Sethness-Roquette India Pvt. Ltd.
The face of pioneering caramel colour innovations globally
The 10 Most Influential Business Tycoon of 2024
The food industry is brimming with businesses that continuously develop new formulations and explore innovative uses for their products. Their zeal to adapt to changing consumer preferences and market trends is worth many praises. In this reference, here comes a bigwig bringing immense potential for food innovations to come to our lives and Sethness-Roquette is the name.
We wanted to dive into the history of this venture and cover the length and breadth of its business portfolio. For this, we arranged a virtual interview with Prashant Kulkarni who has been shortlisted in our exclusive list of most influential business tycoons. But here, more than himself as a leader, he wanted to convey how his guidance pushes organizational growth and seamless operations.
Opening the conversation, Prashant remarked that his vision is to leverage the group’s tech excellence in facilitating matchless customer experience and introduce innovations in sustainable solutions. The objective is to emerge as the world’s best choice for Caramels.
The company profile
Sethness-Roquette is well-acclaimed for its high-quality manufacturing of best-in-class caramels. They have had a firm presence in this domain since 1880. The venture has so far witnessed five generations of family leadership and is proud to have catered to its global consumer base with its wide range of caramels that are used for diverse applications.
The venture’s history stems from the happening when in 1880, Charles Sethness acquired a Chicago building to inaugurate the Sethness Products Company. In 1965 the world’s largest Caramel Color production plant was built in Clinton, Iowa. What kept their graph of success upwards was a strong family ownership.
After its acquisition in 2018 by Roquette Group, the venture became Sethness-Roquette and started operating an independent unit under its parasol. For years, Sethness has been a name resonating with the commitment to the long-term growth of its customer base across the globe.
At present, the enterprise proves its prowess as one of the few caramel suppliers in the world. Its industrial footprints are present in the US, France, India, and China. They aptly manufacture a variety of Caramel Colors, Burnt Sugars, Aromatic, and Textured Caramels, and Brewing Syrups designed for numerous applications.
Most of their products are essential components in the formation of Soft Drinks, Beers, Spirits, Confectionery, Baking, Dairy, Savory and Pet Food products. As per the senior leadership, day by day, their convergence to the art and science of making Caramels and developing formulations has allowed them to sync with their customers’ diverse requirements.
Basically, they rely on a wide range of raw materials and extensive industrial experience and expertise to blend the colors, flavors, and textures, solidifying their undisputed status in the Caramel manufacturing industry.
As explained by Prashant, the brand is ensuring that safety stands as the foremost priority within the organization’s work culture. And, these are underpinned by three core pillars: Respect, Excellence, and Customer Service.
A brief of the Roquette Group
Roquette is a French conglomerate that is known for providing plant-based ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients. This family-owned business has made significant contributions to the food health and nutrition industry by introducing a wide array of innovative products and solutions.
The foundation stone of the company was laid in 1933 and expanded its operations to more than 100 countries. At present, it is operating through over 30 manufacturing sites and employing more than 10,000 people at a global scale. Now, with an impressive turnover of approx. 5 billion euros, it enjoys market leadership in its targeted industry.
The leadership mantra
Prashant’s leadership value stems from the belief in team building and putting trust in the team. He also encourages investing in people’s development which is the key aspect of nurturing future leaders . Prashant emphasizes that with the right vision, learning and innovation are the two important drivers for growth. He considers that these elements design the most valuable assets in any company’s possession.
Prashant adds that with the right people in place, a leader can expect optimal outcomes. While machines are undoubtedly assets, they lack the emotional intelligence that people bring to the table. He greatly talks about empathy, trust, and collaboration with individuals that can enable their active participation in comprehensive business growth.
What motivated Roquette Group towards this acquisition?
We asked Prashant about the inspiration that led to the acquisition of Sethness. To this, he responded that the first and foremost important part of Roquette’s decision to acquire Sethness was the alignment of values.
As a value-added business, Sethness has the potential to offer the best-in-class products to its clients which resonated with Roquette’s business philosophy. The value proposition of Sethness can’t be overlooked which is evident from its 140 years of market presence in the food, health, and nutrition segment.
“Roquette’s decision to acquire Sethness aligns heavily with its core values. Drawing on its 140- year legacy in comparable sectors, known for pioneering innovative and sustainable solutions, Roquette recognized the growth prospects and strategic synergy inherent in this business,” stated Prashant.
One of Roquette’s major contributions lies in their focus on natural origin raw materials. They draw inspiration from life and nature, leveraging these sources to develop a wide range of plant-based ingredients that cater to various sectors. In the food industry, Roquette enables a whole new plant protein cuisine, offering alternatives that are not only nutritious but also environmentally sustainable. Their plant-based proteins have gained recognition for their versatility and positive impact on health and wellness.
Also, worth mentioning, Roquette Group has made a huge difference in the pharmaceutical sector. Its thought leadership has enabled pharmaceutical excipients that have a prominent impact on medical treatments for the global populace.
The group’s allegiance to great quality and innovation in pharmaceutical solutions helped them embed their roots deep in the market and establish themselves as a promising partner in the pharma realm across the world. With over 28 manufacturing plants in 28 different countries from where it supplies products to over 190 nations, it is expanding its reach at a swift pace.
What’s next?
In the next five to six years, Prashant leading the company at the forefront envisions witnessing significant growth. The plan is not just to establish firmer dominance in local market dominance but also as substantial exporters. For this, they are targeting Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, their bucket list includes scaling up operations, refining processes, and obtaining necessary regulatory standards and certifications. He mentions that the leadership panel also foresees sustained double-digit growth in the next five years.
The parting words by the Leader
“As true leaders, we should mean whatever we preach. We should look at the people development part, invest in the right people, and work towards converting them into futuristic leaders. So, a leader who fosters leadership develops future leaders and creates this chain of leadership. Something worth pondering over, isn’t it?
