DuPont Nutrition & Health has announced an investment of around $100 million in expanding its probiotics production capacity in the US.
The investment is the second phase of a broader expansion project for DuPont’s probiotics business, after the company announced measures to support current growth at its sites in Madison, Wisconsin and Rochester, New York.
The second phase is scheduled to span two years and will increase the company’s probiotics production capacity by an additional 70%. Production will be optimised with the installation of new high-volume fermenters and other processing equipment.
“This investment reinforces our commitment to the probiotics industry,” said Matthias Heinzel, president of DuPont Nutrition & Health. “We see strong growth worldwide, and increasing our capacity enables our partners to continue growing and capturing the opportunities from very favourable market trends.
“As we phase in more capacity, we will continue to maintain the high potency, stability and efficacy in our products that have made DuPont the global probiotics leader. Quality is extremely important in probiotic production, and our reputation for manufacturing quality has always been a differentiator with DuPont probiotics.”
DuPont claimed that probiotics have seen rapid uptake and growth in recent years. In the US, consumer awareness is at an all-time high of 75%, according to the Natural Marketing Institute, while further evidence of worldwide probiotic acceptance is reflected in Euromonitor data that shows an increase in the compound annual growth rate for 2015-2020 in every global region– from 4.5% in Asia Pacific to 26% in South America.
“Consumers want to proactively take care of their health, and they’re increasingly turning to probiotics to fill that need,” said John Rea, global business unit leader for probiotics, cultures, food protection and HMOs for DuPont. “We have found through proprietary research that consumers feel probiotics offer a great way to improve their overall health and wellness. And they see probiotics playing the role of a ‘balancer’ in the midst of a stress-filled, fast-paced lifestyle.”
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