Blurring boundaries: Cargill builds on infant nutrition and flavours expertise to advance specialised nutrition business
Although better known for its portfolio of food ingredients and solutions, Cargill has established a presence in the infant formula category for more than 40 years.
According to Jing Yu, the company’s Commercial Director for Specialized Nutrition in Asia-Pacific (APAC), one in 10 babies globally who are bottle-fed consume infant formula with a Cargill ingredient in it.
Going forward, the firm aims to capitalise on its capabilities and relationships with existing customers to advance its Specialized Nutrition business, focusing on developing “insights-led, science-backed innovations” that support consumer needs across life stages.
This would span early childhood, adult nutrition, healthy ageing, and medical nutrition.
“Over the past few decades, we have developed a very solid foundation in essential nutrition, which we call macro-nutrition. Next, we would like to become a nutrition solutions provider to a broader range of customers, beyond the infant formula sector.
“We have mapped out the categories to address specific health or nutritional needs of consumers, and are going to introduce different kinds of ingredients with targeted benefits,” Jing Yu told NutraIngredients-Asia.
The categories are namely brain (cognitive and mental health, mood, sleep), immunity, gut and digestive health, growth and development, mobility, metabolism, and malnutrition.
Cargill has been working on functional products to meet the growing consumer demand for holistic health, preventive care, and tailored diets.
Some of the prototypes were showcased at our Growth Asia Summit in July, as well as the recent Vitafoods Asia trade show in Bangkok.
These include the DHAlgae gummy, a plant-based functional gummy containing algae-derived docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is particularly important throughout pregnancy and for brain development in infants.
Another prototype is a gummy supplement containing EpiCor postbiotics to support immune and gut health.
“We definitely have new products coming out, including chocolate with DHA and chocolate with EpiCor. As we are also targeting people with active lifestyles, we have developed plant-based protein and fibre bars enriched with choline, which is helpful for various bodily functions, including cognitive function, metabolism, muscle movement, and more.
“EpiCor postbiotics are also applied in the bar to enhance the immune system, which may be weakened due to post-exercise fatigue. In this way, we hope to support active nutrition not only through high protein content, but from a holistic approach. We’ve shared the prototypes with our customers and gotten quite a lot of good feedback on the taste of the bar.”
Combining flavours and nutrition
According to Jing Yu, a challenge in specialised nutrition is the diverse needs of consumers at different life stages and in different locations.
“When we talk about nutrition in the past, consumers mostly invest in infant and medical nutrition. Nowadays, people take better care of themselves at all life stages and thus, their needs have become more segmented and personalised.
“The populations in Asian countries are very diverse and so are their needs. For example, in emerging markets, their focus may be more on the younger generation, so early life and child nutrition are prioritised. But for countries like Japan and China, which are facing severe ageing population issues, there may be greater demand for healthy ageing solutions.”
To identify market gaps and tackle specific needs of consumers, Cargill adopts a co-creation approach and works closely with its customers, such as “big brands with access to consumer data”.
In its facilities, the company then develops and tailors solutions that cater to the “right group of consumers” for each market.
The increased demand for nutrition products among young and healthy consumers, who are taking them for preventive and performance purposes, has also raised the bar for industry players.
“People are looking for products to help them feel better and to be more active throughout their life span. These are healthy people who will not be that tolerant towards bad-tasting products. This is why companies need to make products that not only have nutritional benefits, but also taste good.
“Apart from environmental reasons, our DHAlgae gummy is not fish oil-based so that it has a less fishy smell. As Cargill is traditionally a food and beverage company, we have very rich experience in developing different kinds of good-tasting solutions. We also have a sensory team, equipped with science, to support us in providing these solutions.”
At the same time, Cargill is working on innovating “fun formats” to deliver nutrients, aligning with current trends in the industry.
“Consumers are seeking fun formats, which is why there are now very blurred boundaries between dietary supplements and functional foods. For example, gummies are an increasingly popular format. This is an area where Cargill can add more value.
“We are able to innovate not only in terms of ingredient and product development, but also in the sensory aspects, to encourage consumption of nutrition products in a more pleasant way and more frequently.”
