May 25, 2023

 

Angel Yeast's Andy Ren: Internationalisation sets path for yeast business' growth

Diversification is the chief strategy of the Chinese yeast developer, Angel Yeast, as it strives for a more active internationalisation of its business.

 

A byproduct of this ambition is the company's Singapore office which opened in 2020. "We want to develop the office as Angel Yeast's Asia-Pacific headquarters," Angel Yeast Singapore managing director Andy Ren tells eFeedLink during our visit to the company's Singapore branch.

 

"We want to provide better service to our customers, in terms of marketing and technical and financial support. This is the position of our Singapore office. It's one important step of our internationalisation."

 

Angel Yeast — which became publicly listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2000 — has set foot in various market segments where the application of yeast protein finds its place. These segments include human health, plant care, biofuel, baking ingredients and animal nutrition.

 

The company's network of customers stretches the entire globe. Additionally, outside China, its production bases and applied science service centers can be found in Egypt, Russia, Algeria, Malaysia and the Philippines.

 

Ren, who has been with Angel Yeast for more than 20 years, shares more about the company's activities and yeast-based products.

 

Andy Ren, Angel Yeast Singapore's managing director

 

When it comes to the needs of animal nutrition and feed formulation, what are the products that Angel Yeast has created to serve these areas?

  

What are the characteristics of Angel Yeast's yeast solutions that set it apart from its competitors?

 

Andy Ren: These characteristics include:

 

    - Differentiated strains: Only two yeast companies in the world have rumen-specific and Brucella strains, and Angel Yeast is one of them. Rumen-specific strains can adapt to the environment in the rumen while Brucella strains are special yeast strains with anti-diarrhea function;

 

    - Low cost of use: Compared with its competitors, Angel Yeast has achieved this advantage, along with stable supply and quality control, when it comes to the use of yeast cell wall to tackle Fusarium graminearum contamination or serve as a carrier for feed additives;

 

    - High content of selenium-equivalent methionine: Methionine in Angel Yeast's selenium is at more than 63%, thus meeting EU standards;

 

    - A specially directed enzymatic hydrolysis process: Angel Yeast uses this process to produce products such as GroPro, YeaSense and water- soluble mannan-oligosaccharides. The process allows GroPro to have higher protein digestibility and nucleotide content and YeaSense possess a better anti-bacterial effect. Our oligosaccharides can also be developed to be completely water-soluble.

 

With yeast being the business of Angel Yeast, how has the company further strengthened supply chain management to achieve supply security of raw materials?

 

Andy Ren: Angel Yeast implements graded management of raw materials. Group control is implemented for strategic and bulk raw materials, while strategic contracts are signed with key suppliers.

 

Furthermore, 'substitution' strategies have been implemented to protect limited, bulk raw materials. We have also procured from multiple sources to maintain delivery.

 

There are several other measures including onsite quality audits and an electronic supplier procurement platform that provides a complete life cycle management of supplies.

 

Angel Yeast has voiced its intention to have a bigger role in driving sustainable agriculture. What has the company done in this direction?

 

Andy Ren: Employing fermentation liquid purification and separation and spray drying techniques, Angel Yeast managed to produce the Fubon range of organic fertilisers based on fermented residue extracted from the purification of our yeast products. This entails a recycling chain that includes yeast raw materials, thus reflecting a shift toward the sustainable circular economy.

 

Many companies have been significantly affected by the COVID pandemic in the past years. How has Angel Yeast fared during this difficult situation?

 

Andy Ren: Not a single day has our offices closed since the pandemic started (thanks to effective COVID measures).

 

We also have a very good financial performance even during the pandemic. Yearly, our revenues on average have increased more than 16-22%. One reason that we can achieve this performance is due to our position in the food industry. This is important for us as our business is linked to basic food products like bread, and demand for them is very stable.

 

Additionally, we have a very active (rather than conservative) approach toward engaging the market and have conducted more activities to promote our business. For example, in end-2022, we established new plans for the production of yeast protein (to address supply shortage).

 

We have an advantage in the production of yeast protein. Compare to the production of whey, soy and pea proteins, Angel Yeast's yeast production is more stable and has less impact on the environment.

 

For now, we are still exploring the further application of yeast protein.

 

In general, Angel Yeast's team has become more united during the pandemic. This is why we can overcome difficulties.

 

- Terry Tan, eFeedLink