Puratos acquires Ruskhleb to extend its offering of local sourdoughs and allow more bakers in Russia to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for sourdough breads.
Ruskhleb, a bakery ingredient manufacturer located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. With this acquisition the aim is to further establish Puratos’ local presence and leadership in bakery, while localising sourdough production using local raw materials.
“We are proud to strengthen our presence in Russia and to continue acting as an innovative partner for a market that has been so welcoming to us for more than two decades,”
comments Olivier Tilkens, Regional Director Northern & Eastern Europe at Puratos.
Sourdough is on the rise
At Puratos, we believe that the future of bread lies in its past.
The world of bread is endless, branching out into a wealth of textures, recipes and traditions. But its roots are quite simple. It all starts with natural fermentation.
Sourdough is the most traditional bakery ingredient as it has been around for over 5.000 years. It involves fermenting flour with micro-organisms and water.
Over the years Puratos has developed expertise in natural fermentation and knowledge of baking cultures from all over the world, acting as a leader in the sourdough ready-to-use market for more than 30 years.
Growing demand for local, sourdoughs
Many of today’s consumers are looking for tasty, healthy, and traditional breads made from natural ingredients.
Using sourdoughs that are adapted to these local consumer preferences allow bakers to diversify their bread range and successfully introduce new flavours, as different types of sourdough bring out new tastes and textures.
To supply more customers in Russia, Puratos is investing in new and local sourdough productions.
“This is a great opportunity to work together with bakers and local associations to modernize the strong sourdough bread heritage of Russia and to increase the awareness of the Russian consumers about the richness of their local terroir and the possibilities that sourdough breads offers”
comments Natalia Petrenko, General Manager at Puratos Russia.
Ruskhleb will allow Puratos to locally produce sourdoughs, using local ingredients with a R&D facility equipped with modern production lines of over 3.700 square meters.
“The modern manufacturing unit will allow us to answer even better to the consumers’ growing demands for high-quality and nutritious products,”
adds Olivier Tilkens, Regional Director Northern & Eastern Europe at Puratos.
Health and Well-Being as a cornerstone
Puratos continuously works with customers to improve the nutritional value of finished goods and to launch clearer, and ‘cleaner’ labels ingredient alternatives.
Health and well-being is the priority in Puratos’ product development processes and the company works constantly to produce products with the highest possible nutritional value without compromising taste or quality.
Sourdough offers a natural form of leavening that enhances the taste and nutritional value of baked bread products.
““Taste Tomorrow, the world’s largest bakery, patisserie and chocolate consumer survey, shows that 71% of Russian consumers believe that sourdough bread has better taste and contributes to a healthier lifestyle. We expect that natural sourdough will positively influence consumers’ buying decision in the future,”” concludes Elena Afanasyeva, Marketing manager at Puratos Russia.
Rukshleb employs 40 people and will operate as a production unit within the Puratos structure. The production capabilities will be expanded in the future, to increase the volume of production and offer a wider product range to its customers.
