Whilst the Chinese knew about the benefits of soya centuries ago, it wasn’t until quite recently that this nutritious bean started to become popular in Europe.
In fact we’re proud to say that Provamel was one of the principal driving forces in achieving this thanks to the Company’s original founder, Phillippe Vandemoortele.
In 1975 he developed an exclusive production process that used the whole soya bean – a process that wasn’t dependent on using chemicals to extract the goodness from the bean but by water and milling.
As soya doesn’t need much water to grow he aimed to tackle the nutrition problems faced by many Third World countries by introducing this amazing bean. An early project in Madagascar saw the construction of a soya production plant that resembled a large tin shack rather than a factory. The idea was a great one but endless battles with logistics meant the project had to be discontinued in its original and intended form.
However his pioneering spirit still lives on in Provamel where we continue to innovate in the production and development of soya products for Europe whilst at the same time being active in third world projects.