AAK Annual Report 2019

9 9 Innovation as a foundation At AAK, innovation means continued sustainable growth for us and our customers. By constantly exploring new insights, new raw materials and new technologies, we are able to co-develop unique solutions that open the door to a wealth of opportunities. It is what makes working with AAK different. Market insights Our solutions are never a success unless they add tangible, long-term value to our customers. Through our co-development approach, we start by gaining deep insights into the drivers behind market demand, as well as the challenges they present. This gives us a powerful framework to ensure each solution is exactly in line with the customer’s specific requirements. Value at every stage When it comes to creating a new solution, our global network of Customer Innovation Centers is home to many of the best engineering and technical minds in the business. We work in close collaboration with our customers’ own teams and experts to bring the best resources into play at every stage. This allows us to make sure that value is created throughout the process until the final solution is ready for launch. AAK’s approach to innovation offers significant advan- tages that help customers to be more competitive and build market share. This is not only through safer, more cost-efficient processing or a more sustainable supply, but also through superior products with a better sensory experience, better nutritional profile or that tap into the latest consumer trend. New innovations Innovation at AAK has been strong over 2019 and thanks to our Customer Innovation Centers being close to our customer base, we have seen positive results virtually every day. For example, our focus on clean labels has created new solutions that increase the stability of chocolate based on cocoa butter, and in our nutrition portfolio we have added new solutions to improve the uptake of the essential omega-3 fatty acids. Within plant-based foods, we have developed new standards for sustainable solutions across different raw materials and functionalities. Innovation for the future Going forward and within the framework of our new strategic direction we will continue to work closely with our customers. This in order to gain market insights and steer our innovation efforts towards customer co-devel- oped solutions that create even higher value. We will also increase our focus on solutions for plant-based foods and nutritional solutions that can be implemented in the food sector where we already have a strong foot- print through our regional Customer Innovation Centers and close connection to the market.