“Most of our innovation is now around we ‘have a new fantastic ingredient, look what it does!’”, says Nigel Davies, Manufacturing and Sustainability Director of Muntons explaining the new inclusive strategy. The company, in association with FramFarmers, is opening up its Centre for Excellence on 10th November in Agri-Tech Week and Davies promises there will be some tasting on offer!
Muntons, a global leader in the production of liquid and dried malt extract for use in brewing, distilling and the food industries, will be giving talks and a site tour. This includes the state-of-the-art anaerobic digester that ensures value is extracted from everything.
Davies continues: “We have had a centre for excellence for product development for quite a few years. One of our strengths is we can make malt into a product and tell the customer ‘this is what you need to do’, rather than just give them the powder.
“A chocolate muffin comes with a massive 42,000 kg CO2/tonne footprint, if you can substitute the chocolate with a malt product then you can immediately remove the transportation element of the cost and malt is also a cheaper ingredient. We have brewers and bakers on site and they have created the maltichoc muffin that is so good that in a blind taste tests people thought our muffins were a premium product”
The company also works with its farmers to raise awareness of their carbon-footprint and offers help with how to address any issues, in a way that is also good for the farm.
“85% of farmers didn’t know how to engage with the idea of a carbon footprint,” says Davies. “6 months after we ran workshops on fertiliser use, alternate natural composts and so on … 85% now get it – the answer is to demystify the debate, simplifying the issue.”
There will also be discussions about the new anaerobic digestion facility and refreshments of the malty kind provided, with Muntons asking the question ‘Can you taste the difference?’
This event is hosted by Muntons and Fram Farmers.
Agri-Tech Week 2015 is sponsored by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
