed with food and beverages, business director John Lin said in an interview. This market is worth up to $12 billion a year.

The initiative reflects Citrosuco’s effort to balance high-volume businesses with lower margins with a presence in segments with lower volumes but with higher prices and margins.

It also gives Brazil, a major exporter of raw materials, a new supplier of food ingredients. There are few such companies around here, Lin said.

“We were in this market as Citrosuco. Now we are creating a new unit to increase focus and be able to grow.”

Initially, Evera’s production will be carried out in the state of São Paulo, where Citrosuco has farms and three processing plants.

One of the largest orange juice producers in the world, Citrosuco also operates a unit in the United States and accounts for around 20% of global supply.

Brazil produces about 13 million tons of oranges a year, using only half of the fruit to make juice, Evera said. By extracting fibers and oils from the other half, the company can sell products with more added value.

Before Evera, orange leftovers not used in making juice were supplied by Citrosuco to be mixed in bovine feed, a low-value business.

Evera’s portfolio has 18 products, which can be added to foods of vegetable origin, ketchup, mayonnaise, chocolate sauce, among others.

Lin said priority markets for Evera include the United States and England, France and Germany, where demand for such natural ingredients is increasing.

(Reporting by Ana Mano)