IDM ¦ Interview
Stronger together
How DSM is helping dairy brands
innovate and differentiate
The acquisition of CSK (photo: factory in Leeuwarden) has enabled DSM to extend
its product portfolio and bring new products to market
One year after DSM announced
its acquisition of
specialty dairy solutions
provider Royal CSK Food
Enrichment C.V. (“CSK”),
Andre de Haan, Business Director, Cheese
(former Commercial Director at CSK) and
Nicolas Touillon, Business Director, Fresh
Dairy at DSM Food Specialties share an update
on the behind-the-scenes progress of
the integration. Here, they outline the key
milestone moments, important changes
for DSM and CSK customers and the dairy
industry, as well as their thoughts on the
future for the newly aligned business.
IDM: What progress has been made since the
official announcement? Where are we now?
de Haan: It has been an exciting and busy
year since the announcement; we worked
tirelessly to ensure a seamless integration
process between DSM and CSK, and to
bring our combined, broader portfolio of
products, ingredients and solutions to our
dairy customers worldwide. We also explored
how we can continue to take DSM’s
offering to the next level for our customers
– from an R&D perspective, for example, the
team has prioritized further strengthening
our market-leading cultures business, focusing
on enabling technologies and culture
development to support ongoing innovation
together with and in support of customers.
IDM: What were the key drivers behind the
integration?
Touillon: We know that, for our customers,
having a partner that will help them
innovate, differentiate and bring compelling
dairy products to consumers across
the globe is more important than ever,
and elevating our ability to meet these
needs was, and remains, a significant
driver behind the acquisition. Bringing
CSK’s strengths and deep understanding,
particularly in Europe, into the DSM family
allows us to be an even stronger partner
for customers worldwide, offering solutions
that enable sustainable and efficient
production, speed-to-market and – above
all – fantastic taste and texture, to help
them grow their brands.
Another aspect that will bring significant
benefits to our customers is the expansion
of DSM’s global manufacturing
network, to include the state-of-the-art
dairy application center in Wageningen
(the Netherlands) and the high-tech fermentation
facility in Leeuwarden. Besides
the additional production capacity
in Europe – a key strategic region for
many of our customers – the Wageningen
R&D hub, alongside DSM’s Rosalind
Franklin Biotech Center in Delft, will allow
us to further strengthen our R&D capabilities
and unlock unique innovation
potential.
Andre de Haan, Business Director, Cheese
at DSM Food Specialties (formerly Commercial
Director at CSK): Although CSK as
a separate entity has ceased, its values,
expertise and commitment to customers
remain in DSM’s offering
Nicolas Touillon, Business Director, Fresh
Dairy DSM Food Specialties: A key driver
behind the acquisition of CSK was to
allow DSM to better serve customers’
needs in an increasingly fast-paced and
competitive dairy culture market
18 · March/April 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com
/international-dairy.com
