As competition gains pace in the functional food and beverage market will the road to success be paved with tighter collaborations at the formulation stage between manufacturer and ingredients supplier? The Hain Celestial Group and Cargill Health & Food Technologies (H&FT) are setting the example, announcing plans to jointly develop new food and beverages product solutions for consumers to address a broad range of health concerns.
Under terms of the agreement, the two companies will focus on the development of the next generation of functional beverages, currently one of the most dynamic segments of the market.
Getting a slice of the growing $18.5 billion US functional food market (Nutrition Business Journal) is the name of the game. As large food and beverage companies feel the pressure to maintain market share and margins, they are turning towards increasing their functional food product portfolio. Forming firmer relationships with ingredients suppliers is one such route.
"This collaboration will complement our current health brands and allow us to continue to exceed consumer expectations," said Irwin Simon, chairman, president and chief executive officer of natural products company The Hain Celestial Group.
"We look forward to bringing exciting extensions to our Rice Dream, Soy Dream and WestSoy non-dairy beverages to consumers. Our beverage categories have already set the bar high nutritionally," he added.
In a joint statement this week the two companies highlighted the novelty of their move, predicting that the collaboration 'will further accelerate growth in the functional foods and beverages categories with a combination of synergistic resources typically not seen in this industry.'
"We are excited about the opportunities to explore new formulations with our family of ingredient brands including: CoroWise phytosterols, AdvantaSoy isoflavones, Ascend trehalose, Oliggo-Fiber inulin, and OptaFlex chondroitin," said Ted Ziemann, president of Cargill HF&T, the health ingredients unit of Cargill.