Infant nutrition premiumization: Opportunities for fortified formulas and technological advances

24 Jun 2024 --- Despite strict legislation, safety standards and a declining birth rate, the infant nutrition industry sees plenty of opportunities in premium market segments. Key players highlight the potential of supplementing formulas to boost infant health, overcome formulation challenges, target specialized health needs and employ new technologies.

Nutrition Insight meets with professionals from Valio, FrieslandCampina Ingredients, Lubrizol Life Science, AB-Biotics and dsm-firmenich to discuss opportunities and challenges in the premium infant nutrition market. 

“With decreasing birth rate and changing legislation, the whole infant milk formula market is turbulent. This makes the infant nutrition manufacturing even more demanding,” note Dr. Anu Turpeinen, nutrition research manager at Valio, and Sari Vahla, head of sales in the company’s customized nutrition department. 

The experts add that Valio offers infant-grade ingredients, base powdered and finished solutions, and helps customers leverage other special nutrition areas. 

“We see a relevant business potential, for example, in healthy aging, as the world population is aging rapidly. In addition, other delicate target groups, such as toddlers and pregnant women, have specific nutritional needs.” 

Floor van der Horst, early life nutrition global marketing director at FrieslandCampina Ingredients, asserts that infant nutrition’s premium segment is least affected by a declining global birth rate, suggesting that the premiumization trend will prevail. 

“Brands are increasingly adding additional bioactive components with proven benefits for formula-fed infants. Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs), in particular, are emerging as a popular ingredient here, as parents increasingly recognize their benefits for infant gut health and immunity.” She highlights that HMOs are also becoming more popular in China. 

Fortifying formulations 
Isabel Gómez, global marketing manager in nutraceuticals at Lubrizol Life Science, underscores that parents look for products they “perceive as natural and fresh when it comes to claims, and boosting cognitive health.”

She adds that fiber, iron, calcium and omega-3 are some of the most essential ingredients to include in children’s products to strengthen their health. “Each of these ingredients is strongly associated with various health benefits and helps support growth and development.” 

“We expect to see products fortified with vitamins and minerals that support healthy infant development, are sensory appealing and provide a good experience for infants while being good for the planet with sustainably sourced ingredients. For example, we have seen the growth of organic-certified formulas that also offer environmental attributes.” 

Gómez asserts that most infant formula manufacturers currently add minerals like iron, copper and zinc to their products, as well as long-chain PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids), such as ARA (arachidonic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).Fiber, iron, calcium and omega-3 are key ingredients to include in infant nutrition to strengthen kids’ health. 

“However, some of these ingredients can be challenging to formulate due to stability issues and interactions that can lead to undesirable organoleptic changes, such as poor taste or odor, that must be addressed to ensure product compliance,” she cautions. 

“These challenges can be addressed through microencapsulation, which can encapsulate the active ingredients to protect them throughout the formulation, provide better stability and mask undesirable taste and odor in infant formulas while allowing for better absorption and digestibility.”

According to Gómez, formulators and manufacturers must develop stable products without undesirable attributes such as metallic, green-grassy, blood-like, oily and fishy tastes. She asserts that infant products’ sensory profile is essential to ensure tolerance and acceptance by infants. 

“Hypoallergenic formulas are particularly susceptible to off-flavors, especially bitterness, which can negatively affect the acceptability of the formula to both the baby and the parents.” 

Safety and consistency 
At the same time, the infant nutrition industry faces strict regulatory requirements. Miquel Bonachera, co-founder at AB-Biotics, highlights that consistency and safety are paramount. 

“The stringent regulations and standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration and European Commission ensure infant nutrition products meet specific dietary needs, ensuring every infant receives the best possible nutrition.”

However, he also sees that demand for products supporting infant health is “undeniably growing,” which drives product development within the category.  

“Formulas tailored to specific health or dietary needs like allergy management or digestive comfort are in great demand currently, with one example being the incorporation of HMOs within infant formulas to better mimic the nutritional profile of breast milk, thought to support gastrointestinal health and immune function.” Although regulations are strict, growing demand for products supporting infant health drives product development.  

Moreover, he adds that global demographics drive the trend for convenient and health-focused infant nutrition solutions, such as supplemented formulas. 

