Two years of crisis. Sanctions. Currency fluctuations. The exit of transnational companies. All this time the confectionery market has literally had a hard time. How is the industry developing today? What innovations can ingredient producers offer to it? These and other questions were discussed by experts and technologists at the EFKO Group seminar.

The difficult geopolitical situation hit the confectionery market hardest. Producers faced a shortage of raw materials, and due to problems with importing ingredients, production costs rose.

However, the statistics speak for themselves. According to Rosstat, in 2023 the production of confectionery in our country increased by 3.5% compared to 2022 and amounted to 4.1 million tons the highest figure since 2018. Half of the volume is the sugar segment, they produced 2.1 million tons, the remaining 2 million tons are flour confectionery products.

The market has not only adapted to the difficulties, but is moving forward with confidence. This is largely due to the fact that the domestic fats and oils industry has been able to fully replace imported foreign ingredients. Today, EFKO's capacities, technologies and equipment enable it to meet the needs of the country's leading companies in the field of specially fats and other food ingredients.

What innovations can we offer to producers?

One of the main requests is for cocoa butter alternatives.

Cocoa butter is a key ingredient in many confectionery products. But it is an expensive and limited product often there is simply a physical shortage. That is why the confectionery industry uses its alternatives. Our company was the first in Russia to develop a cocoa butter equivalent it is as close as possible to cocoa butter in composition and properties, but has a higher crystallization rate and increased resistance to recrystallization.

“Cocoa butter equivalent is widely used in chocolate compounds both in Russia and abroad," says Evgenia Potekina, EFKO Group technologist. It is used not only in classic recipes, but also in the creation of new confectionery products. It is worth mentioning that the production of equivalents itself is a complex, time-consuming process that requires special equipment and raw material base. Today we produce a wide range of equivalents: universal, for hard and soft chocolate compounds and for praline masses. Our range also includes a cocoa butter improver that increases the bloom resistance of chocolate”.

This year we introduced another cocoa butter alternative to the market substitutes of mixed type. These are fundamentally new ingredients they are used in the production of various types of confectionery products and compounds. Cocoa butter substitutes of mixed type combine all the benefits of lauric and non-lauric cocoa butter substitutes. At the same time, they make it possible to make products with a minimum content of trans-isomers less than 2%.

A new product for the market, which has already won the Best Product award at Prodexpo-2024, is confectionery fats “Econat” with shea butter. The oil is obtained from the fruit of a tree that grows in West and Central Africa. Locals have used it in traditional cuisine for centuries it has a creamy consistency and delicate nutty flavor. But the world learned about the “African miracle” only in the XIX century due to the development of trade.

We have learned how to fractionate shea butter and use these fractions to create unique compositions that reveal the flavor of fillings in confections such as assorted candies, pralines and pastes.

Today's confectionery market demands a wide range of ingredients. First of all, crystallizers, which prevent the separation and migration of liquid oils and allow to obtain the desired consistency of the product.

“For a long time, crystallizers were imported from other countries," says Alyona Surkova, Director of the Confectionery Department in the Oils and Fats Division of the EFKO Group. We have developed our own product, which allows us to expand the range of chocolate-nut, peanut and khalva pastes. We have also developed a line of emulsifiers and started their pilot production. The confectionery industry accounts for 49% of the consumption of these ingredients. Emulsifiers are used in the production of confectionery masses fillings for enrobed candies, truffles and pralines, chocolate, chocolate and confectionery compounds, as well as flour confectionery products”.

We not only discussed ingredients with our partners, but also tasted products based on them. We tried candies and wafers with nut fillings and with our confectionary fat with shea butter fractions, crunchy chocolate-covered cookies with cocoa butter equivalents, and more.

In the Alekseevskaya Sloboda of the Belgorod province, where in the late 1820s, sunflower oil was produced for the first time in the Russian Empire, and the first oil mill in Russia was built.

During the years of the First World War, and then the Civil War, production was completely stopped. The restoration of the plant began only in 1923. The main focus of its work remained the processing of coriander and anise. In 1936, the second oil extraction plant in all of Russia was built in Alekseevka. Later, both enterprises were merged into one of the largest essential oil extraction complexes in the Soviet Union.

During the Great Patriotic War, the complex was almost destroyed. Restoration work, which began in 1943, continued until the end of 1948. In the post-war period, comprehensive reconstruction was carried out on many sections using the latest technological advancements. By the 1970s, the Alekseevsky essential oil extraction complex produced up to 80% of the world's coriander oil. For its achievements in production development, the development and implementation of advanced technology, by decree of August 14, 1972, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded the plant the Order of the Badge of Honor.

Unfortunately, in the 1990s, the enterprise that brought fame and wealth to the people of Alekseevka fell into decline and practically collapsed. The revival of the enterprise began in 1994 with the arrival of a new team and the creation of the EFCO Group.

The enterprise underwent large-scale modernization of production and established a new management system. The company decided to return to its roots and resume the production of sunflower oil. Later, EFCO expanded the range and volume of products.

In 2002, a new business direction was opened, and the most modern plant for the production of specialized fats and margarines for the food industry, EFCO Food Ingredients, was launched in the city of Alekseevka, Belgorod region. A scientific and production laboratory was established at the plant, equipped to control product quality at all stages of production and conduct in-depth scientific research.

In 2002–2003, EFCO technologists mastered the most environmentally friendly process of vegetable oil processing – the 'dry' fractionation method, applied the technology of physical refining of oils and fats, and managed to create Russia's first cocoa butter substitute 'Ecolad,' milk fat substitute 'Ecolact,' solid confectionery fat 'Ekond,' soft confectionery fat 'Ekonfe,' universal margarines 'Ecouniversal,' frying shortenings 'Ecofri,' and the first domestic fats with minimal trans-isomers content – confectionery fats 'Econat.'

In 2005, the R&D center of the fats and oils division was created based on EFCO Food Ingredients, consisting of the Applied Research Center and the Pilot Plant Department. The center’s specialists are engaged in developing and testing fat products for healthy eating lines and innovative recipes, taking into account the needs of manufacturers.

In 2006, the company was the first in Russia to successfully pass an audit for compliance with the quality and safety requirements of the BRC (Global Standard for Food Safety) and the International Food Standard (IFS). Is this information relevant?

In 2008, the second plant for the production of specialized fats and margarines was launched in the port of Taman in the Krasnodar Territory, and the only deep-water sea terminal for food cargo in Russia was built.

The following year, the plant successfully passed certification for compliance with the quality and safety requirements of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the International Food Standard (IFS). International auditors awarded the company the highest compliance level – Grade AA. Is this information relevant?

In 2014, the company’s technologists created the first domestic equivalent of cocoa butter.

In 2015, the EFCO Group launched a project to create a unique fats and oils cluster in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Thanks to production modernization and the transfer of global technologies, the production of specialized fats and margarines meeting the highest international standards was established in a short time.

In 2016, EFCO opened its fourth site for the production of specialized fats and margarines at the Evdakovsky fats and oils plant in the Voronezh region.

In 2021, production capacity at the Taman port facility was increased – launching the world's first 'million-ton plant' for the production of specialized fats and margarines. Do we need this?

In 2023, the company launched the only shea nut processing plant in Russia.

Thanks to R&D and significant investments by domestic producers in developing their own infrastructure, primarily by EFCO, the share of imported producers in the Russian food ingredients market has decreased from 49% to 9% over the past 15 years and continues to decline.

Almost 200 years later, Alekseevka remains the largest center for vegetable oil processing in the country.