Page 16 - Food&Drink Business magazine June 2022

A golden anniversary
With global taste and food ingredient company Kerry celebrating its 50th year, Kim Berry caught up with John Cahalane, the CEO and president of Kerry Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, to discuss the milestone, current business climate, and his time with the business.
COMPANY INSIGHT
16 | Food&Drink business | June 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
AS Kerry marks its 50th year, the president and CEO of its Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA) business, John Cahalane, is celebrating his 20th anniversary at the company.
In those two decades, he worked in the US for three years and 15 years in Latin America before heading to Singapore to lead the APMEA operations.
Cahalane says, “The region is very exciting and at the same time, our customers have many different problems and challenges. I’m also struck by the rich cultural diversity and the energy and passion of the people in the various areas.”
He explains that a major milestone like Kerry’s 50th year allows reflection as well as a renewed focus on the future. Doing so for a company that has 22,000 employees is no mean feat, with the theme ‘Expanding Horizons’ encompassing those themes along with fostering a sense of curiosity about Kerry’s capabilities to attract new talent.
UNFOLDING TRENDS,
NEW CHALLENGES Meanwhile, trends continue to unfold, and Kerry’s clients are looking for ways to meet customer expectations. Cahalane says that across all markets there is demand for better taste, more authentic and natural flavours, and local experiences.
“Consumers want enhanced nutrition for better health and overall well-being and more convenient and affordable options to match today’s on-the-go lifestyles.
“To top it off, sustainability is important: people want products that are made with cleaner labels and natural, easily recognisable ingredients, transparency, and more responsible sourcing of those ingredients,” he says.
The result is significant pressure on manufacturers and all food and beverage channels to meet those demands while also predicting new emerging trends.
“We have an extensive solutions portfolio covering food safety and security, clean label, positive and balanced nutrition, proactive nutrition, and personalised nutrition, that helps our customers move along
the Sustainable Nutrition spectrum,” Cahalane explains.
THE ANZ ANGLE
In the Australian and New Zealand markets, research by Kerry reveals consumers across all age groups are interested in food and beverages with functional benefits, with demand for immune support, joint health and digestive health particularly high.
Kerry’s 2021 Global Consumer Survey on Immune and Digestive Health showed that a strong immune system and healthy gut were top reasons why Australians would buy a healthy lifestyle product, and 74 per cent prefer to get health benefits from food and beverages than from supplements.
“Among consumers in Australia, demand for functional foods and beverage has continued to grow. Since Covid, one in four Australians say they are buying more fortified products,” he says.
In terms of health benefits in foods, immune health ranked #1 at 54 per cent, followed by digestive health at 47 per cent, with 53 per cent of Australian consumers strongly associating probiotics with good gut health, second only to fibre.
The survey also found 34 per cent rely on fruit and vegetable juices to strengthen both their immunity and digestive health.
Australian consumers are more likely to buy a product if it is supported by scientific data, and the likelihood to purchase comes down to research and transparency, with 47 per cent of Australia’s millennials saying they are more likely to buy a healthy lifestyle product if they have done their own research on the ingredient and its benefits.
LOOKING LOCALLY, OPERATING GLOBALLY Another important factor for success, Cahalane says, is having facilities close to customers to enable better understanding of local cultures, methods, and markets while also discovering local talent. He says the opening of Kerry’s ANZ Development and Application Centre in Brisbane, Queensland in 2021, was an example of that.