A landmark collaboration is unfolding across the vast landscape of the food additive industry. On June 9, 2025, Newtrend Group Holding Co., Ltd. and COFCO Sugar Holding Co., Ltd. formally signed an industrial cooperation framework agreement. This powerful alliance between two leading industry players will jointly usher in a brand-new chapter for the development for the food additive sector.

COFCO Sugar is a listed company controlled by COFCO Corporation, a central state-owned enterprise. As disclosed on COFCO's official website, it ranks among China's leading sugar traders specializing in domestic sugar trading, warehousing and logistics, serving sugar-consuming manufacturers and serving as a backbone in facilitating domestic sugar circulation. As a pacesetter in China's white sugar industry, it has built an extensive terminal customer network over years backed by profound industry expertise and outstanding market operation capabilities. Boasting sharp market insight and efficient marketing strategies, COFCO Sugar enjoys deep-rooted brand influence and stands as an industry benchmark.

Newtrend, meanwhile, boasts outstanding performance and a top-tier global position in the production of sucralose, a high-intensity sweetener. Its Thailand base is projected to achieve an annual production capacity of 15,000 tons of isomalt with mature manufacturing techniques that guarantee consistent, reliable product quality. Supported by its efficient global supply chain system, the Group can swiftly cater to demands from renowned international food enterprises, accumulating rich professional service experience.

This partnership stems from the two parties'in-depth insight into industry trends and precise recognition of each other’s strengths. Both sides acknowledge that amid increasingly fierce market competition, only through joint efforts and complementary advantages can they achieve win-win results and tap into broader market potential.

The two parties will jointly chart an ambitious development blueprint through multi-faceted cooperation. Leveraging its strengths in market promotion and sales channels, COFCO Sugar will act as Newtrend’s authorized domestic distributor, taking full charge of marketing and sales for sugar substitutes including sucralose (high-intensity sweetener) and isomalt. With targeted market positioning and effective marketing tactics, it will raise consumer awareness and recognition of these premium products. Meanwhile, Newtrend will focus on stable production and supply, enforce stringent quality control to ensure all products comply with China’s food safety standards and international quality system requirements, and supply safe, efficient and high-quality food additives to the market.

Both sides will prioritize the development of novel sweeteners, a key growth frontier for the industry. To this end, they will set up a joint R&D team to integrate shared research resources, allocate sufficient R&D funding, deploy elite technical personnel and utilize advanced equipment. Drawing on Newtrend’s manufacturing expertise and COFCO Sugar’s profound understanding of market demands, the joint team will conduct product formula optimization, production process improvement and application scenario development. Through continuous innovation and exploration, the two parties will promote the innovation and development of novel sweeteners, offer consumers more healthy and tasty options, and meet the rising market demand for high-end food additives.

Furthermore, the two parties plan to build a joint laboratory for biosynthetic technology, conducting in-depth research on cutting-edge fields such as the biosynthesis of functional sweeteners via biotechnological methods and production of specialty amino acids. This initiative will pool the wisdom and resources of both companies to carry out research on biological enzyme engineering, fermentation process optimization and green synthesis technologies. Joint R&D is expected to lower production costs, improve product purity and manufacturing efficiency, inject new momentum into food R&D, market expansion and channel development for both sides, and further elevate their competitiveness and influence across the industry.

The two parties will also cooperate closely on the commercialization of pharmaceutical excipients and specialty amino acids. Newtrend will oversee production organization and rigorous quality control to ensure products meet the standards of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and international pharmacopoeias, safeguarding the quality and safety of pharmaceutical excipients and specialty amino acids. COFCO Sugar will leverage its extensive resources in the pharmaceutical sector to assist with regulatory registration, filing and market expansion, jointly accelerating the commercialization of pharmaceutical excipients and specialty amino acids and contributing to the advancement of the pharmaceutical industry.

Since its establishment, Newtrend has adhered to a development philosophy of innovation-driven growth and quality supremacy, focusing deeply on the food additive sector. Thanks to its exceptional technical strength and innovation capacity, it has been certified as a High-tech Enterprise for consecutive years and has been recognized as an Engineering Technology Research Center and awarded multiple honors. This cooperation with COFCO Sugar will undoubtedly bring new opportunities and challenges to Newtrend. Taking this partnership as a new starting point, both sides will jointly promote technological innovation, accelerate industrial upgrading, jointly tackle challenges brought by market fluctuations, and seize emerging opportunities across the industry.