Our global presence
Farmers & Origination
Sourcing directly and indirectly from roughly 2.75m farmers
Providing sustainability support to roughly 483,000+ farmers
Improving traceability and transparency in your supply chain
Manufacturing & Processing
~110+ owned processing plants around the world
Managing how and where raw materials are processed
Offering you flexibility, choice and control
Innovation Centers
15 innovation centers near major consumption markets
Committed to finding solutions for product innovation
Turn your ideas into reality and delight consumers
ofi Offices
There's always an ofi team nearby
Your first point of contact when working with us
Experts in our products and closely connected to origins
Remaining invested in origins - building capacity in destination markets
Origination
It all starts on the farm. You need quality, traceability and reliable supply. Farmers need support to make their businesses sustainable. We can deliver it all.
Consumers want to know who grew their coffee and where their cocoa came from. We work closely with thousands of farmers and we have our own farms too, helping you to improve provenance.
Worldwide, we run sustainability programs designed to help farmers improve yield and quality and increase their incomes. Overall, we estimate we give sustainability support to more than 420,000 farmers and their communities.
As well as buying crops, we’re farmers ourselves. In Australia and the USA, we grow almonds. In Brazil and Vietnam, we have our own black pepper estates. And in Indonesia, we’re establishing a 2,000 hectare cocoa farm.
Manufacturing
Choice, control, flexibility. With manufacturing and processing facilities around the world, we offer you all three. Get the most out of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices with ofi.
How do you like your nuts? We do whole, in pieces, as butter, paste, powders, oils and flavored. This is just one example of the choice and control you get when you work with ofi. We invest in the latest technology and always maintain the highest food safety and quality standards.
To improve efficiency and transparency, our facilities are strategically located in the country of origin or close to major consumption markets. For example, our soluble coffee processing facilities are based in Spain and Vietnam, with a third being built in Brazil. Our cocoa processing operations are based across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the USA. Read more about our nuts, spices and dairy operations too.
Innovation Centers
Delight consumers, grow your business, create real change for people and planet. Innovation isn’t just exciting; it’s baked into the ofi way of working.
On any given day, our teams of food scientists and chefs could be working with one of our customers on the launch of a new bakery product using nut-based flours and the darkest cocoa powder available; exploring unusual spice flavors for a brand extension in chocolate confectionery; helping a customer produce a plant-based cheese; or creating an easily reconstituted, affordable fat filled milk powder for developing markets.
Our 14 innovation centres are hives of creativity, totally in tune with local tastes and market needs. This is where we turn ideas into reality so you can keep meeting consumer demand and growing your business. Work with us to stay on top of trends and find new and better ways of doing things.
With a keen eye for customer quality and regulatory requirements, our innovation centres focus on:
- Co-creating brand extensions and reformulating existing customer products
- Developing exciting new products for the bakery, beverages, confectionery, plant-based, savory, snacks and bars categories
- Creating consumer feel-good products in line with health and dietary needs
- Developing the right sensory (taste, texture and color) experience in line with customer brands
- Developing clean label recipes, replacing additives and chemicals with natural ingredients
- Developing natural and plant-based alternatives to fit into existing customer brand families
Marketing & Sales
Do you need natural, nutritious, delicious and traceable ingredients? Then speak to our customer teams. Wherever you’re based, there’s an office nearby.
What would you like to know about our products and ingredients? Ask away, our customer teams have detailed knowledge of our products and how they will fit into your applications. They’re also the bridge connecting you to the origin of your ingredients.
Discuss ingredient quality, innovation, even recipe development. Learn about local food and beverage trends, and get the latest supply-and-demand market insights. Above all, because we have offices in many time zones around the world, get this support and advice when you need it.
Read ofi news
The colorful ingredients taking over our plates in 2023
The trend for bold colors and flavors in food and beverages is rising this year. With consumers increasingly exposed to an array of global food trends, including a wide range of exotic flavors and colors, many are becoming more experimental. At the same time, confectionery products, treats, and snacks are often a moment of fun and relaxation in consumers’ daily lives, so they can be a great opportunity for experimenting with new and exciting shades.
Employee Spotlight: Sydney Valla, eCommerce Operations Manager, North America
Sydney Valla was an undergrad at Fresno State when she first discovered ofi (olam food ingredients) at a career fair. They were passing out tomato-shaped stress balls and recruiting new grads for a management trainee program. She signed-up for an interview and the rest is her-story.
What motivates you when you wake up and come into work?
My team! There are six of us who are 100% dedicated to the Spices eCommerce business and we have a combined 35+ years’ experience at ofi. Together, we work to be a solution provider for new and existing customers, put in place processes to help the business grow and overcome any challenges that are thrown our way.
Anything you’d like to add to help others succeed?
Being in numerous different positions throughout my career (supply chain, product line, sales) has made me a more well-rounded employee and allowed me to view problems from many different angles to find better solutions. I’m glad that I joined a company that offered career growth and expansion. Being a sponge during the early stages of my career allowed me to soak up lots of different information.
What has been your favorite moment at ofi so far?
When I was a product line manager, there was a large fast-food chain that featured one of our ingredients in a delicious and highly promoted LTO. It was so cool to go through the drive thru, pick up lunch, and know that one of the products that I helped to sell was in an item that was being sold across the country.
Our company purpose is ‘be the change for good food and a healthy future.’ In what way do you live our purpose through your work?
Through the eCommerce offerings, we can connect with new customers and segments that have previously been difficult to reach. This allows us to work with new customers to make educated purchasing decisions about where their product comes from, our sustainability offerings, and more. Outside of work, I sit on the Board of Directors for the Central California Food Bank which feeds over 300,000 community members in the Central Valley.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Growing for the Future: Safeguarding coffee and cocoa from the climate crisis
Imagine waking up to a world without your morning cup of coffee or being able to enjoy your favorite chocolate. Unthinkable, right? But climate change threatens the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers who grow these everyday ingredients.
That's where HEARTH (Health, Ecosystems, and Agriculture for Resilient, Thriving Societies) comes in. It is a collaborative public-private partnership approach to sustainable development in biodiverse landscapes initiated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Together, USAID, olam food ingredients (ofi), and partners have invested approximately $50 million across six cocoa and coffee projects worldwide, including four HEARTH partnerships. We aim to equip farmers with the right tools and training to transition to more environmentally friendly techniques without sacrificing their livelihoods. There are three key ingredients at the core of HEARTH’s approach to climate action:
Do you want to make it real?
Speak to ofi about sourcing high-quality food ingredients, innovating to delight consumers, and improving your sustainability credentials.
