Svetlana Balasanian, who leads an innovative company making food ingredients, talks about how new ideas and their inventions help tackle local food producers’ challenges.
In an era where the fusion of technology and nutrition is more critical than ever, ‘Soyuzcomponent’ emerges as a groundbreaking pioneer, redefining health standards through food. Led by the visionary Svetlana Balasanian, this innovative company has become a cornerstone in the Western European food industry, leveraging unparalleled expertise to meet the complex demands of food producers. With a rich portfolio of over two hundred and fifty unique food product recipes and a steadfast commitment to natural and eco-friendly products, ‘Soyuzcomponent’ stands at the forefront of the food revolution.
Svetlana Balasanian, with her unwavering belief in the transformative power of innovation, has steered her company through the volatile waters of the current global landscape. Her approach is not just about creating food; it’s about crafting experiences that enhance life and health, marrying the art of taste with the science of nutrition. This document delves into the essence of ‘Soyuzcomponent’s’ journey, from its inception to its role today as a leader in food innovation.
Tech for Health
‘Soyuzcomponent’ is a leading innovative company in Western Europe, working with regional food industry enterprises. Over two hundred and fifty beverage, confectionery, dairy, and oil and fat product manufacturers use its developments, a fifth of which are federal-level enterprises. The company has a lot of advanced food ingredients and recipe developments. However, the company’s head believes that innovations in the food industry can’t just appear out of nowhere; they need a prepared ground.
‘First, there must be a clear and conscious market need. Second, the necessary scientific research potential must be accumulated. Third, innovation is always about teamwork, where technologists, manufacturers, and marketers all understand the goals they’re aiming for,’ explains Svetlana Balasanian.
The modern food industry’s technologies allow for achieving previously inaccessible results – creating products with taste and aroma profiles never known before. This means the range of products in various food industry segments, from beverages to oil and fat products, is expanding. Innovations in the food industry significantly impact consumption quality and, when used correctly, improve consumers’ overall life and health.
Svetlana Balasanian’s company has over two hundred and fifty food product recipes. To create innovative products, the company’s technologists develop new lines of food ingredients.
The primary efforts of ‘Soyuzcomponent’s technological potential since its foundation in 2011 to the present day are focused on developing technologies that allow the creation of natural food products. This approach matches the naturalness trend in the food industry, which has been gaining strength worldwide for decades. It opens up opportunities for food product manufacturers to follow the spirit of the times by creating healthy and eco-friendly products.
Optimization Technologies
The ideology of innovation, through which Svetlana builds her business, helps the company grow even in these turbulent times. Of course, the current economic situation, starting with the coronavirus restrictions in March 2021 and ending with the current situation, creates significant business challenges. Svetlana Balasanian’s company mainly works in the premium segment of ingredients, and most of the goods are imported from other countries. This means they have to solve non-trivial logistical tasks and look for replacements for routes that have been used for years. Despite this, commitments to clients are met on time, and the company does not slow down its growth, ensuring a positive dynamic in gross profit at the level of 15-20 percent per year.
The development of new ingredients continues, including with the participation of foreign companies, such as the most prominent Dutch food concern, Energy Food Ingredients, and flavor manufacturer Slyus. ‘Soyuzcomponent’ is the exclusive representative of the producer of starter cultures and enzymes for producing fermented milk products and cheeses of the Italian group Foodcom.
Reducing costs, especially in the context of rising ingredient prices, is also one of the main goals of developing food technologies. Innovations in creating ingredients should aim to create new flavors and technologies that can reduce production costs.
If a new product works to increase revenue, then gross profit indicators also depend on optimizing recipes and production processes. Technological innovations allow optimally selecting the economically justified quantity and quality of ingredients while improving consumer characteristics.
With the help of developed recipes and ingredients, Svetlana Balasanian helps domestic manufacturers reduce energy consumption, reduce the cost of the product, and improve its rheological and organoleptic properties. Often, it’s possible to simplify the production technology.
‘By replacing the identical-to-natural ‘Tarragon’ flavor with a natural one, we achieved the product’s excellent taste and aroma characteristics and reduced its cost. At the same time, the absence of an alcohol base in the natural ingredient allowed its use by those enterprises that do not have a license to use alcohol-containing products.’ She shares one example of her work as an entrepreneur.
The labor intensity of the flavor creation process is evidenced by the fact that it took over a year of technologists’ work with more than two hundred conducted tastings to create the ‘Tarragon’ flavor.
‘Developing food flavors can be compared to creating perfume,’ Svetlana said, paralleling the fragrance industry.
Technology as Art
When importing many groups of goods, previously represented mainly by foreign manufacturers, becomes impossible, the importance of domestic technological developments increases.
A notable example of maintaining the quality of domestic consumption in modern conditions is one of Svetlana’s business directions – providing entrepreneurs with turnkey services for opening cheese production of the Italian group. The company’s specialists assess the client’s capacities and resources, design the workshop, supply it with the necessary equipment, and help set up logistics. Ultimately, they conduct a control production of the product and get cheese production up and running.
‘This technology was helped to be set up by an experienced Italian technologist, Fabio Caldera. In producing Italian cheeses, it’s important to use Italian ingredients and have the insight of an Italian, a pro in his field. It turns out very harmoniously. This is especially important in producing cheeses with noble molds, such as Grappa, Gorgonzola, de Brie, and Taleggio, which I consider a separate art form,’ says Svetlana Balasanian.
The entrepreneur continues to develop and improve technologies that open up new possibilities for food products to enhance consumption quality and optimize business processes—the success of ‘Soyuzcomponent’ results from a long journey filled with innovations and constant search. By prioritizing naturalness and eco-friendliness in food production, the entrepreneur contributes to the development of the food industry and improves the nation’s health.
Svetlana Balasanian is planning to establish a company in the United States, where there is a significant demand for producing and consuming organic products. This trend offers a favorable setting for applying Svetlana Balasanian’s extensive expertise and skills as a professional in the food industry.
