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 | | UNICORN INGREDIENTS – SPECIALIST INGREDIENTS FROM THE EXPERTS | | | Unicorn Ingredients | | 02/06/2008 | | | Unicorn Ingredients is an exciting new venture by two of the industry’s experts in specialist ingredients. They have over 40 years’ experience between them. Starting with edible seeds and pulses, Unicorn Ingredients will source the highest quality products from around the world and arrange processing and shipping to suit the exact needs of each individual client.
THE PEOPLE
Unicorn Ingredients has been set up by two people with sector experience that is second to none. Frank Horan and Nicola Divers have spent their careers sourcing and trading seeds, pulses and other specialist ingredients. They know how to source the best ingredients at the optimum price and quality and they know all about how to process it, and what high expectations customers have on quality, service and price.
Frank left college in 1984 with a degree in physiology, biochemistry and nutrition. Armed with this scientific grounding he went into the animal feed trade; then transferred into human food with a move to specialist ingredient traders Kimpton Brothers in 1988. After two years, he moved on and has since spent a total of 20 years working for some of the biggest names in seeds, pulses and other ingredients supply.
Nicola has spent more than 22 years working for a succession of the best known names in the sector, including stints with Kimpton Brothers and the worldwide food and ingredient traders H P Schmid Inc of the US.
Most recently the two co-founders of Unicorn Ingredients worked for specialist ingredient supplier Fuerst Day Lawson, where Frank Horan was Divisional Director of the Seeds and Natural Products Division and Nicola Divers was Commercial Director.
THE PRODUCTS
Seeds and pulses are without doubt some of the most exciting ingredients available to the food industry. Growth in the bread market, for example, is almost entirely driven by products with added seeds and grains. Beans and lentils have a huge range of uses in many food products. It’s even possible to create mixes of seeds and pulses which do a much healthier job of satisfying the desire to snack.
Seeds and pulses can liven up a bakery mix, or improve the Glycaemic Index of just about any food. They add great tastes and they’re healthy. Whatever you want from seeds and pulses, Unicorn Ingredients are the ideal people to help you get the best possible solution.
The seeds Unicorn Ingredients can source and process include poppy, pumpkin, sunflower, golden and brown linseeds, and sesame.
Poppy seeds are bluish grey seeds which taste almost like liquorice. They are widely used on bread and cake making. The major producers are Australia and Turkey, but Unicorn Ingredients has experience of sourcing poppy seeds from the Czech Republic and Spain.
Pumpkin seed kernels are hulled crunchy seeds which are used in multi-grain bread. They are produced in many countries, with China one of the most important growers worldwide.
Sunflower seeds, which taste almost like hazelnut, are used in snacks as well as on bread and cakes. They are traded on a huge international scale for their oil. That means that the price of sunflower seeds depends on the international vegetable oil market.
Golden and brown linseeds are also widely used for decorating bakery products and like sunflower seeds they are grown primarily for their oil. Sunflower seeds are grown in countries around the world.
Sesame seed is used for bread and biscuit making and decoration. China is the world’s leading producer, although because it consumes most of its own production, India and Central American have become the top suppliers to the world market.
Unicorn ingredients can also supply pulses from many origins around the world. Pulses have become hugely popular as consumers have realised that they can add many exciting new tastes to food. They are widely used in soups ready meals and dried retail packs and provide a good source of protein and dietary fibre.
Unicorn Ingredients can supply just about every possible type of bean from the huge range available. They include borlotti beans, haricot beans, black eye beans, canellini beans, dark red kidney beans, lima beans, pinto beans and soy beans. Most of the beans come from China or North America.
They can also supply a huge range of lentils, including red split lentils from Turkey, laird lentils, puy type lentils and whole brown lentils, as well chick peas.
THE SERVICE
Unicorn Ingredients is all about giving you the service you need, because they decide with you exactly what products are suitable for you and how they should be processed. They make sure you get exactly what you want. They know the products and the origins better than anyone and are able to source exactly what you need to suit your product. They outsource all processing and know more about the processors and the processes than anyone. They can get you the right processing at the right price, or perhaps supply the best ‘ready to use’ product from origin.
With Unicorn Ingredients you’re paying to get the experts solving your problems. What you pay for is what you get, because Unicorn Ingredients has kept overheads to a minimum.
In these unsettled days of escalating food prices and unreliable supply chains, they will work with only named and approved reliable suppliers, developing a supply chain relationship that includes the origin processor and end user, providing consistency of supply and an open competitive pricing structure.
Consumers want great taste and they want healthy food. Added seeds and pulses can be a great way to achieve both. With Unicorn Ingredients you get the right expertise, the right quality and the right price. | |
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