APAC Issue 9 2018

18 APAC / Issue 9 2018 , to food and sports nutrition. Crucially, we understand and appreciate our smaller customers as we started from the bottom as well. Fundamentally, we believe that it’s the experience and the help we offer our customers which sets us apart from our competitors.” Equally, in a sector that is no stranger to great paradigm shifts and ephemeral trends, Prestige is adept at staying ahead of emerging developments, as Hennie explains: “Prestige Blending welcomes change; we constantly update our equipment and expand our capabilities to keep up to date with customer requirements, and look for new ingredients that will allow our customers to set themselves apart from their competitors. We want to see our customer thrive and succeed.” Coming to the end of the interview, the discussion moved to the future of Prestige and the industry that they operate in. “Changes in food regulation have been a blessing to the industry as it has ultimately increased the standard of products that we see on the shelves. It has also Prestige Blending is a contractmanufacturer for some of Australia’s largest sports nutrition brands. InAugust, the Prestigewere named among thewinners of the 2018 APAC Excellence Awards programme as the ‘Best inCustomBlending and Packaging Services’. On the back of this, we spoke toHennie van der Schyff, the Business DevelopmentManager for Prestige Blending, to find outmore about this industry-leading company. 1809AP05 Australia’s Leading Contract Manufacturer in the Nutrition Sector 3 Prestige Blending was created, initially, to be a leading presence in the Australian fitness sector. Finding a contract manufacturer that delivered consistent quality that met their expectations were limited, they began to manufacturer their own product, enjoying the control they could have over the process, ‘as well as control over the quality of ingredients use.’ In the years since, they have developed, adapted and expanded their operations to become one of the leading contract manufacturers in the region, offering a plethora of blending solutions for their discerning clientele. To start, Hennie takes a moment to give a brief overview of Prestige Blending as it stands today: “Being a contract manufacturer, Prestige Blending offers a unique service to all its customers big or small. Our purpose-built facility allows us to work closely with our customers from concept to the shelf, with flexibility in blend sizes ranging from a minimum of 100kg to 100 Ton. We currently manufacture for some of Australia’s largest Sport Nutrition brands such as International Protein and Evolve Nutrition. Further, our export license has also opened the doors for us to expand our customer base into overseas countries with a large part of our turnover coming from China and the US.” “The Australian market is a drop in the ocean compared to the US and China. Demand and market share in Australia has a massive influence on our industry as the volumes restrict us from achieving the same economies of scale compared to the US and China.” Ultimately, Prestige’s future looks set to capitalise on the promise of these markets, expanding to meet new demand. Being a contract manufacturer, Prestige makes great efforts to ensure an individualised approach to their services, guaranteeing that the final product is the best representation of the client’s initial vision. Hennie emphasises the importance of nurturing and maintaining a strong professional relationship with all of their customers: “We value our customers and work closely with them through every stage of the manufacturing process. We are transparent with our customers regarding formulations and pricing. We do our very best to ensure that our customers are satisfied and that we exceed their expectations. Our development team works on every product that goes through our doors to ensure that it meets the customers taste expectations as well as comply with our HACCP, GMP and Safe Food Queensland certification. We also focus on overall presentation of the product as it needs to look attractive and present well to the end consumer.” This approach also lends itself well when it comes to differentiating Prestige in an industry that is only becoming ever-more competitive, in light of worldwide health and fitness trends. “Our experience, facility and team separate us from our competitors. Being able to supply to both small and large customers is extremely unique in the industry as they have completely different requirements. Our team has forty years of combined experience dealing with everything from pharmaceutical grade products