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4.2 Case Study of Vitamin C Business Development
by Royal DSM NV
Vitamin C, or L-ascorbic acid, was discovered as the nutritional factor lacking in
the diets of sailors suffering from scurvy. It naturally occurs in fresh fruit and
vegetables. The fi rst industrial preparation of L-ascorbic acid was developed by
Tadeus Reichstein for F. Hoffmann-La Roche in 1934. DSM acquired this business
from Roche in 2003. Figure 11.4 shows the overall context, LCA-based insights,
supported decisions and value creation opportunities of Vitamin C product.
4.2.1 Context and Drivers of Vitamin C
The world’s population is still rapidly growing and expected to peak at nine billion
people around 2050. Presently large groups of people in poor countries already
suffer from malnutrition. Even if they have suffi cient energy in their diets, these are
defi cient in micronutrients, just like sailors’ diets did. Even in wealthy countries
there are defi ciencies of micronutrients, and people concerned about their health
take precautionary supplements of micronutrients. Hence there is a large and growing
demand for micronutrients, including Vitamin C. All over the world, even in developing countries, concerns about food quality and food safety are increasing, so food
additives and supplements have to comply with high standards of quality and safety.
Finally there are concerns about the environmental impact, including land use, of
the activities required to feed the growing population. These concerns also lead to
questions about the contribution of additives and supplements to food (environmental) footprint. There is strong competition and price pressure from China in the
vitamins market. DSM has the only non-Chinese production site for Vitamin C in
Dalry, Scotland.
The DSM Quality for Life™ program symbolizes quality, reliability and traceability. Quality for Life™ also means sustainability.
As part of the program DSM licenses the Quali-C® trademark to customers for
positioning their consumer products. Quality for Life™ and the Quali-C® brand are
integral parts of DSMs value propositions.
4.2.2 Results of the Vitamin C LCA Study
DSM carried out an LCA to determine the carbon footprint as a pilot in the UK
carbon trust program. One of the key results was that energy contributes more than
50 % to the footprint of the product, even with the very low energy footprint, produced in a combined heat and power plant fi red with natural gas. This high energy
consumption was related to the production of the intermediate 2-ketogulonic acid
(KGA) in an oxidation reaction. The oxidation can only be executed selectively if
groups that should not be oxidized are protected by addition of acetone, which has
B.M.K. Manda et al.
4.2 Case Study of Vitamin C Business Development
by Royal DSM NV
Vitamin C, or L-ascorbic acid, was discovered as the nutritional factor lacking in
the diets of sailors suffering from scurvy. It naturally occurs in fresh fruit and
vegetables. The fi rst industrial preparation of L-ascorbic acid was developed by
Tadeus Reichstein for F. Hoffmann-La Roche in 1934. DSM acquired this business
from Roche in 2003. Figure 11.4 shows the overall context, LCA-based insights,
supported decisions and value creation opportunities of Vitamin C product.
4.2.1 Context and Drivers of Vitamin C
The world’s population is still rapidly growing and expected to peak at nine billion
people around 2050. Presently large groups of people in poor countries already
suffer from malnutrition. Even if they have suffi cient energy in their diets, these are
defi cient in micronutrients, just like sailors’ diets did. Even in wealthy countries
there are defi ciencies of micronutrients, and people concerned about their health
take precautionary supplements of micronutrients. Hence there is a large and growing
demand for micronutrients, including Vitamin C. All over the world, even in developing countries, concerns about food quality and food safety are increasing, so food
additives and supplements have to comply with high standards of quality and safety.
Finally there are concerns about the environmental impact, including land use, of
the activities required to feed the growing population. These concerns also lead to
questions about the contribution of additives and supplements to food (environmental) footprint. There is strong competition and price pressure from China in the
vitamins market. DSM has the only non-Chinese production site for Vitamin C in
Dalry, Scotland.
The DSM Quality for Life™ program symbolizes quality, reliability and traceability. Quality for Life™ also means sustainability.
As part of the program DSM licenses the Quali-C® trademark to customers for
positioning their consumer products. Quality for Life™ and the Quali-C® brand are
integral parts of DSMs value propositions.
4.2.2 Results of the Vitamin C LCA Study
DSM carried out an LCA to determine the carbon footprint as a pilot in the UK
carbon trust program. One of the key results was that energy contributes more than
50 % to the footprint of the product, even with the very low energy footprint, produced in a combined heat and power plant fi red with natural gas. This high energy
consumption was related to the production of the intermediate 2-ketogulonic acid
(KGA) in an oxidation reaction. The oxidation can only be executed selectively if
groups that should not be oxidized are protected by addition of acetone, which has
B.M.K. Manda et al.