What does chocolate, plant-based cheese, yoghurt and drinks, breakfast bars and flour all have in common – the answer surprisingly, is Tirlán.
Because according to the Kilkenny-headquartered co-operative, which has more than 6,000 farm families at the heart of its operations, it would appear there is nothing that Irish-grown oats cannot improve on.
This may help to explain why Tirlán has built a global reputation for delivering its oat-based ingredients and products and why the co-op’s innovation centre in Co. Kilkenny is front and centre of the race to develop the next big thing when it comes to oat-based plant ingredients.
According to Michelle Collins, research and development director with Tirlán, while the centre is not 100% solely focused on plant ingredients, it is playing to its strengths when it comes to gluten free oats and what it can offer.
Oats are naturally gluten free but some can be contaminated because of interaction with other crops that contain gluten, or if they are milled in the same place as wheat, barley, and rye.
However, according to Collins, Tirlán stands out from its competitors because it has developed a “closed-loop”, 14-step supply chain system called OatSecure.
“We’re able to offer a bespoke product that nobody else is offering and it is one of the reasons why we are a key player in the global oats markets today,” she said.
The €15 million innovation centre boasts a significant research and development team which includes scientists, sensory gurus, development chefs and food technologists.
Its on-site plant-based lab is capable of milling grains to different sizes for various applications and it also has a pilot-scale spray dryer which is supporting various cutting-edge research, development and innovation programmes on the site.
Tom Finlay, head of the co-op’s strategic alliances (dairy and plant), told Agriland that thanks to the co-op’s commitment to innovation its “closed loop” system is a major driver of new business.
“We’re the only company in the world that’s fully in control of the supply chain. Everybody else does elements of it – they might assemble grain or they might mill grain – but nobody’s doing it from start to finish,” he said.
Finlay said Tirlán wants to double the acreage sown to gluten-free oat crops this spring. Last year the co-op increased its acreage which boosted production levels, sales, and resulted in “more long-term contracts” with growers.
Last year its growers received a premium of €30/t over the feed wheat price because it is a “premium grain”.
According to Finlay, the co-op will double the target harvest this year which creates more opportunities for growers.
“The carbon footprint for oats in Ireland is up to half of what it is in other countries because yields are higher in oats so we’re getting between 3-4.5t/ac in Ireland where it could be around 2t/ac in in other countries.
“There’s also less nitrogen used in oats and it is a very good break-crop so in a rotation it helps the yield for other crops.
“We have been growing very fast over the last number of years and ‘gluten free’ is now our main product above conventional oats. We do conventional well and we also do organic, but we see gluten free as the biggest element of what we do,” he added.
Tirlán and gluten-free oats
“It is our biggest focus because the premium that gluten free gives above conventional oatmeal merits the effort that it takes for us to focus on that space, especially because we are exporting grain internationally.
“We’ve found that big brands around the world don’t want any risk and are happy to pay us to supply them and that’s because they have confidence in our reputation,” Finlay also explained.
He said that Tirlán’s biggest, and core gluten-free export market had previously been western Europe, but the biggest growth in recent years has been in North America.
“Some of that has been about the variability of crops in North America – droughts for example had a major impact and Canada also had an unreliable harvest in 2021, so that created a major opportunity for us.
“We’ve been able to secure long-term contracts in those markets as a result of that because companies want to be sure of their supply chain,” Finlay highlighted.
According to Tirlán, the ‘free from’ category – which includes products free from allergens, gluten, lactose, and dairy and meat products – has significantly grown over the last five years and is forecast to reach £1.3 billion in 2024.
At the heart of this growth, according to Finlay, is the growing trend of more consumers following free-from diets, particularly gluten-free diets.
“Gluten poses a serious health risk for anyone who has coeliac disease and our food safety process starts with our source of supply which is crucially important for coeliacs,” Finlay explained.
“But there are also consumers, who are not coeliacs, who want dairy alternatives.
“For us we see growth in broadly three categories.”
The first, he said, is breakfast cereals. Finlay said people are moving from unhealthier breakfast cereals that would have a lot of sugar and towards healthier oatmeal-type breakfast cereals such as porridge.
“Then there is the bakery and bars category. Cereal bars are taking up lots of space that unhealthier confectionery would have taken in the past and there’s good growth in that market,” he said.
“Then finally there are the dairy alternatives, which is the fastest growth in terms of volume usage of oatmeal. We see some of the biggest growth coming in cold beverages,” Finlay said.
According to Finlay, Tirlán’s ambition to double the acreage sown to gluten-free oat crops this spring could have a knock on effect for other parts of the business.
“We’re coming towards filling the mill in Portlaoise. We’re nearly at capacity there and we would like to bring on more capacity to double that again over time,” he said.
“But any investment programme would be subject to approval internally and of course, it has to compete against other projects for capital expenditure but it’s an investment project that would be well received,” he said.