Foodspec / Silesia – Best of both worlds
40 years of successful cooperation in South Africa!
The story started during the seventies, when the late Mr Hans Werner Olsen, a German citizen from Hamburg, moved to South Africa to work in the dairy industry.
He was only supposed to stay in the country for a couple of years, but he decided to start his own business and named his company Foodspec. He went into partnership with R. Ramasray, an Indian South African who used to work for an international dairy equipment company and the business relationship soon developed into a close friendship.
Mr Olsen was introduced to Silesia by another German company that specialised in stabiliser systems for the food industry. After an initial meeting in Cape Town, where the owners of Silesia, Mr. Gerd Hanke and Mrs. Ingrid Hanke were on holiday, he visited Silesia’s headquarters in Germany and was very impressed by the company’s culture and technology. This was the beginning of the cooperation between Silesia and Foodspec, which officially came into being with a representation agreement in 1980. Incidentally, Mr. Olsen never went back to Germany!
In the beginning the business was mainly involved with dairy companies due to the expertise and the connections of the Foodspec partners in this industry. The first delivery which consisted of two canisters of flavour came from Germany by post and was delivered to one of the famous dairy factories in South Africa.
A new generation is now leading the business at Foodspec. Ralf Olsen, the son of Hans Olsen, is now the Managing Director. Jenal Harduth, the daughter of Gino Ramasray and today the head of the flavour division has stated the following:
“Silesia brings top quality flavours to the market. They have invested a great deal in developing taste profiles that suit the consumer preferences in South Africa. They are also aware of the local price constraints and offer cost effective solutions. They support our customers at every stage of their product development, from concept ideas to the recipe formulation and production process, and they fine-tune the flavour profiles to match the market demand.”
Foodspec and Silesia are proving every day that they offer a perfect mix of Western approach and African flair. Silesia brings international flavour technology to the market with German efficiency and consistency. They provide technical and sensory training to the food producers. With their global foundation, they share trends and innovations from all over the world and adapt them to suit the African market. Foodspec opens doors to a large customer base, from the formal to the informal market. They offer strong sales and after sales service and a perfect understanding of local needs and challenges. Their warehousing and distribution facilities in Durban and Johannesburg help the industry to secure supplies and buffer exchange rate volatility.
Today, after 40 years of hard work, enduring the political and economic challenges in South Africa, the Foodspec and Silesia partnership has become one of the major players in the flavour industry in South Africa. They are present in all the segments of the food industry and bring to the market several full containers of flavours every month.
Jean-François Richard, Silesia’s Regional Sales Director, made the following comment:
“Our partner Foodspec put in place such good delivery and logistic systems that many of our customers believe that we produce locally. Furthermore, their approach to the business based on top quality service, partnership and adding value to our customers has matched the Silesia sales strategy 100%”. It was the perfect synergy to develop and grow our flavour business in South Africa.”
Silesia/Foodspec is now a market leader in the supply of savoury flavours. Silesia’s cheese flavours are often considered as benchmarks by many people involved in the industry, and the beef and chicken flavours are also famous. Silesia/Foodspec is also historically present and very active in the beverage industry (mainly in the juice segment) where everybody knows the Silesia apples, mangoes, pineapples and other tropical flavours. The business in the confectionery industry has developed enormously in the last decade, thanks to the well-known expertise of Silesia in this product category.
Today, Foodspec and Silesia are focusing on the new challenges of the food industry. Quality will always be the driver and the high grade of the BRC certificate of Silesia is the best proof. Sustainable sourcing of raw materials, energy saving and production process optimisation are also a constant consideration. Social awareness is a top priority of the Silesia management. Silesia has gone through the SMETA- 4 pillar ethical audit for several years now.
“New Food” is now the Silesia flavourists and application technologists special playground! They are developing flavour systems, product prototype formulations and concepts for new food products such as animal protein substitutes, protein enriched food, sugar and salt reduction and many more!
This year Foodspec is building in-house application lab facilities to strengthen the local technical support and service.
Jenal Harduth and Jean-François Richard both made the same statement: “This 40 year anniversary of cooperation is a great achievement for our companies, and it is also the start of a new era where both Silesia and Foodspec are committed to bring better flavour solutions to South Africa!
FOODSPEC CONTACT:
- Foodspec Pty Ltd
- 011 793 1333
- 031 468 3263
- Jenal Harduth | Director of Flavours
- jrharduth@foodspec.co.za
- www.foodspec.co.za