Creating opportunities

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The customer comes firstAAK’s vision of being the first choice for value-added vegetable oil solutions can only be realized by putting you as a customer first. Mutual cooperation facilitates meeting the challenges of enhanced product properties, successful market introductions, and crea-t ing or maintaining brand loyalty among consumers. Putting you first also means delivering quality as a prime benefit.

Promoting healthier lifestyles Everyone needs fats for producing energy, hormones and other essential bodily components, as well as for transporting fat-soluble substances. And just as important, fats contribute to a pleasurable eating experience. The advantage of AAK’s product portfolio is that it consists of natural or modified vegetable oils and fats, of which many have a low saturated fat content, thereby promoting healthier lifestyles.

Total value-added solutionsWe don’t just sell products, we offer total value-added solutions. These are compre-hensive packages of benefits like problem-solving, customization, market advice, delivery systems, technical support and customer training, along with whatever else is needed to meet your particular needs. And, of course, we complement this with high-quality speciality fats!

Global reach, local presenceNo matter where you are in the world, you’re within reach of AAK and can expect a rapid response to your enquiries or needs. As we are a major international company with a global reach and strong local presence, you profit from attentive customer care that provides excellent product and technical support. Everything we do involves creating opportunities for you.

Opportunities start with you

Creating »« opportunities

‘Everything we do involves creating opportunities for you.’

Our natural ability to form close relationships with customers enables us to quickly understand their needs as the vital first step in creating opportunities for them. Therefore, you can make the most of our expertise within value-added speciality vegetable fats by telling us exactly what you expect from your products and from us. After all, creating opportunities starts with you.

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4Creating »« opportunities

‘We constantly gather market intelligence to keep us well-equipped to help you achieve your business objectives.’

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Our AAK ACADEMY™

This academy is for the exclusive use of our customers who want to gain a greater understanding of fat technology. It facilitates discussions between ourselves and our customers, thus enabling us to achieve better results together. There are general AAK ACADEMY™ courses for most cus-tomers, but they can also be tailored to individual needs. The teachers are AAK personnel who are experts on lipid tech-nology.

In tune with the marketWe constantly gather market intelligence to keep us well-equipped to help you achieve your business objectives. We complement our product skills by closely following con-sumer trends, lifestyle preferences and competitive developments. Exchanging views with our customers and prospects also keeps us in tune with what’s happening in our market around the world.

An extensive bank of knowledgeOver the years, AAK has accumulated an extensive bank of knowledge on the chem-istry and properties of lipids, their modifi-cation and application, as well as the needs of our customers in different market seg-ments. This makes us well placed to give good advice to our customers covering a wide range of topics that can lead to better decision-making in their business activities.

Dedicated R&DAs our business areas cover the use of our speciality fats in a wide range of consumer products, AAK carries out dedicated R&D activities on a local basis. This is usually done in close collaboration with customers and often involves new product development. As an aid to this, AAK provides pilot labo-ratory facilities in many of our factories that can be used, for example, to define recipes and production parameters.

Our knowledge is vital in creating opportunitiesCreativity demands a firm foundation. Our base is built from deep and special knowledge such as lipid know-how, chemical analysis and modification, processing conditions, and the properties of lipids in end products. We understand our customers and their applications. Such knowledge and understanding are indispensible in creating opportunities for you within chocolate and confectionery, food products and beauty and personal care.

Adding value and functionalityAdding value and functionality to products are essential ingredients in the pursuit of increased profit and market share. And this is exactly what we offer you. AAK is always looking for ways to develop new value-added speciality products, particularly in close collaboration with customers, in order to make food containing natural vegetable fats more attractive to consumers.

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World leader in sheaWe are the world’s largest user of shea ker-nels, which are collected on the savannahs of West Africa and shipped to our factories in Europe for oil extraction. Because of its sought-after properties in food and cos-metics, shea butter is in increasing demand worldwide. Local AAK offices buy the kernels collected by the local village people, mainly women. Through their frequent contact with the villages, our personnel identified an opportunity to increase the availability of the kernels while simultaneously making the daily workload of the women less heavy and allowing them to earn more money.

