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Year of Gold: EFKO Products Receive Top Awards at PRODEXPO-2025

24.02.2025
Year of Gold: EFKO Products Receive Top Awards at PRODEXPO-2025
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Year of Gold: EFKO Products Receive Top Awards at PRODEXPO-2025
Sweets of the future: "EFKO-ART" started production of sweets with sweet protein

Sweets of the future: "EFKO-ART" started production of sweets with sweet protein07.02.2025

China, Turkey, Serbia, Brazil, Kazakhstan - more than 30 countries - participants and tens of thousands of visitors were united by the International Exhibition of Food and Beverages "PRODEXPO-2025". At the traditional Prodexpo awards ceremony, the products of EFKO's Oils and Fats Division once again won gold medals - this year three at once.

 

Innovation is the foundation of the company's development. New knowledge and technologies allow us to expand and improve our range of food ingredients and open up new opportunities for our partners. In 2024, we have found solutions to the new technological challenges of the market.

 

EFKO specialists have created Russia's first line of fats with shea butter. Shea butter is one of the most expensive vegetable oils. It is extracted from the fruit of the shea tree growing in West and Central Africa. The oil is subjected to a safe high-tech fractionation process, and the resulting fractions are subsequently used in the production of specialty fats. 

 

For a long time specialty fats with shea butter and its fractions were represented on the Russian market only by imports. In 2024, EFKO Group switched to deep processing of shea nuts, obtaining shea butter and shea stearin. Not only have we been able to develop unique products using this ingredient, but we have also been recognized by the leading confectionery producers. EFKO Group confectionery fat "Ecomix 4003-30" won the nomination "Best Product of the Year - 2025". It is used for the production of candy fillings in glazes - it reveals the taste of cocoa and milk ingredients and also has barrier properties. The mechanism of action of "Ecomix" barrier fats is the formation of a stable crystalline structure, which holds easily melting fats, such as nut oils, firmly in its structure. The migration of fat from the filling to the candy surface is significantly reduced.

 

Another market challenge we have responded to is the development of new cocoa butter alternatives.  Our company was the first in Russia to launch a line of cocoa butter equivalents in 2014. Since then, we have been continuously improving our recipes and expanding our assortment. The gold medal in the category "Innovations in Technology" was awarded to the new cocoa butter equivalent "Equilad 0401-34". Not only is it as close as possible to cocoa butter, it exceeds it in some parameters. For example, it has a higher crystallization rate, extends shelf life and preserves the attractive appearance of products.

 

In a challenging geopolitical environment, our mission is to maintain market stability. Our company has been producing food ingredients for more than 20 years.  In 2024, we were not only able to maintain our position, but also to replace the production of emulsifiers, which were previously supplied from abroad. They are used in the production of chocolate, bakery products, creams, spreads and margarines.

 

Today the largest domestic producers use EFKO emulsifiers: saturated monoglycerides, PGPR, PGE, sorbitan tristearate and sorbitan monostearate. Our emulsifier "Ecomuls DMG60" was awarded a gold medal in the competition "Innovation in Technology and Product Composition". Designed for the production of medium and low-fat spreads and frozen desserts, it stabilizes the emulsion and maintains the consistency of the product.

 

 

Alexey Dikarev
Director of the Food Ingredients

"This is not the first year that EFKO has participated in the PRODEXPO exhibition," said Alexey Dikarev, Director of the Food Ingredients Department of the Oils and Fats Division. - This is a great platform where we can meet our old partners and find new ones, present new products, see what our competitors are "breathing", what trends are on the market and what products will be in demand in the future. The appreciation of our products inspires us to take on new major projects.

 

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Dear partners!

In order to improve EFKO products and quality of service, as well as to better meet your needs, we ask you to answer a few questions.

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.

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