For over 100 years, Felix Koch Offenbach Couleur und Karamel GmbH has been a renowned and certified partner in the development and manufacturing of bespoke caramelized sugar and other products for the international food industry. New to its product portfolio are, for example, organic coconut sugar and vegan caramel paste.

By Dr. Bernhard Reichenbach

Always at the highest level – efficient and results-oriented” – this is the company motto of Felix Koch Offenbach Couleur und Karamel GmbH (FKO). Committed to this guiding principle, the company, founded in 1904, has made a name for itself as a specialist in the distribution and development of caramelized sugar products and specialities for the entire food industry. “We attach great importance to long-standing supplier relationships as well a professional exchange when it comes to new product developments and innovations,” emphasizes Director Felix Koch who is the third generation to head the company.

Among FKO’s customers, you will find world-leading food manufacturers from various industries. To meet the requirements of its international customers, FKO has been working with renowned sales partners all over the world for many years. This ensures that the individual countries are provided with a professional service tailored to their cultural and application-specific needs.

The portfolio of the family business includes high-quality products that combine tradition with innovation and modern trends. In the company’s own Application Centre, new application ideas are regularly implemented. “Our team of 25 employees forms an excellent mix of comprehensive know-how, innovative curiosity and our love for caramelized sugar,” Felix Koch explains. “The focus of possible applications is on the traditional confectionery and baking industries as well as the ice cream industry. It’s in these areas, that FKO’s products develop their diversity and appeal in terms of taste, consistency and colour”.

In the confectionery sector, the caramelized sugar and toffee portfolio develops its full flavour as a classic filling. The chocolate masses get their trendy “golden” colours by adding caramelized milk powder. The joint caramelization of milk powder and icing sugar creates the typical “Dulce de Leche” flavour. And with products from the French company Nougat Chabert & Guillot, known for their Montélimar nougat specialities, which are exclusively distributed by FKO, high-quality creations can be developed with almonds and other nuts as inclusions or sprinkles. In cookies and fine-baked goods, the acrylamide-free caramelized sugar syrups and instant caramels add a natural brown colour. This ensures that the confectionery produced with these stays within or even falls below the limits for acrylamide.

When it comes to American cookies or the classic German stollen, bake-stable toffee pieces are used that retain their structure after the baking process. In the ice cream range, the addition of flavourings can be avoided by using coconut powder or pistachio paste.

The caramelized sugar pieces and pastes intensify the nuances of warming and sweet flavours. Maple sugar and syrup are superb refinements for creamy ice cream. FKO’s product range also includes vegan coconut powder. It opens up possibilities for substituting classic milk in vegan ice cream creations that are becoming increasingly popular. In the dairy sector, both liquid and powdered caramelized sugar products can be used for the famous crème brûlée or also for crema Catalana, for example.

In milkshakes and other coffee specialities, caramelized sugar syrups and toffee sauces provide an additional visual improvement in addition to optimizing the taste. In the case of beverages, the instant coffee segment is worth mentioning – here, instant caramel and coffee notes produce a positive synergistic effect. The dark brown, colour-intense caramelized sugar products are also used in aromatic applications. Always on the lookout for new trends and ideas, the company is developing products that find their place both in niche areas and in the full spectrum of applications. Since FKO does not want to focus solely on the trade when it comes to coconut sugar, the product range has been expanded by novelties made from this raw material.

The company’s development team has developed an organic coconut sugar crunch that can be used as an inclusion in the chocolate and ice cream sector. “What’s special about it is not only its unique flavour but also that it is not hygroscopic,” explains Felix Koch. “This property makes its processing in production much easier and distinguishes it from all other crunches on the market, which is a real innovation”.

The second product made from coconut sugar is a toffee paste, also organic, which is very suitable for the chocolate and ice cream industries as a filling, topping or also for swirling. “On the market to date, these two products based on coconut sugar are unique in nature,” assures the head of the company.

FKO has also expanded its port-folio of caramelized sugar pastes: a vegan caramelized sugar paste and a creamy toffee sauce have been added. The paste serves the steadily growing market of vegan products and is suitable for filling in the one-shot process as well as for decorating, flavouring or as a topping. Also, just like the other products, all this happens at the highest level in line with the company motto.