KTC launches new sustainable palm oil brand

Initial products in the range will include Planet Palm Oil and a selection of three specialist bakery products – Planet Palm Cake Margarine, Planet Palm Pastry Margarine and Planet Palm Shortening. All products are Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified sustainable segregated, offering traceability back to the refinery.

The range is unashamedly ‘pro palm’ – with certified sustainable products designed to help combat some of the negative misconceptions about palm oil. By launching the range, KTC hopes to change perceptions about palm, and continue to encourage customers to adopt sustainable solutions.

Gary Lewis, Sales Director at Wednesbury-based KTC Edibles, explained: “Over the past 15 years, the food industry has shied away from promoting palm oil – with brands either hiding their use or switching out of palm altogether. Unfortunately, switching from palm to alternatives doesn’t reduce deforestation or protect biodiversity. It simply moves the problems to another part of the world and can make them significantly worse.

“With Planet Palm, we’re doing something that’s never been done before - positioning palm oil as a positive product. This isn’t greenwashing - palm oil is the world’s most efficient oil crop, and when customers choose the right certified products, palm oil can be a responsible, sustainable option.

“In 2019, 70 per cent of the total palm oil imports to the UK were certified sustainable – today, although there has been limited further progress, that number is similar because of the pandemic, food inflation, price increases, and legislative challenges. We want Planet Palm to help restart progress on the adoption of certified sustainable, segregated palm oil in the UK, as we strive for 100 per cent sustainability.”

As part of Planet Palm, KTC Edibles has partnered with DAABON, a global leader in sustainable agriculture, to develop new fully traceable and organic, high performance palm oil products for the range. Potential upcoming products include solutions for bakery, confectionery and ice cream applications, such as doughnuts, waffles, chocolates and creams.

The launch of Planet Palm is the latest step in KTC’s ongoing sustainability programme. In September 2022, the company announced that it had achieved its ambitious target to offer only 100 per cent certified segregated sustainable palm oil to customers as part of a promise to the RSPO Shared Responsibility framework.

At the end of 2022, KTC became the first UK company to sign the Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto, an initiative carried out by RSPO and IDH as a way to drive attention and engagement on four strategic calls to action on sourcing, smallholder inclusion, landscape approaches and communication.

Francesca Morgante, Senior Manager Europe at RSPO commented: “RSPO welcomes initiatives by its members that strive to communicate the importance of RSPO certified sustainable palm oil. We are pleased that KTC as a long lasting member is disseminating positive messages in the market, helping their customers to make certified sustainable choices themselves."

The company is a member of the RSPO, and holds several industry accreditations and certifications, including The Soil Association and The Vegan Society. in 2023, the organisation became a member of The Sustainable Coconut and Coconut Oil Roundtable. Alongside this, they signed the Sustainable Coconut Charter - a voluntary framework which sets a global benchmark for sustainable coconut origins.

Founded in 1972, KTC Edibles employs more than 410 people across two UK sites in Wednesbury and Liverpool. The company supplies more than 250m litres of cooking oils to customers of all sizes across the UK food industry each year. All the palm oil supplied by KTC is RSPO certified sustainable.