EPI's deal with Solarec to boost milk powder ingredients supply

EPI Ingredients, a subsidiary of co-operatives Coopagri Bretagne and Terrena, presently commercialises some 65,000 tonnes of dairy ingredients and has a turnover of €140m. The new arrangement, which will come into effect as of September 1, is expected to step up supply of milk powders from agrifood industrialists, who the company says are increasingly demanding high quality and functional ingredients. Details of the arrangement have not been disclosed, and company representatives could not be reached prior to publication for insight into the increasing demand. Like many modern ingredients firms, Epi's strategy is based on individual consultation with its customers, and it aims to deliver ingredient solutions that meet their specific needs. For its partner, EPI has chosen a dairy that appears to be going places. Solarec, a dairy farm in the Ardennes that is run by LAC+ and Laiterie Cooperative de Chéoux, produces over 45,000 tonnes of milk powder the facility each year, which is to receive a new drying unit and other new equipment thanks to €20m investment. This means that, with the contents of Solarec's store at its disposal, EPI is considerably growing the level at which it can supply to the market. Together with its sister consumer products company Laita, EPI has access to an annual milk collection of over a billion litres of milk. Its primary source is western France, home to some 5,000 producers and claimed to be the largest milk producing area in France. Last year EPI Ingredient introduced a line of fermented milk and yoghurt powders, calcium caseinate 220, and whey-derived ingredient Lactepi 90 at the Health Ingredients Europe trade show in Frankfurt.