Exporting emerging vegetable oils to Europe

The drive for innovation in the European food industry leads companies to adopt new ingredients in order to remain competitive. The introduction of new vegetable oils (emerging oils), either as ingredients or as final consumer products, is a form of innovation, differentiation and marketing used by food companies to articulate their competitive edge. On the other side of the coin, exporters of emerging oils still face a number of challenges to access the European market successfully. Whereas the Novel Food Regulation imposes marketing restrictions on a number of innovative products, some barriers to suppliers are often related to issues such as supply sufficiency and stability. At the same time, emerging oils also provide opportunities in terms of niche marketing and value adding propositions.