Ready-to-market solutions for infant nutrition

THIS PAST year, Epi Ingredients – the dry ingredients division of dairy cooperative Laïta and one of the world’s dairy ingredients experts – went through a complete overhaul and the company made substantial investments in marketing, equipment and human resources in order to support their new value-creation strategy.

“We are now ready to take our next step to grow the business, and infant nutrition is one of our focus areas. We see great opportunities in this booming market and have the knowledge and resources to offer our future customers high quality products that can help them significantly reduce their time-to-market”, says Mathieu Lucot, Marketing Manager.

The company’s full infant nutrition portfolio, both dry and liquid solutions from bulk ingredients to finished products, will be presented at Gulfoods 2016. Beyond demineralized powders perfectly adapted to be incorporated into infant formulas, visitors will discover:

• Epi Ingredients’ new Stage 1 to Stage 3 baby formulas (standard and premium) packaged for retail and ready-to-market under the customer’s own brand
• Infant liquid milk pre-packaged in a ready-to-use 100ml baby bottle
• Food for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP) such as pediatric drinks
• Baby food products and more

(Photo: Epi Ingredients)

Most of the company’s resources are now going into infant nutrition. In fact, Epi Ingredients invested over €80 million in the construction of a state-of-the-art drying tower dedicated to infant nutrition, offering specific packaging capabilities such as directly filling ready-to-market 400 g and 900 g cans with infant formulas. This new site is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2017.

The decision to build a dedicated tower stemmed from the growing demand coming from areas such as China, India, Brazil but also the Middle-East and Africa; which only adds up to an already steady demand from more mature markets.

“Consumers in these emerging markets are willing to pay more for quality product and, ingredients imported from Europe are perceived to be of higher quality then local offerings. This unlocks tremendous potential for Epi Ingredients whose products are exclusively French-made,” says Mr Lucot.

The company, a renowned expert in developing and manufacturing infant formulas with a proven experience in health and nutrition markets, has formed a team of experts (process, R&D engineers, marketing, etc.) dedicated to supporting this project and assisting customers in their product launches.

“With this specialized team as well as a deep understanding of the global regulatory landscape surrounding infant nutrition, we are a reliable partner for companies who wish to launch their own brand in this realm of products and are looking for a strong and long-term collaboration”, he adds.

To learn more about the company’s infant nutrition offerings, visit Epi Ingredients on booth #SK-3, or contact Mathieu Lucot at mlucot@laita.fr.