CuliConcepts & Saus.Guru

Sauces

Two professional cooks who had both won their spurs in the culinary world set off on a new adventure in 2015 by setting up a sauce manufacturing business. Rutger Schipper, CEO: ‘We develop and produce “liquid flavourings” adjusted to our clients’ wishes and needs. Bespoke work, in other words, with a focus on flavour, application and the desired packaging.’

Strengths and core values

The company’s strength lies in the quality of its finished products. With the culinary background of both businessmen, products are created and produced in ways that go beyond the industry standard. Rutger: ‘Good chefs place value on working with quality raw materials and on the right preparation process. These two factors are essential when it comes to quality.’ The CuliConcepts team is proud of the fact that they work with only the finest natural ingredients that are FSSC22000 and Lloyd’s Register certified. The team is currently working on getting IFS certified.

Maurice Walraven, COO: ‘With short lines of internal communication and our relatively small and specific processing facilities, we can adapt quickly to changing client needs and market trends. By applying a high degree of traditional preparation techniques, the resulting quality is a close match to what you would find in a traditional kitchen. These guiding principles make the products unique at this scale. A third important distinguishing factor is being able to deliver quickly at affordable prices and in relatively small quantities, but we can also process large batches for the industrial, food service and retail sectors.’

Saus.Guru CuliConcepts is also the producer of the well-known Saus.Guru brand. Maurice: ‘We called Saus.Guru into being in 2016 to reflect what we at CuliConcepts do and are capable of, namely improving and expanding the current sauce assortment on the shelves with new and unique flavours. With this approach, Saus.Guru started taking on a life of its own.’

CuliConcepts continues to grow each year, and the company now has 12 employees. The Saus.Guru assortment today consists of 50+ products. The brand is available at food retailers such as Albert Heijn, Delhaize, Edeka, Rewe and Hanos and through an international network of online distributors.

The future

Rutger: ‘There is still much to be gained in consolidating our current exports to Germany and Scandinavia. We have also taken our first steps in Southern European countries such as Spain, Greece and Italy.’ Thanks to positive word of mouth advertising, a solid image and high visibility on the Internet and targeted acquisition, the business will access those markets in the coming years.