02 July 2020

Suiker Unie going forward under the name Cosun Beet Company

Cosun Beet Company. This is the new name announced today by the former Suiker Unie. “A name that seamlessly matches our new strategy,” says CEO Paul Mesters. “Sugar beet are the source of innovative, circular solutions. This plant offers fantastic opportunities to meet the challenges society is facing.”

Bright Beet Solutions
The immediate reason for the new name is the business group’s new strategy and ambition, explains CEO Paul Mesters. “We want to be the greenest, most innovative and most successful beet processor in the world. Our strategy is built on sustainability, innovation and respect for the world around us. For us, sugar beet are a source of inspiration to create high value solutions. Every day, we and our 9,000 growers get the best out of the beet. Not just sustainably refined sugar as a food ingredient, but also animal feed, protein from beet leaves, green energy, biobased domestic products, components for cosmetics and even disinfectant alcohol for hand gels. That’s why our slogan is: Bright Beet Solutions.”

Sugar beet completely circular
The evidence backing up these claims cannot be denied. “We are the biggest green gas producer in the Netherlands. We develop biobased products from beet pulp. Our strategy will result in us taking the first beet pulp refinery into operation.”

With its new strategy, Cosun Beet Company is responding to changing consumer demands and new opportunities in the market and is delivering solutions that meet tomorrow’s needs, explains Mesters. “The rising global population and dwindling natural resources call for new circular solutions that match the national and international sustainability agenda. By extracting proteins from sugar beet leaves, for instance, we are contributing to the protein transition and meeting the growing demand for vegetable proteins. What’s more, new biobased products will help prevent micro-plastics polluting the environment. And as we don’t produce any waste, the sugar beet is completely circular.”

Together with its parent cooperative, Cosun, Cosun Beet Company and the beet growers have developed a new strategy: Plants Powering People. Mesters: “Our new vision as Cosun Beet Company perfectly matches our belief in synergy and cooperation with the other business groups in the cooperative: Aviko, Duynie, SVZ and Sensus. We are also making intensive use of Cosun innovation center, a high tech forum to accelerate innovation and development.”

Video

For more information about our new strategy, ambition and corporate identity, please contact Kim van der Vorst on kim.van.der.vorst@cosunbeetcompany.com or +31 6 112 499 61.

Other articles

Beet campaign 2025 successfully completed

27 January 2026

The 2025 beet campaign officially ended on 25 January. With a campaign duration of 140 days and the processing of 7.7 million tons of sugar beet, Cosun Beet Company can look back on a season with good...

Continue reading

Tailor-made agreement with Royal Cosun on sustainability

18 December 2025

The Dutch State has concluded a binding tailor-made agreement with the international agrifood cooperative Cosun and will contribute up to €73 million to accelerate the future‑proofing of its production...

Continue reading

Global market prices continue to decline, Europe expects another beet area reduction

11 November 2025

Indian export announcement puts pressure on global market prices while European beet campaigns are progressing smoothly. 

Continue reading

Our Beet Cultivation: Once Again FSA 3.0 Gold

11 November 2025

At Cosun Beet Company, sustainability is not just an ambition—it’s a daily reality. For years, our growers have been working in accordance with the high standards of the international Farm...

Continue reading

Van Gilse Innovates with the Sugar Beet as Its Hero

11 November 2025

For over 125 years, Van Gilse has been a trusted brand in sugar products. Recently, the brand introduced a refreshed packaging line, placing the sugar beet at the heart of its design as a symbol of the...

Continue reading

Beet campaign launched: smaller acreage, higher yield

08 September 2025

Today, Cosun Beet Company's sugar beet campaign started again at all our locations: Dinteloord, Vierverlaten and the German location in Anklam. Despite a challenging market situation and a smaller...

Continue reading

Discover the power of beet fibre

11 July 2025

In a world where sustainability and health are increasingly in focus, Cosun Beet Company - a leading sugar producer - offers an innovative ingredient that brings both together: Fidesse®. Fidesse...

Continue reading

Discover the world of thick juice: an insight into our sugar production

14 May 2025

One of our fundamental processes is thick juice refining. This annual event is invaluable for our sugar production. During this period, we process stored thick juice from the beet campaign into crystal...

Continue reading

Sugar Beet Campaign: Efficient Processing After a Challenging Growing Season

23 January 2025

The sugar beet campaign has gone well in terms of processing at the factories after a challenging growing season with heavy rainfall at the beginning and drought at the end. The last sugar beets have now...

Continue reading

Sugar Beet Campaign starts after challenging growing season

17 September 2024

Following a challenging growing season, the sugar beet campaign started today, with the first sugar beets being processed in our factories in Dinteloord and Hoogkerk. At our German facility in Anklam the...

Continue reading

This sugar campaign goes beyond sugar alone

15 February 2024

At the start of this month, our two Dutch factories received that the last sugar beets of this campaign. This marks the conclusion of this year’s sugar beet campaign. Reflecting on the achievement,...

Continue reading

Annual beet campaign started again

20 September 2023

From today, all Cosun Beet Company factories are back to processing sugar beet. The factories in Dinteloord and Hoogkerk (Groningen) received the first beets this morning. Processing already started...

Continue reading

The use of sugar beet for bio-based materials and the effects on food security

15 June 2023

Renewable Carbon Initiative, of which Cosun Beet Company is a founding member, publishes new insights into a hotly debated topic and urges for careful and evidence-based argumentation. In its latest publication,...

Continue reading

What exactly is in those big tanks?

11 May 2023

The Cosun Beet Company factories in Dinteloord and Vierverlaten are once again buzzing with activity. The reason? The start of the thick juice campaign. The what? The thick juice campaign. This is the...

Continue reading

The Dutch beet campaign has ended

31 January 2023

Last weekend, the sugar factory in Vierverlaten in the province of Groningen processed the last sugar beets of the 2022-2023 campaign. In Dinteloord, the campaign ended in the night of Thursday 26 January....

Continue reading