Improving living conditionsMultifunctional platforms (MFPs) help women collecting shea kernels to reduce their daily workload. This is achieved by a simple small diesel engine installed in the villages. The engine is equipped to generate electri city and speed up household work, as well as the first preparation of shea ker-nels. In collaboration with UNDP, AAK has successfully completed the first part of the programme, and is now well into the sec-ond phase of installing numerous new MFPs in villages in Burkina Faso, one of the main shea-producing countries in West Africa.

Palm oil is beneficialReduction of trans fatty acids (TFA) from different types of food is a growing trend around the world. TFA is removed because of its negative effect on blood cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. In some cases, partially hydrogenated fats, which are one of the main sources of TFA in our diet, can be replaced by a liquid vegetable oil such as rapeseed and canola oil. However, with some foodstuffs that need a solid fat, TFAs are often replaced by a combination of palm kernel oil and coconut oil. Thus these fats have become an impor-tant raw material for the manufacture of our non-hydrogenated, non-trans product range.

Driving corporate social responsibility

Creating »« opportunities

AAK is a member of the UN Global Compact and our corporate social responsibility programme is based on its ten principles. As some of our most important raw materials come from developing countries, sourcing of these is given special attention. We work with the United Nations Develop-ment Programme (UNDP) in West Africa to improve conditions in countries producing shea kernels. In addition, AAK is a founding member of the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). We take a serious ethical approach to our business.

Sustainable developmentPalm plantations have expanded rapidly in the last twenty years. The oil palm is a tropical plant that requires the hot humid climate typical for areas covered with tropi-cal rainforest. Thus this expansion has been accompanied by rising concern about the impact on biodiversity in regions that contain many rare and endangered species. RSPO (Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil) is a multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to provide a platform for the sustainable production of palm oil and to encourage users to buy oil produced by certified plan-tations (CSPO). RSPO was created through an initiative of the WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) with AAK as founding member and very active participant. Greenpalm Ltd was developed by AAK and has been granted exclusivity as a trading platform for CSPO certificates. AAK was also the first company to import CSPO to Europe in late 2008.

Committed to the environmentWe aim to achieve the highest possible standards in quality, food safety and envi-ronmental issues. It is vital for us to take ac-count of the demands and views expressed by customers, NGOs, shareholders, other stakeholders and opinion leaders on subjects such as environmental care, exploitation of natural resources, working conditions and child labour. We are committed to striving continuously for sustainable development in all parts of our supply chain.

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‘We take a serious ethical approach to our business’

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‘In our pilot laboratories, we fine-tune our solutions together with customers.’

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Chocolate and Confectionery

Strengthening each link in the value chainIt’s no wonder AAK is the world’s largest supplier of speciality fats to the chocolate and confectionery industry. Our innovative and unique oil and fat products are derived from natural and nutritious raw materials, such as shea, palm, rape, illipe, sal and mango. These provide the sensory and textural properties required to create opportunities and solutions through satisfying your product needs and consumer tastes.

Versatile Cocoa Butter Alternatives Blends of butter from exotics and palm oil form our versatile Cocoa Butter Alternatives range. These blends are as natural as cocoa butter, have similar properties and offer considerable cost-savings. Our portfolio in-cludes:

ILLEXAO™ (Cocoa Butter Equivalents) – for chocolate products providing great-er economy, improved heat stability and longer shelf-life.

AKOPOL™ (Cocoa Butter Replacers) – for compound coating and moulding providing easy production and intense chocolate flavour.

CEBES™ and SILKO™ (Cocoa Butter Substitutes) – for compound coating and moulding providing cost-efficiency and good melting properties.

CHOCOFILL™ and DELIAIR™ – for a taste-ful combination of filling fats with unique functional properties.

AKOSPREAD™ – for chocolate product spreads with excellent stability.

