A track record that includes 18 years with Bush Boake Allen and the last three as president of flavours and fragrances worldwide at US group Sensient, Jos Kleppers has taken the reins from Stephen Catling as the new president of flavours at Danisco.
"We need to go faster," Kleppers told Foodnavigator.com. "Competition is tough but Danisco has a strong base and support. There is certainly enough room for Danisco on the flavours market," he added.
With impending changes to the European sugar regime soon to be felt by Danisco's - a leading sugar producer in Europe - bottom line, new ways to generate revenue are key for the company. Ambitions in its flavour division are set to contribute to the figures.
"I intend to use the strength of Danisco as a food ingredient company and to use the synergies that exist," said Kleppers.
Strong on flavours in beverages with a solid market share, in particular France, Benelux and Scandinavia, dairy and sweets have been earmarked for improvement along with - most notably - savoury flavours.
"Savoury could be an interesting area," commented Kleppers. "We're not very present there but we have a strong base through our culinary group."
Investment analysts have for several months suggested that the Danish ingredients company needed to take on some acquistitions in order to keep the market happy. Kleppers comments confirm that the flavours division could well be one area where acquisitions are likely in the near future.
"We have a strong base and to take us further in the US and Europe we will either acquire technical people or go for an acquisition," said Kleppers.
"We will target areas that could give us an edge," he added.
The US and western Europe combined account for 58 per cent of the global market of the flavour and fragrance industry, according to Frost and Sullivan . But with growth slackening, the industry must look towards new markets and product innovations.
The flavours market - with the US holding a 33 per cent share and western Europe 25 per cent - can be segmented into three areas - natural and synthetic flavours, herbs and spices, and flavour enhancers.
Danisco recently moved the flavours headquarters from the UK to the old Perlarom site in Louvain-la-Neuve, near Brussels, Belgium.
Price competition in texturants put pressure on Danisco ingredients results for the first quarter of 2003/2004 but flavours and a long, hot summer went some way to boosting the underlying performance. Sales for the quarter in the specialities divsion, which flavours is part of, ended 31 July 2003 and rose six per cent to DK828 million, up from DK784 million for the same period in 2002/2003.