FrieslandCampina Ingredients unveils a holistic solution for the gut-muscle axis

By Teodora Lyubomirova

- Last updated on GMT

Getty/JohnnyGreig
Getty/JohnnyGreig

Related tags performance nutrition Nutrition Dairy Whey protein Prebiotics Probiotics

The company’s three-in-one ingredient brings the benefits of protein, probiotics and prebiotic cultures and offers product manufacturers a holistic solution for the performance and active nutrition market.

Biotis Fermentis was created by fermenting together whey protein, prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides and probiotic cultures. According to the company, this is the first time that these three ingredients have been combined into a single ingredient product that can be used in food and beverage manufacture. According to FrieslandCampina Ingredients, its product can boost gut health, enhance mood, and support immunity, making for a versatile solution that sits equally at home in the active nutrition and healthy ageing space, for example.

“People are looking for the health benefits and consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the gut-brain and the gut-muscle axis and how interconnected they are,” the company’s Sophie Zillinger Molenaar told DairyReporter as FrieslandCampina Ingredients debuted Biotis Fermentis at Vitafoods 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland. “We purposefully wanted to offer a holistic solution, because it’s a complex area. It’s vital to search for solutions that bring different benefits together.”

These benefits have been studied by FrieslandCampina Ingredients as part of research on 150 recreational athletes between 20-50 years of age. The survey’s headline results showed that after three weeks of taking Biotis Fermentis daily, 80% of consumers self-reported improved satisfaction with their physical well-being and 60% reported significantly reduced bloating compared to baseline levels. For athletes in particular, the stakes are high when it comes to stress-induced gut discomfort – and according to a 2018 study*, 86% of athletes suffer from gastro-intestinal issues believed to be associated with stressors such as training and competition. “Our study shows that there are improvements to the whole physical and mental wellbeing,” added Molenaar. “That’s across the gut-muscle axis, the physical health, but also improvements to mood and energy.”

Asked how well the product can withstand the rigors of food and beverage processing, Molenaar explained that there are ‘no limitations’ as to what applications the ingredient can be used for. “You can bake it or make a bar out of it,” she told us. “It’s a heat-stable ingredient, which means it’s very versatile. For this event, we mocked up a powder to show that it can be used for supplementation, for example during breakfast or added to shakes, but it can be used for a variety of applications – there are no limitations in that respect.”

For dairy applications, Molenaar says ready-to-drink beverages, protein bars and yogurt are three product categories from within the performance and active nutrition markets where Biotis Fermentis could play a role of a differentiator for food makers. The recommended dose of 15g per day packs 8g of protein, an amount that could offer a nutritional boost for both athletes and active consumers. “For an elite athlete that is already consuming a lot of protein, this is a nice amount – it’s not too much, it’s just 8g on top, through which they also get the other health benefits of the Fermentis solution. And as for the active consumer, it’s not too heavy on protein. So it covers all those bases.”

Biotis Fermentis is now launching in Europe and the US, with the company planning to release it in the Asia-Pacific at a later stage. This release is an important step for the company as it aims to increase its presence in the performance nutrition segment after focusing on active for several years. “In performance and active, there are still many opportunities to tap into,” Molenaar said of FrieslandCampina Ingredients’ ambitions going forward. “These two segments continue to grow at about 9-10% CAGR. Now with consumers looking for more health-focused solutions, I think [these segments are] only going to continue to grow.”

Sources:

Gastrointestinal symptoms in elite athletes: time to recognise the problem?
Pugh JN, et al.
Published April 2018
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098376

Related topics Ingredients

Related news