Efko

EFKO Group of Companies is the largest Russian vertically integrated producer of special-purpose fats used in confectionery, bakery and other sectors of the food industry, and a processor of domestic oilseeds. The company is also an exporter of sunflower oil and a producer of food products - mayonnaise, vegetable oil, ketchup, yogurt and milk in Russia, releasing these products under such well-known brands as Sloboda and Altero.

Biryuch - NT Innovation Center

Biryuch-NT Innovation Center is a specialized R&D division of EFKO Group of Companies. The company's research focus is on developing innovative solutions in such promising areas as oleochemistry, food and biotechnology, cosmetics and household chemicals, feed products for farm animals, and integrating them into the company's existing businesses. The center is located in the Belgorod region and is equipped with the most modern synthetic and analytical equipment in Russia.

History

2024

Certification of sweet protein on the territory of ENPP

EFKO has completed certification of sweet protein on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. The company announced this on June 4, 2024.

The sweet protein brazzein has received a certificate of state registration and can now be used in food production.

With the increasing incidence of obesity and diabetes, the key task is to find an alternative to sugar, which allows you to reduce the amount of calories consumed, control blood sugar levels and improve the quality of life of people. There are a number of sweeteners and sugar substitutes - both natural and chemical - but they are all trade-offs because they either have a negative impact on health, or are expensive to produce.

Biotechnologically produced sweet protein is currently considered as the most promising alternative. It is several thousand times sweeter than sucrose and does not increase blood glucose levels.

A number of companies in the world are engaged in the development of sweet protein production technology, but in Russia they came closest to the applied use of the product: EFKO, together with scientific teams led by academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, developed a technology for the production of sweet brazzein protein and certified it in the UAE.

Now the company has announced the receipt of certification in the entire Eurasian Economic Union: in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. This means that the product is proven safe and meets all the requirements for food ingredients, i.e. soon brazzein will appear on store shelves as part of sweet products - ice cream, drinks, sweets, etc.

The world is already developing technology for producing sweet protein, a number of companies are developing their projects in this direction. However, there are few precedents for certification of sweet protein so far: the Arab Emirates and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. And in all cases it was the EFKO technology, - said Evgeny Lyashenko, General Director of EFKO Group of Companies, - It turns out that Russia in the field of sweet proteins is becoming one of the leaders precisely in terms of product introduction. Now that all the necessary procedures have been completed, we are ready to start measures to create sweet protein production on an industrial scale.

Since the start of the project in 2020, EFKO has invested 1.3 billion rubles in the development of sweet protein production technology and its development.

We are at the design stage of the first industrial enterprise for the production of brazzein in Russia. Investments in scaling the project will amount to more than 10 billion rubles, - added Evgeny Lyashenko.

The start of construction of the sweet protein plant will begin after the completion of the design in 2025.

Agreement on the construction of a bio-cluster for the production of sweet protein in the UAE for $500 million

Efko has agreed to build a bio-cluster for the production of sweet protein in the UAE for $500 million. The press service of the company announced this in early March 2024.

We are talking about the release of the sweet protein brazzein. The technology was certified in the UAE in 2023. In accordance with the agreement with partners from the UAE, which was announced in early March 2024, three production stages will be launched. The design of the biotechnology cluster will be carried out by European engineering companies.

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The problem of obesity and diabetes mellitus in the Middle East is very acute, - comments Rostislav Kovalevsky, director of innovation at Efko. - Therefore, the project is developing at a high pace in this region - people need a useful alternative to sugar, which will allow not to give up their usual products in order to lead a healthier lifestyle. Sweet protein is one of the most promising technologies to replace traditional sugar, because this protein sweetener does not cause an insulin response, several thousand times sweeter than sugar and has a similar taste profile.

According to Kovalevsky, by March 2024, several companies in different countries are developing sweet proteins, and Efko is grateful to its partners for the fact that it was the Russian technology that was chosen as the basis for creating a biotechnology cluster in the UAE.

