An interview with Christophe Rosier, Head of Sales Western Europe
- Introducing yourself, some sentences about you, your experience, about fibers, etc. How long and why are you in food industry market?
- As Industrial Biochemical Engineer specialized in meat applications, I started my work experience as Production Manager in a dry meat producing factory. With more than 9 years of experience in the fiber business, I joined Custom Fiber two years ago to manage and develop sales of our entire fiber portfolio across Western Europe. Due to my experience in the fiber business and the different divisions within a business, it's a pleasure to help Custom Fiber grow in all its facets. As a passionate about food in generally and with his continues evolution, I’m happy to be part of a natural solution providing business.
- What is unique about the company you are working now?
- The location of Custom Fiber is the most valuable asset. The company is located in Bornem, in Belgium, close to the Antwerp seaport and Brussels airport. It is crucial for logistics and for our business in general. Thanks to this location we can provide our customers from western markets, as well as Benelux countries, the best service and support.
- What can you tell about the market you are responsible for? What can you tell about your customers?
- Within Western Europe, my initial focus was on the Benelux. During the covid pandemic it was far from easy to introduce a new fiber source to the market. However, we still felt the growing interest for fibers. Not only for functional but also for nutritional benefits.
Since many years, food producers have been looking to decrease the amount of E-numbers and create higher quality products (taste, texture,…). And the introduction of the Nutriscore made manufacturers also look to other natural ingredients such as fibers.
One of the aspects why fibers are used in the bakery industry is to increase the fiber content and to improve the freshness of bakery products. In meat applications such as burgers, sausages, ham; fibers will improve the stability, juiciness, and overall appearance. On the other hand, we see since a few years an increase in 'plant based' products. In such applications, fibers can be a solution as they can simulate the missing 'meat' texture. This bite effect can be created with our longer fiber types: 200 to 500 µm fibers.
- The biggest achievements?
- With Custom Fiber, all is about business development. I’m proud about the realization I’ve brought for Custom Fiber in those 2 years. Building a customer base starting from scratch is taking more effort and my patience was surely being tested.
If you ask me about the fiber type I’m selling the most, I can tell you the following: each application demands a different technical approach and depending on the desired purpose, a different fiber type. In general, I see that Custom Fiber W-200, a wheat fiber with a fiber length of 200 µm, the first known fiber origin, is still the one that is used the most because of his high functional properties (water/oil binding capacity and texture enhancing ability).
- Do you like your job?
- Yes, I like it very much. It gives me a lot of satisfaction. And what is most important, I work with fantastic people. We have a well-educated and experienced team, which I believe will make us even more successful!
Thanks for the interview.