Crespel & Deiters: “The Question Today Is No Longer Whether Plant-Based Alternatives Have a Future – It’s How Good They’ll Become”

Loryma has now been integrated into its parent company, Crespel & Deiters – a strategic decision that reflects the company’s transformation over many years. The long-established family business, founded in 1858, has evolved from a wheat processor into a Refinement Expert for renewable raw materials.

The four members of the management board: Philipp Deiters (CSO Food),
Frederick Deiters (CSO Industrial Solutions), Steffen von Glahn (COO) and Frank Kreß (CFO), discuss what this means, what connects plant proteins with bio-based adhesives, and what role refinement will play in the future.

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From wheat processor to refinement expert

Loryma has been integrated into Crespel & Deiters. What were the reasons for this?

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: Loryma has been part of the Crespel & Deiters Group for 25 years. While many of our customers knew that – others didn’t. The three-tier structure, the Group, Loryma as a sales brand and the Lory® range as a product brand, served its purpose for a long time. But at some point, a gap emerged: the way in which we were set up as a company and the way in which we were perceived externally.

The generational transition in management was the right moment to address that. We wanted to become visible for who we are: a manufacturer with nearly 170 years of experience, deep technological expertise and an offering that goes far beyond wheat. The Crespel & Deiters brand now carries that externally. The Lory® product range remains fully intact but under a bigger umbrella.

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: I’d like to add another dimension: the integration doesn’t just sharpen our external perception, it also strengthens our identity as a Group internally. We have two divisions, Food and Industrial Solutions, with different customers but a shared technological DNA. That’s exactly what we wanted to clarify: We are Crespel & Deiters and refinement is our core business. Not wheat, not adhesives, not protein – but refinement.

What does ‘Refinement Expert’ actually mean?

Steffen von Glahn, COO: Refinement describes an industrial process: transforming a natural raw material so that it performs significantly better in a specific application than in its native form. It becomes more precise, more reproducible and higher-performing. That might mean aspecific viscosity, a defined binding behavior or a particular texture. But it must result in a clearly measurable effect with real added value.

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: Refinement is also an attitude. The question that drives us is: how do we get the maximum out of a plant-based raw material? For the manufacturer, end product and consumer? For us, that means using fewer resources while achieving better results. Making a measurable step forward with every new solution. That may sound ambitious but it’s simply the standard we’ve worked to since our foundation.

Crespel & Deiters has been in business since 1858. What does that timespan mean today, beyond an impressive number?

Frank Kreß, CFO: Reliability and clarity in a market that can generate a great deal of noise. A company that has operated in an industry for more than 165 years has seen cycles: raw material crises, technological disruptions and market shifts. That sharpens your sense of what truly endures and what is merely a passing trend. Our company thinks in generations, not quarters. Our tradition produces a continuity that not every corporate structure can offer, and one I experience daily as CFO.

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: Our roots and heritage demonstrate trust and credibility. Our predecessors had the foresight to register the Three Hares trademark at the Imperial Patent and Trade Mark Office in 1899 as a symbol of quality and independence. For us, that’s not just a design element, it’s a piece of history. At a time when logos are often interchangeable and generic, the symbolic power of ours is a genuine advantage.

Starches and Plant-Based Proteins – Refinement Expertise in Food

Where does Crespel & Deiters stand in the field of plant-based proteins today?

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: Crespel & Deiters grew historically out of wheat processing. Wheat starch was the foundation on which everything was built. Proteins came later, with extrusion production at our site in Helmond, the Netherlands, a relatively new but decisive step. In recent years, we have proactively developed our portfolio and, today, we process a broad range of raw materials: pea protein, faba bean, rice, corn and, of course, wheat. What sets us apart is not the raw material portfolio itself, but the depth of functional refinement. That means we deliberately modify structures in order to achieve precise, neutral-sensory properties in the desired application: texture, water-binding capacity and bite firmness.

Steffen von Glahn, COO: That’s the decisive difference between a trader or mere manufacturer of native raw materials. Refinement means process expertise: extrusion, protein hydrolysis and modification. Each of these processes transforms the raw material at a molecular level. The result is an ingredient with defined and reproducible properties, which is exactly what is needed by manufacturers who depend on process reliability.

Can you illustrate that with a concrete example?

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: Pea is a good example. The raw material potential is enormous: high protein content, plant-based, renewable and of EU origin. But in its native form, pea protein is often a challenge: it has a characteristic off-flavor, a texture that doesn’t easily suit certain applications and functional limitations that present manufacturers with real difficulties.

Through targeted extrusion, however, we can create textures from pea protein that resemble the structure of meat and fish, and deliver defined bite and water absorption properties. Through hydrolysis, we can significantly improve the sensory profile and make the protein more soluble and functional. This is not theoretical know-how, it is industrially proven refinement that we develop and scale together with our customers.

You mentioned co-development. In practice, what does that look like for a customer?

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: We work very closely with our customers. The application lab in Zwingenberg in Germany and the extrusion facility in Helmond in the Netherlands are places where we work with customers to address and resolve any potential challenges. When a manufacturer wants to develop a new plant-based texture, we don’t start with a product catalog. We start with an analysis: How should the end product perform? What further processing may be required? What are the consumer’s sensorial expectations? The answers to those questions enable us to create precise, tailor-made solutions.