Efko executive director Sergei Ivanov, in a conversation with Vedomosti, noted that the group decided to develop this project after meeting an Israeli startup that develops sweet monellin protein. Initially, Efko was going to invest in this startup, but subsequently the company's specialists were able to create their own technology.^[1]

Sale of Viola Dairy in Belgorod Region

On February 20, 2024, Viola announced the purchase of a dairy in the Belgorod Region from the Efko group. Its participants did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

We are talking about an enterprise located in the city of Alekseevka. The capacity of the production site is 230 tons of raw milk processing per day. Production of products under the Viola brand at the plant will begin after establishing processes in accordance with the internal requirements of the company, said Viola.

source = Efko

The plant in the Belgorod region will become the second own production site "Viola" in Russia. The company's first enterprise was opened in 2009 in the Moscow Region and specializes in the production and packaging of processed and semi-solid cheeses. In total, the company's assortment by February 2024 includes about 100 positions in various categories of dairy products. Viola expects that thanks to the new asset they will be able not only to increase the volume of yogurt production, but also to expand the geography of supplies.

Its own site for the production of fresh dairy products is a long-awaited event for Viola, which, at the same time, was a logical step for business. We have been developing dynamically in the yogurt category on the Russian market for many years, and today we are ready to go beyond the existing opportunities to meet the constantly growing demand, "said Viola CEO Anton Lilenko, quoted by the company's press service.

Efko General Director Evgeny Lyashenko, in turn, called the dairy plant in the Belgorod Region - one of the most equipped and modern sites on the market. A specialized plant will be more efficient as part of a specialized business, he said.^[2]

Start of construction of feed enzymes plant for 9.4 billion rubles

On January 11, 2024, the largest Russia food producer Efko announced a construction feed enzyme plant in the village of Belaya Vezha, Krasnogvardeisky District. Belgorod region The volume of investments in this project will amount to 9.4 billion. rubles

The company plans to establish the production of 2.4 thousand tons of enzymes per year, the launch of the facility is scheduled for early 2026.

Plant "Efko"

As noted by the director of innovation "Efko" Rostislav Kovalevsky, by January 2024, the company cooperates with leading Russian scientific centers in the development of enzyme production technologies.

Earlier, the company has already begun industrial production of the enzyme phospholipase, today all the company's mayonnaise is produced on its own enzymes. The company is now in the final stages of developing technologies for the production of a number of other enzymes that are indispensable in the food industry and animal husbandry. It is no secret that now these markets are almost completely provided with imported products, the Efko press service quotes Kovalevsky.

He added that the implementation of the project in the Belgorod region will lead to the development and strengthening of the well-being of the region, will create new jobs for specialists in the field of biotechnology. It is expected that thanks to this plant, Efko will be able to carry out import substitution in the feed enzyme market and provide the livestock industry with domestic feed enzymes.

Efko is a major producer of mayonnaise, vegetable oil, ketchup, as well as components of feed for farm animals and poultry. The capacities of production sites located in Belgorod, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Sverdlovsk regions, Krasnodar Territory, as well as in Kazakhstan, are capable of processing over 3.5 million tons of oilseeds per year (data at the beginning of January 2024).^[3]

Agreement on the construction of a plant for the production of feed enzymes in the Belgorod region

EFKO and the Government of the Belgorod Region have signed an agreement on the construction of a plant for the production of feed enzymes in the region. The cooperation agreement was signed on January 11, 2024 by Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov and EFKO Innovation Director Rostislav Kovalevsky.

The production capacity of the site will be 2.4 thousand tons of enzymes per year, which will allow import substitution in this market and provide the livestock industry with domestic feed enzymes.

The Company, in close cooperation with Russian scientific centers, is actively working in the development of enzyme production technologies: earlier the Company has already started industrial production of the Phospholipaz enzyme, and we are proud to say that all the Company's mayonnaise is produced on our own enzymes. As of January 2024, the Company is in the final stages of developing technologies for the production of a number of other enzymes that are indispensable in the food industry and animal husbandry. It is no secret that these markets are almost completely provided with imported products. We believe that the successful implementation of this project will significantly increase the level of food security of the country, "Rostislav Kovalevsky emphasized.

