Food technology company Benson Hill has announced the acquisition of ZFS Creston, an established food grade white flake and soya flour manufacturing operation in Creston, Iowa.
The US$102M acquisition would lead to the expansion of Benson Hill’s plant-based protein ingredients portfolio, the company said in its 4 January statement.
Benson Hill said the move represented a final step in the company’s ability to convert its proprietary soyabeans into value-added soya protein ingredients for the human and pet food sectors.
“The acquisition positions Benson Hill to deliver a portfolio of improved ingredients in the rapidly growing but capacity-constrained plant-based movement,” Benson Hill CEO Matt Crisp said.
The Creston operation produces soya meal and oil, as well as food-grade soya white flake, flour and grits, which can be marketed as ingredients or used as raw material for further production of concentrates, isolates and textured protein products.
With the addition of the soya white flake capacity at Creston, Benson Hill said it could offer more sustainable ingredients within the broad human food market, which included plant-based meat, meat extension, bakery, cereal and snack, fermentation and the pet food market.
“The Creston operation is expected to accelerate commercialisation through the immediate ability to produce our ingredient portfolio,” Benson Hill president (Ingredients) Bruce Bennett said.
