Royal DSM, a life sciences and materials sciences firm based in the Netherlands, has acquired 19% stake in Yantai Andre Pectin, a China-based producer of texturing ingredients.
Headquartered in Yantai, Shandong Province, Andre Pectin was established in 2003, and is involved in the manufacture and sale of apple and citrus pectin, a key food ingredient that provides texture, as well as pectin related health supplements.
The company records annual net sales of around €30m.
This acquisition, along with recently purchased gellan gum assets in China, provides DSM with hydrocolloids growth platform in the country, in line with its strategy for the nutrition cluster.
With the previously acquired 10% stake, DSM now holds 29% share in Andre Pectin, and it has option rights to increase its stake to a major stake at a later stage.
Food hydrocolloids such as pectin and gellan gum incorporate properties that are ideal for use in a wide range of processed and healthy food applications.