The estimated amount of investments in the project may amount to 9.4 billion rubles.

The implementation of the project in the Belgorod region will lead to the development and strengthening of the well-being of the region, will create new jobs for specialists in the field of biotechnology, Kovalevsky said. - We are grateful to the Government for supporting the initiative and are ready to start work.

The company has begun designing the plant, and its launch could take place in early 2026.

2023

Opening of Dubai Applied Research Centre

In Dubai, the EFKO Applied Research Center (CPI) began work, where in 2022 the headquarters of the company's innovative projects was opened - the next step in the development of EFKO in the Persian Gulf market. Investments in the project amounted to $3 million. The company announced this on December 7, 2023.

Interest in the Arab Emirates in the company is explained by several reasons. It is one of the logistics and geographical centers of the world. From here, it is convenient to work with consumers in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But most importantly, biotechnology in food in this particular climate has the potential not only to provide food to local consumers, but also to be competitive in the region's foreign markets.

The first guests of the Center were members of the international organization Imagine: ex-CEO Unilever Paul Polman, founder of the Africa Support Fund Mo Ibrahim, head of the World Food Program partner program Virginia Villar, vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation Sarah Farley and others.

EFKO Executive Director Sergei Ivanov leads the Imagine project to develop a community development strategy. The company's CPI has become the Middle East hub of an organization that gathers experts around it in business, science and public organizations who care about the global food security agenda.

The CPI combines an R&D center and a biotechnology laboratory. This allows you to simultaneously develop new recipes and a full-fledged scientific search. In particular, continue to expand the range of vegetable meat and milk, as well as study the potential for using useful sugar alternatives - sweet proteins - in various products.

In 2023, EFKO certified sweet protein in the UAE. The high interest in useful sugar alternatives here is explained by the fact that the Middle East has one of the highest rates of diabetes mellitus in the world. In addition, due to climatic conditions, the region is strongly dependent on the export of agricultural products.

It took a little less than a year to build the CPI. Investments in the project amounted to $3 million.

Our R&D center in Moscow was created as a state-of-the-art kitchen of the future and the main workshop of the company for the development of new recipes, but, in addition, it became an educational and educational center. Lectures, master classes and seminars are held here. We plan to continue this practice in Dubai - to hold master classes and interviews with international experts at the CPI, tasting new author's dishes with vegetable meat and presenting new products with sweet proteins. So that our Middle East CPI also becomes the center of interesting events about innovation and food of the future, - said the executive director of EFKO Sergei Ivanov.

TAdviser interview with Maxim Antonov, Head of IT Warehouse Development and Support

The EFKO product holding has already transferred ten warehouses of various profiles to the WMS system from LogistiX. Maxim Antonov, Head of Development and Support of Warehouse IT Systems at EFKO, spoke about the progress of the project in September 2023 to TAdviser. Read more here.

2022

Vegetable oil created by microorganisms has appeared in Russia. 100 million rubles invested in the project

On September 20, 2022, the Efko agricultural holding announced the release of the first vegetable oil produced by microorganisms in Russia. About 100 million rubles were invested in this project at the first stage. Read more here.

Hi-Fly Cargo drone demonstration

On April 11, 2022, Efko introduced its own Hi-Fly Cargo drone. It is capable of flights with a range of up to 20 km, develops speeds of up to 100 km/h and can carry cargo up to 170 kg. Read more here.

Relocation of the Fuel For Growth Foundation headquarters from the Russian Federation to the UAE

As it became known on February 14, 2022, the Fuel For Growth corporate venture capital fund of the Efko group of companies changes the geographical location of its headquarters - it will move from Moscow to the UAE. At the same time, work with investors in the Russian capital will continue. Read more here.

2019

EFKO Group launched a $50 million corporate venture capital fund with a focus on food tech

EFKO Group launched a $50 million early-stage venture capital fund Fuel for Growth in September. The fund was registered in September 2019. In addition to funding, startups are offered industry expertise throughout the food technology chain, including market access.

