Taifun – more than tofu

Life Food GmbH Taifun stands for original and innovative tofu products, but just as much for research into soya, international involvement in GM-free agriculture, regional cropping projects and environmental protection as well. The tofu specialities from Freiburg are well known and popular at home and abroad, and we see the evidence in the steady growth of the company.

(Picture: Going for expansion: Life Food is well set up for the future)
Taifun products are listed in over 8,000 organic shops across Europe. Life Food GmbH (Taifun) sells its products in Germany and 15 other European countries. ”We feel just as much at home in the Netherlands and Spain as in Germany,” says Jesus Bastante. The Spaniard has been the sales manager at Taifun for quite some time and likes being in Freiburg. The company’s growth in turnover is a reflection of market development: strong domestic growth of 6.5 % in the first quarter of 2010 and 15 % in the international market. (Picture: The Taifun range is found on chilled shelves nearly everywhere)

“In an organic shop in Italy you’ll find just as many Taifun products in the chilled cabinets as in Germany,” explains Gert Wodtke, Life Food’s press spokesman. Mr Bastante points out that when new shops are opened in France many Taifun products are on sale straightaway – which shows how well known the brand is. But he adds that the German market continues to be the focus of sales activities, with many tastings, training sessions, campaigns and participation in trade fairs, in particular BioFach. As well as tasting events organised by Taifun itself, shops and promotion teams hold their own tasting sessions, and statistically there is a Taifun tofu product tasting practically everyday somewhere in Germany. (Picture: Product tasting, here at BioFach, is one of the best ways to promote brand recognition)

A workforce of about 160 produces an average of 300,000 packs (ca. 60 t of tofu) of the 37 tofu specialities every week. Roughly half of production is destined for other countries in Europe. “This is something quite special for a medium size business producing chilled goods,” explains Jesus Bastante. The sell-by date is 34 days from leaving the factory for wholesalers, which leaves plenty of time for sales. “The great thing is that the important European markets, Italy and France, have also become important sources for some of the 80 raw materials we use,” says Bastante. This applies in particular to the most important raw material, namely soya beans. (Picture: Tofu manufacture in Freiburg)

The pilot project “Regional Soya Cropping” was started 14 years ago. In 1996 soya was grown on about 30 ha around Freiburg, but in the meantime it has expanded greatly. Contract cropping has become a southern European project with land under soya in the region round Freiburg, in Alsace (400 ha), Burgundy (130 ha), the Po plain in Italy (150 ha) and in Austria (90 ha). High-value tofu soya beans are being grown this year on more than 700 ha. “I’m really delighted that our idea of making organic soya a domestically grown crop in Germany and Europe has been so successful. We’re experiencing at first hand how simple it is to create an affinity for a traditional Asian food like tofu,” says the managing director Wolfgang Rainer Heck.
(Picture: Wolfgang Heck wants to expand soya cultivation in Europe)

Taifun regularly introduces innovations. Promising new initiatives at the beginning of this year were the separate product range for gastronomy and large-scale users. In response to customer enquiries, Life Food has developed a process that enables it to supply frozen tofu products. A chilled range too in practical large packs was warmly welcomed when new products were presented at this year’s BioFach in Nuremberg. And the product development team has thought up something special for the specialist retail trade: the tofu spread “Pâté Verdi” with a strong herbal note and delicate flavour of truffle that customers are very enthusiastic about, and “Pâté Rossini” that tempts you with its sharp cranberry and delicate smoky note.
(Picture: Silken tofu)

Good ingredients are a prerequisite in good products – an old adage that is always in the forefront of their minds at Life Food. Their focus is on soya beans, GM-free, organic and varieties with high-value protein. It takes a lot of commitment to maintain quality and at the same time to cover their requirements, that are growing year on year, since soya cultivated in Europe is only half what Taifun needs. This is why the company has long been involved in the classic soya-cropping country Brazil in order to ensure supplies. (Picture: Demeter farmer Hofmann and family in Brazil)

“Growth on the outside calls for growth on the inside” is an integral part of the philosophy of Taifun. Regarding physical growth, over the last few years the Freiburg company has expanded its premises at its headquarters, extending its production facilities and investing in a logistics centre and a training centre. The training facility was opened in March and has been created for training and further training of both employees and interested multipliers like shopkeepers, nutrition experts and teachers. Last year, the company held its first Food Experience Day for schoolchildren. More than 500 children took part in workshops on the firm’s main site dealing with the themes organic, sustainability and vegetarian nutrition. The response was very positive, and Taifun is already thinking about repeating the Food Experience Day next year. (Picture: Training Centre)

Regarding its internal development, the company has always sought to expand its expertise in the field of tofu, and to achieve this aim it works closely with colleges and universities. Young students of ecotrophology or food technology use the experience of working at Taifun to write their BA dissertations. Encouraging and promoting the younger generation is an important issue for Taifun. More finance is being invested in the continuing development process to optimise the production of tofu.
(Picture: Soya cropping in Europe)

In the current year, a high proportion of investment is being targeted at energy sources. As well as building a new transformer station, refrigeration capacity is being trebled, which is a clear commitment to the location and to confidence in the future. For a number of years Life Food has been using electricity from renewable sources, and this year the plan is to install photovoltaic generation. The commitment of the firm obviously goes well beyond manufacturing tofu products and, to elaborate the sustainability concept, an overarching working group has been created to look at all the aspects that will gradually be implemented in the company. (Picture: Soya is versatile and is becoming increasingly popular)

Company profile 2009:
Employees: 160
Production capacity: 300,000 packs/week
Range: 37 Taifun products, 10 Taifun-Gastro
Turnover: 17.5 million euros
www.taifun-tofu.de

(Picture: Soya beans – a precious raw material)