The partnership with German company Döhler will seek to take the current produce SPC processes and make more innovative ingredients to further grow the iconic Shepparton business.
SPC chair Hussein Rifai said the partnership would combine the expertise of the two companies, providing innovative ingredients products to a global market.
“Two or three months ago, we bought a pomegranate business — let’s say we decide to make pomegranate powder, for example, we will need more farmers and more produce — the raw materials have to come from the farmers,” Mr Rifai said.
The new partnership will mean more production, generating new jobs to be filled by local farmers.
SPC will sell ingredients for products that require fruit — specifically where the manufacturer needs to declare a product is Australian on the packaging.
“The whole idea is we bring in our expertise in processing and procurement and they bring their expertise in research and development, and we create ingredients products that we will sell to the rest of the world,” Mr Rifai said.
“Ingredients you buy from the supermarket like Ardmona tomatoes are not the ingredients we're talking about.
“We don’t make ice-cream, yoghurt or milk; the partnership is to develop ingredients to sell to companies overseas who make these products.”
Döhler is a producer, marketer and provider of natural ingredients for the food and beverage industry, with business across 130 countries.
SPC chief executive officer Robert Giles said the partnership would pull on the strength of Döhler in the international market.“About 10 per cent of our business we sell as ingredients, and we want SPC to be Döhler's supplier for when they need Australian products,” Mr Giles said.
“When we're trying to reach the right customer, we can access their knowledge to do that easier.
“We're going to explore more products, whether that’s getting flavour profiles right or working on new initiatives.”
SPC began discussions with Döhler about 10 months ago, but progress was delayed due to COVID-19.
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