ENGA’s newest member is A. Loacker Spa/AG, a family-run business, based in South Tyrol, Italy, that was founded in 1925. Loacker is renowned for its wafer and chocolate specialties (for which it is a leading brand globally), which are exported to over 100 countries worldwide.

The company has, in recent years, increased its focus on sustainability and traceability of its ingredients which are top quality and often sourced locally to its base in Northern Italy. For example, the hazelnuts used to make the filling in its famous wafer biscuits are 100% Italian, partially from the company’s own estates. And its new recipes also contain only Non-GMO Alpine milk – part of it coming from small farms near the Loacker facilities. Milk and whey are processed at the company plant in Vandoies, closeby the company’s production sites.

Loacker has been producing certified Non-GMO products since 2021; all its products are Non-GMO. The move to Non-GMO, which required years of preparation, is an important part of Loacker’s sustainability strategy. In Italy there are no state rules for Non-GMO production and labelling, therefore Loacker has chosen FoodChain ID NON GMO Global Standard as a private standard.

Ulrich Zuenelli, Chairman of the Board of Directors and representative of the third generation of the Loacker family business, commented:

"Going Non-GMO has been an important issue for us for some time: not only for sustainability reasons over health and environmental concerns, but also because of concerns about farmers' potential dependence on a few global seed companies. In the past, however, clear legislative regulations were lacking, as are today's certification options."

"In the context of the brand relaunch implemented in 2021, we have made it a goal of years of preparatory work to invest massively further in sustainability. As part of our 'Choices for Goodness', we have finally also decided to acquire FoodChain ID certification for Europe and Non-GMO Project Verified certification for North America - an essential differentiation and divergence feature in global competition. For a complex product like our wafer specialties, this is a very big challenge, which we were only able to achieve through very great efforts including a more than substantial investment in our own milk drying plant for the production of Non-GMO Alpine milk and Alpine whey in powder form. Today, we are proud to be able to label our products as "Non-GMO" and Non-GMO Project Verified, thus meeting with the desired response from increasingly conscious and sustainability-oriented consumers."