Aussie, PH firms initiate food venture

The country’s leading food and plastic input manufacturer D&L Industries has teamed up with big Australian food ingredient companies Manildra Group and MSM Milling to introduce to the domestic market a new line of canola and wheat products.

In a joint statement, the Australian firms announced the appointment of D&L’s wholly owned subsidiary Oleo-Fats, Inc. (OFI) as the exclusive agent for the canola derivatives and wheat products Manildra and MSM in the Philippines.

The venture will have extensive applications in the snacks, dairy and food service industries.

Under the agreement, OFI will handle sales, marketing and distribution of the products locally.

“Manildra is noticing and embracing the increased demand for Australian wheat-based products, such as flour for noodles and glucose for use in confectionery production. We’re thrilled to secure this agreement with Oleo-Fats,” said Peter Simpson of the Manildra Group.

With this deal, OFI expects to harness its vast distribution network and deep customer relationships to extend Manildra and MSM’s reach into the Philippine canola and wheat market.

At the same time, Manildra and MSM expect to benefit from the operating efficiencies of having a local agent for sales and marketing.

“The partnership is also part of our strategy to focus on products that will give us better margins, while moving away from low-margin commodities. This vote of confidence from a global player like Manildra shows how we have transformed ourselves from being a vegetable oil refiner into a leading developer and manufacturer of customized and specialized food ingredients in the Philippines,” said OFI managing director Vincent Lao.

As an increasingly popular ingredient due to its nutritional qualities and low saturated fat, canola and its derivatives can be found in a variety of food applications in retail, household, and industrial markets.—Doris C. Dumlao