Dsm-firmenich notes that regulatory hurdles remain a “key challenge for innovation in infant nutrition,” according to Despina Ioannides, the company’s global marketing manager of early life nutrition (ELN), Kristen Finn, ELN translation and advocacy lead and Gertrude Gentile-Rapinett, head of translational sciences.

“The industry is subject to stringent regulations and safety standards to ensure products meet infants’ unique nutritional needs and safety requirements. Application challenges such as stability, sensory and interactions with other components in the formulation can limit the incorporation of very potent bioactive ingredients in infant nutrition applications.” 

They add that building clinical evidence through diverse trials and testing phases can take substantial time and investment.

“Consumer education also remains a challenge,” the team continues. “The awareness regarding the importance of optimal infant nutrition and the differences between breast milk and infant formula composition and the importance of complementary feeding remains low.” 

“Last but not least, cost impact and accessibility of these innovations will become a bigger challenge also reflecting on the income and resource-constrained settings of the geographies where birth rates are still increasing.”

Speeding innovation 
Meanwhile, the dsm-firmenich team also sees innovation opportunities through continuous research on bioactive ingredients and their associated health benefits. 

Ioannides, Finn and Gentile-Rapinett add: “Advancements in technology, such as genomic testing and microbiome analysis, offer the potential for personalized nutrition solutions tailored to individual infants’ specific needs and microbiome compositions.” 

Advances in technology can address infant nutrition challenges and deliver science-backed solutions. “Technology taps as an enabler to speed innovation circles and deliver science-substantiated solutions to the infant nutrition industry. Ex vivo models such as fermentation, cell models and data science can accelerate the initial lengthy in vitro screening of bioactives, shape the clinical trial design and strengthen confidence towards targeted outcomes.”

They illustrate that technology can address some of the challenges within the infant nutrition industry, such as application and making these solutions accessible to all infants in need. 

“For example, advances in encapsulation technology can support the stability and performance of the bioactives in the target application, thus making it easy to incorporate these into an infant formula matrix and supply chain.” 

“Another example gaining momentum is how through biotech pathways we can produce nature-identical molecules at high purity levels, narrow specifications and free of seasonal variations in controlled environments and more sustainable ways.”

Technological advances 
Utilizing technology is vital for advancing the infant nutrition sector, says Bonachera from AB-Biotics. “Technology is helping to improve product formulations and packaging processes which can enhance safety, preserve nutritional content and extend shelf life, ensuring infant nutrition products maintain their quality from production to consumption.”

“Advances in food technology are enhancing the infant nutrition market, allowing the industry to develop nutritional products and formulations containing ingredients in human milk. This approach makes nutritional solutions more natural and reliable, adapting to various feeding needs, including those of parents who rely on formula.”

Van der Horst at FrieslandCampina Ingredients also sees that technology enables faster creation of innovative, safe and efficacious infant formula ingredients. Technology helps to improve product formulations and packaging processes to ensure products maintain their quality.

“For example, we have been using precision fermentation technology since 2016 to produce our HMOs and recently entered a strategic partnership with Triplebar Bio, leveraging the technology again to accelerate the creation of bioactive proteins that can be used to support human nutrition. This will enable us to make high-quality nutrition affordably and more sustainably for brands in early life nutrition and adult nutrition too.”

The company recently launched Step Up Nutrition — a cross-category portfolio of solutions for children aged three to twelve — to encourage innovation and bridge the gap between infancy and childhood. Van der Horst expects more nutritional solutions to support children’s mental well-being coming to the market, which is currently predominantly targeted at adults. 

FrieslandCampina Ingredients also uses technology to enhance its production capabilities, supporting brands in producing high-quality nutrition products. “For example, our cutting-edge encapsulation process allows us to enclose omega-3 oils in a powder matrix, making them easier to mix with other dry ingredients in infant milk formula. It also extends the shelf life and improves the sensory properties — making for an overall superior end product.” 

Valio’s Turpeinen and Vahla add that technological development has created a rapidly growing number of HMOs with different structures and properties. “Currently, the most abundant HMOs in breast milk are commercially available.”  

The company uses its know-how in milk fractionation to separate and concentrate milk fractions with specific health benefits. Turpeinen and Vahla illustrate that Valio modifies “the protein, carbohydrate and fat content of our products to cater to the needs of different consumer groups.” 

By Jolanda van Hal