IBENEO, a leading manufacturer of functional ingredients for food, feed and pharma has appointed Niels E. Hower as the newest Member of the Executive Board of Directors. In his role, Hower will be responsible for BENEO’s portfolio of plant-based proteins, including Meatless, a specialised company for plant-based texturizing solutions.

With an MBA in Economics and more than 25 years of experience in the retail, wholesale and life science sectors, Hower has occupied several senior management roles across his career, where some of his key responsibilities have included category/product management and operations. Prior to his new role at BENEO, Hower was positioned as EVP Global Procurement at Fresenius Kabi. He also co-founded the Doctor Chococo brand, which launched the first milk chocolate bar containing vitamin D and other beneficial ingredients.

Niels Hower joins BENEO

In 2022, BENEO acquired Meatless, a supplier of textured plant-based ingredients with a unique portfolio of solutions derived from different raw materials. Within his new role leading BENEO’s plant-based protein division, Hower will be focused on continuing the development of Meatless to meet growing demand for plant-based products, alongside BENEO’s wider ingredient portfolio including faba bean ingredients and textured wheat protein.

Commenting on his new role, Hower explains: “I am happy to join the BENEO team whose technical and nutritional expertise and longstanding experience has made the company a leading player for prebiotic chicory root fibres, functional carbohydrates and specialty rice ingredients. My ambition is to grow the plantbased protein business as well as Meatless in a similar way, by accelerating market expansion and extending our solutions. In the future, we will continue to grow our range into more products to satisfy different market needs for meat and fish alternatives.”