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In this Q&A, FoodBev speaks to Dr Ignatius MY Szeto, assistant president at Yili Group, about the company's recent innovation and advancements in specialised nutrition research, including probiotic development and breast milk studies.

Please could you tell us about your role at Yili Group and National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy (NCTID) in China?

As the assistant president of Yili Group, I oversee nutrition and health research spanning the entire lifecycle. This includes leading initiatives in breast milk studies, healthy ageing programs, proprietary probiotic development and the integration of traditional Chinese ingredient technologies.

For years, my team and I have been at the forefront of nutrition research, with a mission to strengthen Yili’s global innovation ecosystem and translate cutting-edge science into accessible, life-improving nutritional solutions for consumers worldwide. To foster international collaboration, we partnered with renowned global institutions such as Wageningen University & Research, AgResearch, and top Chinese universities to build a network of leading research organisations.

As executive director of the Nutrition and Health Research Center at the National Center for Technology Innovation in Dairy (NCTID), I lead efforts to shape the future of dairy science. As China’s sole national technology innovation centre in the food industry, NCTID drives R&D of core technologies, fosters cross-sector collaboration and accelerates tech transformation. Our daily focus is unlocking dairy’s full potential through smarter nutritional solutions, sustainable practices, and global-impact breakthroughs, while guiding the industry toward high-quality growth via an open network of more than 100 members.

I am committed to continuing my efforts in driving innovation within the dairy industry, with the goal of bringing enhanced health and wellness to consumers worldwide.

At the Global Dairy Congress, you delivered a keynote on 'Innovating leads to a sustainable future'. Could you share the main takeaways from this speech?

Health is mankind’s common pursuit and the dream that the dairy community unswervingly strives to fulfill. Over the years, Yili has integrated global research resources to build a Global Smart Chain, delving into full-lifecycle nutrition and health research and achieving continuous breakthroughs in technological innovation. Every day, Yili pushes the boundaries of innovation, aiming to tackle cutting-edge dairy challenges, unleash the potential of dairy products, and continue to explore more precise nutritional solutions, sustainable development paths, and globally impactful outcomes.

Based on the full-lifecycle nutrition and health research, Yili has put forward a Four-in-One comprehensive nutrition strategy for breast milk studies. The strategy, as an all-round understanding of breast milk nutrition, is designed to build synergies among different milk components to achieve immune protection, facilitate digestion and absorption, safeguard intestinal health and advance intellectual development. In addition, Yili actively innovates and arranges deep processing technologies such as milk component separation, enzymatic hydrolysis, optimisation of protein structure and performance, and microencapsulation, so as to further exploit milk’s natural nutrients, allowing the development of nutritional solutions tailored to different populations.

Regarding probiotics, we have developed our own strains: Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL-99, Lactobacillus paracasei K56, and Lactobacillus paracasei ET-22, targeting intestinal health, weight control and oral health.

To promote circular economy and reduce the environmental impact of packaging, Yili has unveiled the Sustainable Packaging Master Plan as well as the 2025 Sustainable Packaging Strategic Goals and Roadmap, to accelerate the R&D and application of green packaging.

At the event, you also focused on sharing the latest achievements of Yili in leading maternal and infant nutrition and breast milk research. Could you please tell us about some of the key findings of Yili’s Key Achievements?

At the Global Dairy Congress, I was invited to present Yili’s Four-in-One breast milk research strategy, our findings from the HMOs+ (human milk oligosaccharides) innovation ecosystem, and latest FSMP (food for special medical purposes) outcomes.

Through in-depth breast milk research, Yili has built a breast milk composition database with over 10 million entries and obtained more than 290 patents. Just last month, we released the 2025 Key Achievements in Breast Milk Research in collaboration with leading academic experts, systematically showcasing 13 major findings, including the first accurate analysis of the amino acid composition of Chinese breast milk and the first discovery of the relationship between HMOs and infant gut microbiota.

HMOs secure the largest share among active nutrients in breast milk and play a key role in immune protection and intestinal flora regulation. As a leader in HMO applications, Yili holds 28 patents and has applied research outcomes in this field to Pro-Kido’s Zhenhu Bocui and Aronurish Infant Formula, as well as other Yili products.

For FSMP research, Yili carries out formula development and clinical verification for infants with allergies or lactose intolerance. Currently, Yili has launched five products across two series – including Pro-Kido's Tofer Preterm Infant Formula Series and Pro-Kido's Tofer Hydrolyzed Protein Formula Series – to further improve the specialised offerings for infants and children with special nutritional needs.

Looking ahead, Yili will continue to lead the way forward in breast milk research, maternal and infant nutrition research, and FSMP to drive sustained progress in maternal and infant nutrition and health.

Congratulations to Yili on being a winner in this year’s World Dairy Innovation Awards! What are the key factors behind Yili’s successful innovations?

ŸWe are excited that Yili’s innovative outcomes have once again received unanimous recognition from the authoritative panel of judges at the Global Dairy Congress. Yili has a long-standing connection with the World Dairy Innovation Awards. It all began in 2007 in Amsterdam, where Yili’s Shuhua milk received the Highly Recommended Award at the event’s inaugural edition. Since then, Yili remained a regular winner of the awards. This year’s triumph in Amsterdam is of great significance, as it represents Yili’s sixth consecutive win, demonstrating the global dairy community’s recognition of Yili’s ongoing innovation efforts.

This year, Yili has achieved another record with 25 nominations covering all the product categories including liquid milk, yogurt, milk powder, ice cream and cheese. Ultimately, we secured four awards, leading the industry with the most awards won. This accomplishment is more than a reward for our ongoing commitment to innovation and R&D – it highlights Yili’s robust innovation capabilities across the dairy portfolio. Specifically:

• Zhenlao Light Cream from Yijiahao Cheese won Best artisan product

• Joyday Crunchy Choco Lava was awarded Best ice cream

• Yili’s patented multi-enzymatic lactose-to-GOS technology: Boosting Gut Health in Qinghuo Adult Milk Powder claimed the Best intolerance-friendly innovation

• Satine Carbon-Reduced Organic Milk won the Best CSR/sustainability initiative

Yili always remains committed to the concept of 'no innovation, no future' and place consumers’ health needs at the core of innovation and R&D to drive every technological breakthrough. We have set up 15 innovation centres in Asia, Europe, Oceania and other regions, and led the construction of the only national dairy technology innovation center in China. This globalised innovation ecosystem supports us in continuously developing higher-quality and more personalised dairy solutions for consumers worldwide.

What’s next for Yili? Do you have any other exciting plans or initiatives for innovation in the future?

Going forward, we will pursue industry chain-wide innovation cooperation in key areas of international dairy R&D, based on our Global Smart Chain comprising 15 innovation centres.

Firstly, in the upstream, Yili will further promote low-carbon and green practices in farming and breeding, and work with industry partners to build world-leading milk production bases.

Secondly, Yili will continue to conduct more precise research on the nutritional and health needs of different populations – including infants, children, adults and the elderly – and update our products accordingly.

Thirdly, Yili will seek continued breakthroughs in food science and technology, deepening our precise and deep processing capabilities. As dairy consumption becomes more diverse and personalised, we will endeavor to improve the overall quality of our products to meet consumers’ growing demand for healthy, nutritious and safe dairy products.

Finally, Yili will focus on developing sustainable packaging solutions to achieve higher recyclability and green, low-carbon growth, sharing the value of innovation with consumers and partners across the industry chain.