FOOD SPECIALITIES LIMITED - FSL - BRINGS INGREDIENT SOLUTIONS EXPERTISE TO NIGERIA

· Award-winning food and beverage ingredients supplier opens dedicated Nigeria office

· Sugar reduction solutions will help Nigerian market adopt government sugar tax

· On-trend healthy plant-based foods such as the world's first vegan shish kebab meat set to shake up market



Food Specialities Limited - FSL - the Middle East and Africa's most trusted and innovative ingredient and beverage supplier is expanding into West Africa with an office in Nigeria.

Established in Dubai in 1986, FSL caters to the entire spectrum of the food and beverage industry, supplying a variety of value-added ingredients and commodities to manufacturers and traders.

Its entire ingredients portfolio - including its innovative and award-winning sugar-reduced and plant-based solutions are now available across the 'giant of Africa'.

Vice President of Ingredients for FSL, Tanvir Ahmed says: "West Africa is a huge, diverse and very exciting market for us. After developing a strong market foothold in the East and West Africa region over the last decade, we have now opened a Lagos office. Interested parties can find us at the Nigeria Agrofood exhibition between March 22-24. What new customers will find is a deeply experienced ingredient solutions provider, and a company they can trust."

That experience and trust has been gained over three decades of innovation in developing ingredient solutions for regional markets. FSL is the name behind many of the leading food and beverage brands in the region, working with leading international ingredient and flavourings suppliers.

As a market leader, FSL enjoys a dedicated innovation and marketing department to support customers with new product development (NPD), industry trend analysis and marketing support, backed by a world-class innovation lab and expert technical support.

FSL is now also market leader in innovative sugar reduction and plant-based solutions, and only works with the world's leading ingredient suppliers. The company also delivers logistics support for customers, helping ensure the ingredients supply chain runs smoothly.

General Manager for FSL's Africa Operations, Mr. Balaji L.V. says, "Our new customers in Nigeria should be reassured to know that every ingredient we supply has been carefully audited and quality controlled by our team. And there's never been a better time to introduce reduced sugar and plant-based foods, especially with health being top of the agenda and the Nigerian government's recently introduced sugar tax on sweetened beverages.

"FSL's solutions can help manufacturers reduce and eliminate sugar from their recipes while maintaining the same great taste and reducing their taxable liabilities."

Reduced sugar and plant-based solutions in food and beverage manufacturing are the most dominant trends leading the food industry today. According to Innova Market Insights, some 87% of new products launched globally from 2015-2019 carried a vegan, plant-based or vegetarian claim. Products with low-sugar claims are now one of the fastest growing sectors of NPD with a growth rate of 17%.

FSL's team of technical, marketing and innovation specialists have extensive experience in developing winning sugar-reduced and plant-based solutions for Middle East brands -and that expertise is now fully available in West Africa.
Other than innovation expertise, FSL can help African food and beverage brands improve their profitability with cost-effective solutions and technical, logistics and new product development support. FSL keeps manufacturers at the vanguard of the food industry - helping them achieve a leadership position with the value FSL adds to the ingredients supply chain.