Invisible frontiers: Cargill builds on infant nutrition and flavor expertise to advance the specialty nutrition business.
Although best known for its portfolio of food ingredients and solutions, Cargill has built a presence in the infant milk brand for more than 40 years.
According to Jing Yu, Business Director of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) Specialty Nutrition company, 1 in 10 bottle-fed babies worldwide consume Cargill’s formula. to you.
Going forward, the firm intends to leverage its capabilities and relationships with existing customers to further develop its Specialty Nutrition business, focusing on developing “knowledge-led offerings.” , science-based” solutions that support consumer needs across life stages.
This can include childhood, adult nutrition, healthy aging and medical nutrition.
“A few decades ago, we created a solid foundation for proper nutrition, which we call macro-nutrition. Next, we would like to be a nutrition solutions provider to many customers, beyond the infant milk sector..
“We have mapped the groups to address the specific health or nutritional needs of customers, and we will introduce different types of ingredients with targeted benefits,” Jing Yu said NutraIngredients-Asia.
These groups are the brain (mental and emotional health, emotions, sleep), immunity, gut and digestive health, growth and development, movement, metabolism, and malnutrition.
Cargill has been working on products that work to meet the growing consumer demand for holistic health, preventive care and prepared foods.
Some of the performances were shown at our Growth Asia Conference in July, as well as at the recent Vitafoods Asia trade show in Bangkok.
These include DHAlgae gummy, an effective plant gummy with algae-derived docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is especially important throughout pregnancy and for the development of the brain of infants.
Another example is a gummy supplement that contains EpiCor postbiotics to support healthy gut and gut health.
“We .of course there are new products coming out, including chocolate with DHA and chocolate with EpiCor. With an active lifestyle in mind, we’ve created plant-based protein and fiber bars fortified with choline, which is helpful for a variety of body functions, including cognitive function, metabolism, and movement. of muscles and others..
“EpiCor postbiotics is also used in the bar to strengthen the immune system, which can be reduced due to post-exercise fatigue. In this way, we hope to support proper nutrition not only with more proteins, but in leave a general impression. We have shared prototypes with our customers and received a lot of positive feedback about the customer’s taste.”.
Combining taste and nutrition.
According to Jing Yu, the challenge in special nutrition is the different needs of consumers in different life stages and in different places.
“When we talk about nutrition in the past, consumers invested in baby food and medical food. These days, people are taking better care of themselves in all aspects of life, so their needs are more individualized and personalized..
“People in Asian countries are very different and so are their needs. For example, in emerging markets, their focus may be on the younger generation, so early childhood health and nutrition comes first. But for countries like Japan and China, which face many aging problems, there may be a greater need for healthy aging solutions. ”.
To identify market gaps and address specific customer needs, Cargill uses an integration approach and works closely with its customers, such as “big brands with access to data of consumers”.
At its facilities, the company develops and tailors solutions that address the “right customer group” for each market.
The growing demand for nutritional products among young and healthy consumers, who are taking them for prevention and performance, has also raised the profile of industry players.
“People are looking for products that will help them feel better and be more active throughout their lives. These are healthy people who cannot tolerate products that taste so bad. That’s why companies need to create products that not only have nutritional benefits, but also taste good..
“Besides environmental reasons, our DHAlgae gummy is not based on fish oil so it has less of a fishy smell. As Cargill is traditionally a food and beverage company, we have extensive experience in developing a variety of delicious solutions. We also have a team of auditors, scientifically equipped, to support us in providing these solutions.”.
At the same time, Cargill is working to improve “sweet formats” to provide nutrients, in line with the latest trends in the industry.
“Consumers are looking for tasty options, which is why the boundaries between food and functional food are becoming very blurred. Gummies, for example, are an increasingly popular trend. This is where Cargill can add more value..
“We are able to innovate not only in terms of ingredients and product development, but also in sensory aspects, to promote the consumption of nutritional products in a pleasant and frequent way.”.
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