Economic chocolate productionAAK has driven worldwide industry stand-ards for Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE), marketed under the ILLEXAO™ brand, since 1960. Cocoa ingredients are a signifi-cant cost element for the chocolate manu-facturer. However, the versatile range of AAK’s ILLEXAO™ products can make all the difference for cost-effective production of quality chocolate and chocolate-coated confectionery products. As further advan-tages, our products optimise processing and product properties. AAK’s super com-pounds provide you with the opportunity to replace all the free cocoa butter in a recipe while maintaining chocolate taste and sen-sory properties.

Towards zero trans fatsAAK has responded to consumer demand for fats with minimal or no trans fats. With our premium filling fats range, we have managed to exclude trans fats and mini-mise the proportion of saturated fat while retaining functional properties. Moreover, AKOPOL™ NH within our range of Cocoa Butter Replacers (CBRs) contain no trans fatty acids compared with about 50% for conventional CBRs. In further response to market trends, we have developed the DELIAIR™ range which provides the chocolate product with unique light and fluffy whipped fillings.

Greater global influenceAs the global standard of living gradually increases over the long term, so does the market for chocolate and confectionery. In line with this trend and to create oppor-tunities within this business area, AAK is implementing several measures. Our organi-sation and activities are becoming even more global, we are constantly adding value to our range of speciality vegetable fats and oils, and we are increasing the range of our product portfolio and solutions to satisfy tastes and expectations in different coun-tries around the world.

Creating opportunities by value-added solutions

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Facilitating better bakingThe baking of good bread, biscuits and cookies, cakes and laminated pastries requires specialist skills and high-quality raw materials. Even though there is little fat content in these products, it strongly influences the baking process and their freshness, texture and shelf-life. These are all areas where AAK can help you. Further-more, to maximise cost-effectiveness, we offer pumpable baking fat that combines the functionality of a solid fat with the convenient handling of liquid oil. Release agents and divider oils are also part of the AAK range for the bakery industry.

Stimulating the appetiteWe aim to make food preparation easier and more economical within hotels, restaurants, fast-food chains, cafés and catering with our top-quality functional vegetable oils and fats. These include a long-life frying oil without hardened fats, trans-free products and pro-ducts rich in monounsaturated fatty acids. And all our products are formulated to give excellent results, naturally.

Wholesome dairy productsOur Dairy Fat Alternatives (DFAs) have specific characteristics that satisfy the needs of various dairy applications. They can be used to complement or replace milk fat in products like cheese, butter-blends, whipped cream, soured products or ice cream without altering their quality or taste. The healthier profile of DFAs creates attractive opportunities.

Easier fat handlingHandling block or liquid fat can cause problems. AAK makes handling easier through its wide range of powdered and flaked fats. Because of their convenient and flexible nature, powders and flakes can be quickly, accurately and consistently weighed and dosed into recipes. Smaller particle size also gives the benefits of faster melting and even distribution in recipe mixes.

Food Products

Vegetable oils that encourage a healthier diet

Creating »« opportunities

A healthier diet is a prime mover of the food industry. This favours AAK because, with our value-added speciality oil solutions, we can satisfy consumer demand for food containing minimal trans fat and saturated fat. Nevertheless, saturated fats contribute significantly to good product consistency and structure so important for pleasant mouthfeel. Therefore we develop fats that give optimal structure but with minimal saturated fatty acids.

Nutritional lipidsProducts with specific health benefits are in increasing demand. AAK’s range of nutritional lipids includes Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and phytosterols that contribute to a healthy cholesterol level in the blood and help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.

Infant nutritionAAK supplies oils for infant formulas having a balanced and sufficient amount of essen-tial fatty acids. Speciality oils rich in sn-2 palmitic acid, which mimic the composition of mothers´ milk, are also available under the InfatTM brand.

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‘We develop fats that give optimal structure but with minimal saturated fatty acids.’

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‘The benefits of shea butter in beauty and personal care make it one of the most sought-after raw materials.’

