Interview with John Gabriel Alarcon of Prodalysa on the results of their Strategic Growth Project
By Angela Quintero and Abigail Talcott-Schlaifer
You recently made your first foray into the US Market - congratulations! Your sweetener is now in Yo Gusto brand yogurt which is distributed out of Florida. Identifying a specific market to focus on was a key part of your growth project. Tell us a bit about how you ultimately decided on entering the dairy market.
After the ECLA program, we identified the dairy market as highly aligned with our industry. It blends together nature, quality and in many cases, innovation. Dairy products have been considered as healthy by consumers, and in order to keep that same image, the dairy industry needs to reduce sugar in their products. This is where our stevia fits in perfectly. Most stevia extracts are enzymatically modified or purified with harsh chemicals. Our stevia is fully natural, we use only water for our entire Stevia extraction and purification processes. This is something that helps our customers build not only a great tasting product, but also with a natural and healthy backstory.
How did international expansion factor into your growth strategy? How did you ultimately decide to enter the US market?
Chile is a small market from which we have learned to formulate effective solutions for our clients. Nevertheless, when it comes to expanding, this market is quite limited since our focus is on those companies that consider important aspects like quality, innovation and chemical free processes. The American market is not only big in terms of size but in terms of diversity in food and beverage companies so there is a good opportunity to find clients that seek products aligned with our attributes. On the other hand, American consumers are getting more interested in concepts like natural, chemical free, locally grown and organic. We are a leading company in natural and organic processing of Stevia, therefore we are prepared to meet the current requirements of the American market regarding food ingredients. Our growth plan in the US includes the participation of American farmers taking into account the importance and agricultural experience of the US. We are interested not only in the dairy industry but also in industries that produce juices, sauces, tabletop sweeteners and flavored waters.
What is the next step for you as you continue to think about new markets and possibilities?
Today our main focus is in Latin America and the United States. There is a big opportunity for growth here due to dramatically increasing health issues related to sugar consumption. The food industry faces today big challenges in order to decrease sugar and fat contents in the products, without affecting the quality and negatively influencing their sales and image. Here is where our company offers integrated solutions based on the use of Stevia to face these issues. For our next step, we are evaluating the possibility of building a production plant in the US and expanding our current American supply of leaves. We are also working hard to enter the Mexican market, where we have our own Stevia cultivation.