FrieslandCampina Ingredients and Lallemand collab powers up gut health NPD

28 Sep 2021 --- In a major industry team-up, FrieslandCampina Ingredients (FCI) and Lallemand Health Solutions (Lallemand) are putting their heads together for two gut health product concepts.

Pro-Digest Health Shot and Pro-Digest Bowel Support marry FCI’s Biotis galactooligosaccharides (GOS) prebiotic ingredient with Lallemand’s probiotics to address rising demand for scientifically backed solutions for gut health.

“Partnerships are a central part of our Biotis strategy. This is a really important partnership because it has two leading prebiotic and probiotic companies working together to help brands address one of the most current and pressing global health issues facing consumers,” Vicky Davies, global marketing director performance and active nutrition at FCI, tells NutritionInsight. 

Morgane Maillard, marketing group manager at Lallemand, notes that this team-up is a first with a partner of this scale. 

“We are very attentive to what the market is requesting, and we are open to further collaboration with our existing partners and other partners,” she states. 

Maillard continues that there are other FCI ingredients and Lallemand probiotic strains that could have other health applications relevant for the market. “This is something we will explore after this first market test.” 

Widespread gut health demand
FCI notes that 25% of global consumers suffer from digestive health complaints, with research showing that almost half of consumers find products for improving digestive health appealing. Furthermore, over two-thirds recognize a link between digestive and overall health.

Consumer understanding of the complementary benefits of combined pro- and prebiotic solutions is also growing, and the market is responding – in 2020, over half (54%) of probiotics also contained prebiotics in their formulation, notes FCI.FCI specializes in prebiotic ingredients, while Lallemand focuses on the R&D, production and marketing of probiotic yeast and bacteria. 

“Consumer satisfaction with digestive health is on the decline globally, so there is a growing demand for science-backed and proven solutions. This means there is the opportunity for FCI and Lallemand to collaborate on solutions to make an impact on the health and well-being of adults around the globe,” adds Davies.

“Since we introduced Biotis in June 2020, we have continued to keep fully in tune with what consumers want. One area that was attractive to consumers were the gut health benefits that can be delivered by combining prebiotics and probiotics,” she continues. 

Enhancing gut health portfolios
The concepts are designed to enable companies to formulate enhanced gut health products. The Pro-Digest Health Shot includes 5 billion colony forming units (CFU) per serving of Lallemand’s B. lactis Lafti B94. 

It has been shown to support a healthy microflora by feeding probiotic bacteria. This reinforces gut barrier integrity and helps to relieve abdominal discomfort such as occasional constipation.

Meanwhile, Pro-Digest Bowel Support aims to alleviate digestive discomfort and improve the day-to-day symptoms of consumers with digestive issues. 

It contains 10 billion CFU of L. paracasei HA-196, which may improve the quality of life in adults with symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). For example, it can help with bowel frequency in occasional cases of diarrhea or constipation.

Harnessing GOS prebiotic power
Both concepts also contain 5 g of Biotis GOS, which increases levels of bifidobacteria in the gut of healthy adults, improving gut discomfort, constipation and other gastrointestinal symptoms. 

Biotis GOS has also been shown, via the gut-brain axis, to improve anxiety levels and support overall mental well-being. FCI emphasizes that this allows formulators to create enhanced solutions that respond to growing consumer interest in solutions that improve both gut and overall health simultaneously.

“Consumers are actively seeking gut health products that easily fit within their existing lifestyles,” emphasizes Davies.

The shots are convenient and easy to consume as they are. With a clean and neutral taste, they are easy to formulate in a range of flavors.Both shots are convenient and easy to consume as they are.

A natural partnership?
Scientific backing was a significant factor in the companies choosing to collaborate. “It’s increasingly important for gut health solutions to be clinically proven,” says Davies. 

“That’s why we partnered with Lallemand – our combined formulation expertise and the expected synergy between its probiotics and our prebiotics allows brands to create stand-out products with tangible, proven benefits in an appealing and convenient format.”

Isabelle Champié of Lallemand adds that the process of developing these concepts was a “real passion project” for the R&D teams. “It truly is a case of working with the most innovative ingredients to create best-in-class solutions that make a tangible difference to consumers’ lives.”

The concepts will be on show at Vitafoods Europe, and are also the topic of an upcoming webinar hosted by NutritionInsight. 

Last December, FCI also developed D-Stress sachet and Re-lax health shot delivery format examples featuring Biotis Brain Health Benefit Solutions. 

By Katherine Durrell