DSM and Anchor set up wine ingredients business

16-Feb-2010 - Last updated on 16-Feb-2010 at 11:02 GMT

Related tags Yeast

DSM and Anchor BioTechnologies have agreed to set up a joint venture bringing their bio-tech wine ingredients together under one roof in the south of France.

The new joint venture, named OenoBrands, will now market and sell the wine ingredients in the DSM and Anchor portfolios, including brands like Anchor wine yeast, Collection Cépage, Fermicru, Fermivin, Rapidase, and Claristar.

OenoBrands will operate independently of its parent companies as a separate 50:50 owned joint venture. DSM did not reveal the financial details of the deal.

Explaining the reasons behind the creation of OenoBrands, managing director Isabelle van Rolleghem told BeverageDaily.com that it would be able to operate with improved “flexibility and reactivity”.

The former industry wine manager at DSM, said by bringing together the technical and marketing expertise of DSM and Anchor, OenoBrands would be able to bring new wine yeasts and enzymes to market quicker and react faster to unsolved product needs.

Location

Although Anchor is based in South Africa and DSM is headquartered in the Netherlands, OenoBrands will operate out of Montpellier, France.

Van Rolleghem said: “It makes sense to be located in one of the biggest wine producing regions in France (Languedoc-Roussillon). The wine fields are right next door and we are close to market… France, Italy, and Spain still account for 50 to 60 per cent of global wine production.”

OenoBrands is expected to be fully operational by 1 May 2010, and will operate with a staff of 15 to 20 people in Montpellier, selling through a global distribution network across 40 countries.

Ambitions

Outlining the ambitions of the new company, Alan MacDonald, CEO of Anchor BioTechnologies and chairman of OenoBrands, said: “OenoBrands, with its highly qualified team of oenologists and technical experts, will provide winemakers all over the world, with complete solutions in yeast, yeast nutrients, wine enzymes, bacteria and mannoproteins.”

Before setting up OenoBrands, DSM and Anchor have cooperated in a number of markets over the past 10 years.

Van Rolleghem said: “Anchor Biotechnologies produces DSM Food Specialties’ wine yeasts and is responsible for the distribution of DSM’s wine ingredients in South Africa. DSM Food Specialties distributes Anchor wine yeast in certain other countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Argentina and Chile.”