Dutch ingredients producer Barentz International has established a new joint distribution venture in Iran with Future Way Holding to tap into the formerly-restricted market.
The JV will operate under the name Barentz Middle East, which will be the Dutch company’s first presence in the region.
The company said it expected to see strong demand from Iran’s 80 million consumers, as well as the 400 million people in the wider region, read an article published in France-based daily online news service FoodNavigator-Asia.com.
“This acquisition is a great first milestone in our continued expansion plan for 2016. We have a positive outlook on the development of the industrial ingredients market in Iran. And moving into that market with a well-established family company like Future Way Holding was part of our strategic plans,” said Barentz CEO Hidde van der Wal.
“The synergy of our cooperation lies with Future Way’s traditional Persian way of doing business, combined with our knowledge of and access to high quality ingredients of our renowned suppliers, which will help local Iranian producers to increase the quality of their products and will enable them to grow their local business.”
Barentz, which produces a range of ingredients for food manufacturers and operates a number of technical application centers in Europe, has recently put greater focus on international expansion.
Last year, it announced its intention to grow its operations in Asia, following a financing deal.
Future Way is a long-established trading firm in Iran, founded more than 100 years ago. The company deals in sugar, wheat, barley, corn and rice, as well as pulses, legumes and other food ingredients. Future Way also imports and supplies food processing equipment.
“Working together with a reputable company like Barentz, with their expertise of food and pharmaceutical applications and access to ingredients from reputable suppliers from around the world, is a real advantage for our customers,” said Ali Sabetian, CEO of Future Way.
“We can benefit from the cooperation with Barentz in more than one way. We will gain more ingredients’ expertise from our shared knowledge and also, we will have an increased access to more high quality and innovative ingredients from international suppliers.”
Sabetian noted that although the consumption pattern of food products in Iran is still quite traditional, the trend of especially younger people wanting to buy established international brands is evident.
“We expect these brands to move into our markets gradually, with a long-term aim,” he added.
