Twin Rivers Technologies Blog

 

Twin Rivers Technologies Celebrates World Coconut Day!

Posted by Danielle Wentworth & Carl Odendahl on Sep 2, 2020 8:30:00 AM

Fun Fact: September 2nd is World Coconut Day.  To celebrate this day, we decided to take this opportunity to discuss a line of Twin Rivers Oleochemical products that are made exclusively from Coconut Oil.

palm tree

About 10-15 years ago, Coconut related products became trendy in the US. Oil from the coconut can be found in all kinds of items you see or use every day. The derivatives of Coconut Oil can be found in foods, water, fuels, cooking oils, construction materials and beauty/personal care products. Since 2015 coconut consumption has increased in North America approximately 10% each year. To meet this growing demand, Twin Rivers has developed a line of Coconut Oil based products used in today’s chemical manufacturing sector for many applications.

A lot of people ask us where we get Coconut Oil. Twin Rivers uses responsibly sourced Coconut Oil from Southeast Asia. Many coconut plantations occur naturally in the Philippines and Indonesia where coconut producing trees grow alongside other naturally occurring species like banana, cacao and coffee. Harvesting of coconuts is rarely done with machinery and the minimal carbon footprint decreases the environmental impact. Twin Rivers imports the Coconut Oil via container ship direct to our processing facility on Boston Harbor. At that facility, our team takes the Coconut Oil and converts it to Coconut Fatty Acids. Due to market needs, we have also segregated the glycerin and now offer on a limited basis a Coconut based Glycerin. These Coconut Oil based products are Plant Based, Non-GMO and Palm Free and are primarily used in personal care products.

Many in our industry know that the term Coconut Fatty Acid has evolved over the years and typically indicates the chemical composition of the fatty acid material instead of the base triglyceride from which it was made. That means a large percentage of present day commercially available “Coconut Fatty Acid” products may have actually been made from Palm Oils instead Coconut Oil. For this reason, our “Coconut Only” brand has been made available to ensure that manufacturers using and claiming Coconut or Palm Free based ingredients can have full confidence in this claim.

So why are these “Coconut Only” products popular? According to our customers, they buy Coconut Only products for a few reasons:

    • Sustainability: Products made from sustainable sources like Coconut Oil are growing in demand each year.  Multiple sources report that Beauty and Personal Care Product launches with Palm Free claims has risen each year since 2015. While Palm Oil is a very important raw material and feedstock oil for the entire globe, that status has come with some criticism over the years.
      Sustainable
    • Product performance: Twin Rivers supplies several customers who have tested palm oil based products in their production and found that similar products made from Palm Kernel Oil do not perform as well as our “Coconut Only” products in their specific application.
      Performance
    • Differentiation in market segments: Some manufacturers of pet foods use “Coconut Only” glycerin as a humectant in their pet food products because it sets them apart from other producers using vegetable glycerin in their sector. These manufacturers report a consumer perception that glycerin made from coconut is a healthier alternative.
      Customer Preferance
    • Sustainable palm alternative: Some of our Twin Rivers strategic partners formulate with “Coconut Only” products as an alternative to branded sustainable Palm products purchased with credits in an effort to meet internal sustainability initiatives.
      Palm Alternative

Twin Rivers Technologies is one of the largest domestic producers of Coconut Fatty Acid that can be made from Coconut Oil where customers require it. Our deep-water logistics advantage allows Twin Rivers to continue ongoing production of “Coconut Only” products while others in our industry flex their production to less expensive and less sustainable base feedstock oils. Our “Coconut Only” Fatty Acid portfolio includes Whole Cut, Topped, Blends, High Purity Fractions and Glycerin. For more information on these Plant Based, Non-GMO and Palm Free options made from “Coconut Only” contact our supply strategy team here.

 

Topics: Sustainability, Coconut Fatty Acids, coconut only, palm free