NUTRIS opens first European fava bean protein isolate manufacturing facility that uses groundbreaking technology

  • Investment worth 30 million EUR is first phase of larger investment cycle
  • Factory produces superior quality plant-based ingredients exported in EU, North America and Asia

NUTRIS Group has opened the first European hybrid factory for the production of premium plant-based ingredients from fava beans and potatoes in Novi Senkovac, Croatia. With this investment, worth 30 million EUR, NUTRIS positioned Croatia as one of the first countries to invest in the plant-based food industry, which is one of the world’s fastest growing industries. The global plant-based food market is expected to reach 77.8 billion USD in 2025.

The investment is a joint venture with the Danish SiccaDania, one of the top companies providing engineering solutions for the plant-based industry. The factory uses groundbreaking technology that the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) had been developing for over a decade, and that SiccaDania and NUTRIS.tech™ have intensively tested and further improved, at the same time proving its application in an industrial environment. This investment is part of a larger investment cycle, which includes expansion of existing facilities until 2025 and establishment of state-of-the-art NUTRIS.park™, as leading agro-industrial HUB, by 2030.

“I am proud of the fact that NUTRIS Group was the first to implement the groundbreaking process and green technology for the production of the premium ingredients from fava beans, which will become a central source of energy in the food of the future, and first one to build the only European hybrid factory. The factory will utilize the latest technology to manufacture high-quality plant-origin ingredients, with emphasis on proteins. The new factory is the first step toward establishment of the agro-industrial NUTRIS.park™ where all the processes will be combined in a single location, from primary production, research and development, to industrial production, as well as socially beneficial, educational and sports facilities for all those who believe in our nutritive, innovative and sustainable concept”, said Zvonimir Sedlić, NUTRIS Group’s Founder and Management Board President.

NUTRIS.tech™ produces protein isolates, starch and fiber from fava beans and potatoes, and currently cooperates with more than 250 family-run farms and employs 50 experts. Their goal is to reach a production capacity of 70,000 tonnes of high-quality ingredients for the food industry by 2025 in cooperation with more than a thousand family-run farms, as well as to create another 100+ new jobs. Their plant-origin ingredients are marketed under the NutriSmart brand and are of superior quality, suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. They are also gluten- free, allergen-free, and of neutral taste, produced from raw materials sourced across the EU. They are intended for the food industries in the fastest growing markets, including the EU, North America, and Asia.

NUTRIS operates according to the principles of the circular economy, with the aim of reducing waste and increasing the use of sustainable energy sources. Accordingly, they obtain 100% of the electricity they need from renewable energy sources. Finally, their water is filtered and reused, and the byproduct of extracting protein from fava beans is used to fertilize new fields.

 

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Mirjana Kolac

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