IDM ¦ Ingredients
Profitability of culture
systems in case of (re)investing
in cheese making
Chr. Hansen
Author: Dr Hendrik Buschendorf, Business Development Manager, Central Europe, Chr. Hansen GmbH,
Große Drakenburger Straße 93-97, 31582 Nienburg / Weser, Mobile: +49 173 702 7412,
Email: dehebu@chr-hansen.com, Internet: www.chr-hansen.com
Profitability is a term commonly
used in everyday life. Everyone
has an idea of what profitability
is. In business, it is the ratio
between output and input. All
expenses are considered input, and the
output is measured by the revenue generated.
However, there are nuances to the
calculation of profitability that need to
be evaluated which are often difficult to
represent in monetary terms. They could
be hurdles that need to be overcome,
prerequisites for fundamental business
or even opportunity costs. These factors
have a major impact on true profitability.
This becomes very clear with starter
cultures applied in cheese making, which
have a continuous impact on the quality
from addition to the milk in the vat, until
the cheese is consumed. The quality of
cheese is governed by many factors including
a specification that is defined by
the cheese buyer and number of internal
and external requirements (regulations,
certifications etc.). Quality is a prerequisite
for generating any value at all in the
market. On the flip side, inferior quality
can be costly, not to mention damag-
ing to the cheese makers reputation. But
even quality delivered according to specifications
is not necessarily profitable –
the cheese maker needs to deliver quality
consistently and close to the specification
limits in order to "give nothing away".
Another important aspect of profitability
is security. A little over a year ago,
lockdowns, travel restrictions and border
closures created uncertainty in the supply
and production chains. The food industry
was mandated to guarantee food
supplies under all circumstances. Possible
quarantine of staff and changing levels
of demand for products required cheese
makers to be very flexible. Cheese dairies
therefore also built up higher stocks of
cheese making cultures. Safety and security
suddenly became an important factor
in profitability. Through this uncertain
time, Chr. Hansen continued to deliver
products with no compromise in delivery
performance. In some cases it involved
using more expensive logistics solution
e.g. air freight, but it was critical in ensuring
an uninterrupted supply chain.
This leads to the last factor impacting
profitability: the future. No one would
ever have thought that a worldwide
pandemic would occur. But then no one
would have thought 10 years ago that it
would be possible to work so well digitally
today either. And who knows how we
will make cheese in 10 years? And how
will climate change, scarcity of resources
and a growing world population affect
the cheese industry? How can we know
all that? Nevertheless, every investment
must first justify its profitability today and
tomorrow. This is also evident for cheese
cultures.
Cheese on an industrial scale is made
using one of two systems of starter
cultures: bulk starter cultures or direct
starters (see figure 1). The usage of bulk
starter involves its preparation, which is
done at the cheese plant itself and involves
several process steps. This includes
the appropriate investment in technology,
building, peripherals (energy, water,
sterile air), personnel, know-how and
continuous quality assurance. It typically
takes 18 – 24 h to prepare bulk starter
and you are left with a limited amount
of time to consume it before it loses its
activity levels.
6 · July/August 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com
/www.chr-hansen.com
/international-dairy.com
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