Many suppliers have either manufacturing capacity or development expertise. We have both, and combine them with genuine application expertise in end products. That’s the package that really counts when it comes to bringing a new plant-based protein alternative to market.

What measurable sustainability contribution does the refinement of plant-based proteins actually deliver?

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: Simply processing a plant-based protein and declaring that a sustainability achievement is no longer enough. Of far more relevance is what happens in the process and what the end product delivers.

When we functionalize pea protein, a manufacturer needs less of it to achieve the same texture and nutritional value, and that’s a measurable contribution. When precise formulation allows for a shorter ingredient list, the processing energy in downstream production is reduced. When food losses decrease through more stable product properties, that’s calculable and genuine sustainability.

Steffen von Glahn, COO: I’ll add the production perspective: we process close to 99 per cent of the wheat grain. From a single raw material, we produce starches, proteins and fibers, each with different application fields. This concept of near-complete utilization is not a marketing promise – it’s daily practice. Using resources intelligently is the core idea behind Refinement.

The Loryma brand had a strong presence in the area of Plantification. Does that topic remain relevant under the Crespel & Deiters umbrella?

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: Plantification, the targeted development of plant-based alternatives to animal-derived products, is one of our strategic growth areas. Yet it’s not always about full replacement. Hybrid products that combine plant-based and animal-derived components represent an equally relevant and growing market, and are often a more pragmatic entry point for both manufacturers and consumers.

The question today is no longer whether plant-based alternatives have a future – it’s how good they’ll become. There is still significant development potential, as the sensory and structural demands on plant-based and hybrid products are enormous: bite firmness, fiber structure, moisture retention and neutral flavor profile. That’s exactly where our contribution lies. We develop proteins and textures that are not perceived as a compromise but as a genuine alternative, whether fully plant-based or in a hybrid format. This requires process know-how in extrusion, deep understanding of raw material properties and consistency in development. The Lory® range remains the product name the industry knows. What stands behind it is now unambiguous: the Refinement expertise of Crespel & Deiters.

Bio-Based, High-Performance Adhesives – Refinement Beyond Food

Many Vegconomist readers know Crespel & Deiters primarily as a food ingredients manufacturer. The Group’s second segment is high-performance adhesives for the paper-processing industry. How does that fit together?

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: The answer lies in the technology: through liquid modification of wheat starch, we produce our high-performance adhesives in the Definol® range – the same raw material, the same refinement expertise but a different application field. What we do with starch and proteins in food, we translate into highly functional adhesives for corrugated board production.

And the connection to the food industry is closer than you might think: corrugated board and other papers are the materials in which food is packaged and transported. Producing these adhesives from bio-based raw materials and thereby replacing fossil alternatives is a contribution to the overall sustainability of the value chain.

What makes these adhesives particularly effective and why are they more sustainable?

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: Through liquid modification, we precisely adjust viscosity, reactivity and application behavior tailored to the requirements of modern, high-speed production lines. The result for the customer is lower adhesive consumption, less waste and less energy, because the line runs stably and at full speed. The adhesive is a relatively smallexpense but it has an enormous influence on quality and productivity. That’s classic Refinement thinking: a small element that makes a big difference.

What unites the Food and Industrial Solutions divisions within the Group?

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: The common thread is Refinement. In both areas, we take a renewable, plant-based raw material and use technological refinement to create something that delivers real added value in an industrial application. The processes are different, the applications are different – but our approach is always the same.

Growth strategy and future outlook

International growth is a stated objective. Which markets are in focus and what is driving demand?

Frank Kreß, CFO: The world needs to become more sustainable and that necessity is driving global demand for functional plant-based ingredients and bio-based solutions. We have opened sales offices in the USA and Mexico, because North and Latin America are strong growth markets, both in Food and Industrial Solutions. We are growing steadily, but not at the expense of quality.

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: In Industrial Solutions, the driver is clear: regulatory pressure on fossil materials is increasing, with the EU Packaging Regulation a prime example. Manufacturers are looking for bio-based alternatives that don’t compromise on performance. That is precisely our offer. We are the market leader in Europe for high-performance adhesives for corrugated board production, and we are now taking that expertise into other markets.

New raw materials, new technologies…what’s next on the agenda?

Steffen von Glahn, COO: We continuously evaluate new raw materials in line with one question: can we use our technologies to create something from it that delivers a real advantage for our customers? If yes, we develop it. On the technology side, alongside extrusion, we are focusing particularly on protein hydrolysis which offers significant potential for the sensory profile and functionality of plant-based proteins. In parallel, we are investing in capacity and efficiency. The benchmark stays the same: getting more out of the raw material, with lower resource input.

What will be said about Crespel & Deiters in five years that cannot be said today?

Frederick Deiters, CSO Industrial Solutions: That we are recognized globally as the standard for bio-based high-performance adhesives in the paper-processing industry – not just in Europe.

Philipp Deiters, CSO Food: That we are refining plant-based raw materials that are not yet in our portfolio today. We have both the technology and the curiosity.

Steffen von Glahn, COO: That we are demonstrably among the most resource-efficient companies in our industry. Proven, not promised.

Frank Kreß, CFO: That this company has shown, over 165 years of history, that transformation is the driver of continuity.