The fund's focus will focus primarily on investment in foodtech. First of all, these are projects that can globally change the nutrition industry, focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle, maintaining environmental balance and strengthening food security. The main criteria for selecting startups are the presence of a prototype product and a strong team capable of implementing ambitious plans with great potential for scaling. The geography of the fund's investments is not limited. Already, about a dozen foreign projects are under consideration, the first transactions are planned by the end of 2019.

According to Yevgeny Lyashenko, CEO, member of the Board of Directors of EFKO Group of Companies, the most promising areas in the field of FoodTech today are plant-based protein products (including the actively growing industry of vegetable meat and drinks alternative to milk), developments in the production of new generation sugar substitutes, modern smart packaging, biotechnology and digital solutions for optimizing processes in the industry.

'EFKO has been systematically working with innovations since 2012: we have launched centers for applied research in divisions where dairy products, new formulations of mayonnaise, ketchup, sauces, fats are being developed. We also have our own BIRYUCH research center, which conducts research and development in the field of biotechnology (genetics, fermentation, etc.), and we work with high-tech early-stage projects that are not directly related to food technologies. All this allowed us to work out internal processes for working with talented scientists and external technological startups, accumulate expertise, and now we are ready to become an active player in the venture capital market "- notes Evgeny Lyashenko.

According to him, working through a venture capital fund with startups and other venture capital funds will allow EFKO Group of Companies not only to strengthen its main business, but also to open new niches for development.

EFKO Group of Companies became the founder and first investor of the Fuel for Growth fund, and in the near future plans to attract other investors to it, including foreign ones. The plans include investing in projects in markets that have advanced further than others in the development of modern FoodTech solutions - Israel, EU markets, the United States and others.

Plan for the opening of a research center on the territory of Skolkovo

On July 9, 2019, EFKO announced its intention to place its outpost on the territory of Skolkovo to search for new technologies and startups in the field of bio- and food technologies.

Priority areas of activity of the partner center will be developments in the field of functional food and components, smart packaging, technologies for assessing the quality and storage of products, development of feed, methods of breeding and reproduction of plants and animals, and other scientific areas. Also in the focus of EFKO's interests are modern IT developments for the agro-industrial complex: artificial intelligence, neural networks, big data analysis, algorithmic machine vision, robotics, unmanned technologies and others.

Episodic interaction with the EFCO fund is translated into a systemic basis.

Cooperation with the Skolkovo Foundation will allow for close cooperation with external teams and resources of the innovation center, including Skoltech. This will allow EFKO to form an effective point of exchange of ideas, information and projects between Skolkovo ecosystem participants and company divisions, including the Biryuch-NT innovation center, division laboratories, - said Zyuzin Andrey, Deputy General Director for Innovation and Digitalization of EFKO Group of Companies.

The plans are to deepen cooperation with the fund and join the Skolkovo research infrastructure and include the infrastructure of the Biryuch-NT research center in the list of Skolkovo Collective Use Centers.

By the end of 2019, the parties plan to agree on a competition for the selection of modern technological solutions in the field of agro-industrial complex.

2016

EFKO Group of Companies is a member of the oil and fat industry of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, is one of the three largest companies in the agro-industrial complex of Russia and ranks 8th in the list of the largest companies in terms of sales of products in the food industry (data for 2016).

The company is also one of the backbone enterprises of the food industry and manufacturers of products that affect the food security of the Russian Federation. EFKO operates in the market of food ingredients used in the confectionery, bakery and other sectors of the food industry, is one of the leading manufacturers of mayonnaise, vegetable oil, ketchup, dairy and fermented dairy products, including under such well-known brands as Sloboda and Altero, as well as a large manufacturer of components of feed for farm animals and poultry. The company's products are exported to more than 40 countries.

The company's production assets are located in Belgorod, Voronezh and Sverdlovsk regions, Krasnodar Territory, Moscow region and Kazakhstan.

2014

According to the results of 2014, the Group became one of the 100 largest private companies in Russia according to Forbes.

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