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Lipex® Shea FamilyShea butter is now used worldwide as an ingredient in skin care, hair care and other personal care products. In close coopera-tion with you, we can tailor its superior health-promoting and sensory properties to suite any type of formulation - from light lotions and body creams to shampoos and conditioners. Our Lipex® Shea Family, with its bioactives, can be transformed into key ingredients for numerous attractive products to create opportunities for you in beauty and personal care.

Kind bioactives for the skinOur value-added speciality oils and fats are ideal for use in all dermatological formula-tions. They provide the right combination of emolliency and moisturisation to deliver both aesthetic and skin-care benefits. In addition, they contain different types of beneficial bioactive substances. These in-clude, Vitamin E, so important for healthy skin, Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids that are proving useful in maintaining good skin condition, and anti-inflammatory triterpene cinnamates.

Beauty and Personal Care

Natural ingredients with desired functionalityAll our beauty and personal care ingredients for the skin and hair, as well as colour cosmetics, are based solely on natural vegetable oils. And as we are the world leader in shea butter, the vast majority of our ingredients are formulated from this and marketed under the Lipex® brand. The benefits of shea butter in beauty and personal care make it one of the most sought-after raw materials. To ensure top quality, we carry out our own production and product development.

Good for the hairEveryday our hair is subject to UV radiation and other sources of stress that can produce negative effects. AAK products based on mango and shea butter help to keep hair healthy. Our gentle oils increase hair mois-ture and softness, and make it shine and easier to comb. The addition of natural oils also relipidise the skin and make it soft and smooth.

Enhancing colour cosmeticsNot only do we offer you both solid and liquid ingredients to optimise your cosmetic formulations, but we also show you how to use them to create superb products. Our oils and fats contribute significantly to stay-on, gloss, emollience, hardness, stability – and even skin repair – in colour cosmetics like lipsticks, cosmetic pencils and other stick applications.

Pure and naturalTreating raw materials with care is crucial to retaining their desirable properties. By using gentle purification processes, we preserve the natural function of oils and substances in them like antioxidants and vitamins in order to optimise the perform-ance of end products. Simultaneously, we get rid of undesirable features like un-pleasant tastes and odours to enhance the appeal of beauty and personal care items.

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Production capacity around the worldTo satisfy the demands of our customers, AAK manufactures speciality vegetable fats throughout the world, and provides technical support services and delivery solutions on a local level. Our nine production facilities located in seven countries – Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom, Mexico, the Netherlands, USA and Uruguay, make us a world leader in this industrial sector.

Sweden Karlshamn

The Netherlands Zaandijk

USA Port Newark, New Jersey

Mexico Morelia

Denmark Aarhus

United Kingdom Hull, Runcorn and Oldham

Uruguay Montevideo

Sales or sourcing officesProduction

Building the futureAn important element of our continuous improvement programme is the development of new production processes, with the aim of securing our position as world-leading innovator of speciality fats for global cus-tomers. This development work is being conducted in our laboratories worldwide, where international teams cooperate to create new technical solutions for the future in the area of speciality fats.

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‘AAK manufactures speciality vegetable fats throughout the world, and provides technical support services and delivery solutions on a local level.’

Head officeAarhusKarlshamn AB (publ.)Jungmansgatan 12SE-211 19 MalmöSweden

Phone: +46 40 627 83 00Fax: +46 40 627 83 11e-mail: info@aak.comwww.aak.com

AAK is the world’s leading manufacturer of high value-added speciality vegetable fats. The many advantages of these natural and renewable raw materials create opportuni-ties for you in the market segments choco-late and confectionery, food products, and beauty and personal care. The advantage of our product portfolio is that it consists of natural or modified vegetable oils and fats that have a low saturated fat content and contain desired properties that promote healthier lifestyles. But we don’t just sell products, we offer total value-added solutions. These are comprehensive packages of benefits like new product development, customiza-tion, market advice, delivery systems and technical support. Our head office is in Malmö, Sweden, and we have production facilities in Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Uruguay and USA. So no matter where you are in the world, you’re within reach of AAK, the first choice for value-added vegetable oil solutions.

www.aak.com

The first choice for value-added vegetable oil solutions