This week in industry news, Symrise rebranded its beverage incubator to bolster beverage innovation, and Arla Foods Ingredients advanced high-protein dessert formulation in South America with a recipe toolkit. Meanwhile, Agropur entered into a distribution partnership with FrieslandCampina and Snowdonia Cheese Co., and Israel-based Turpaz acquired a Belgian sweet flavors firm for US$8.5 million.

Launches and innovation

Symrise has rebranded its beverage incubator, Califormulations, as bWorks to advance beverage innovation in North America. The relaunch aims to support brands from concept development to market-ready products by leveraging consumer insights, trend-driven flavors, and rapid prototyping. bWorks offers solutions for limited-edition releases, product line extensions, regional or national launches, and long-term productions. Its manufacturing facility in Georgia has alcohol permits and can provide organic, kosher, and halal certifications.

Arla Foods Ingredients unveiled a toolbox with 12 recipes to inspire South American dairy, health, and performance brands to create indulgent, high-protein desserts. The toolkit includes ingredients from the firm’s Nutrilac ProteinBoost range, which provides a creamier, smoother texture in low-fat products. The ingredients also enhance the shelf life and stability in fruity desserts, ice cream and sorbet. The company’s research has found that 38% of consumers in Brazil want to see high-protein dessert options in supermarkets.

Business highlights

Canadian dairy cooperative Agropur partnered with FrieslandCampina and UK-based Snowdonia Cheese Co. to distribute its Frico and Royal Hollandia cheeses in Canada.  Agropur will also distribute its Premium Cheddar and Red Leicester cheeses on behalf of Snowdonia. The company is owned by nearly 2,700 dairy farmers and processes 6.8 billion liters of milk annually.

Israel-based Turpaz Industries, which produces and markets flavor extracts, acquired Doucy, a Belgian sweet flavors manufacturer, in a US$8.5 million deal. The move marks Turpaz’s first sweet flavors company acquisition in Benelux while expanding operations in Western Europe. Doucy manufactures sweet flavors for food and beverages, as well as colors and additives for the animal feed industry. Its sales turnover amounted to US$5 million in 2024, with profitability rates corresponding to those of Turpaz’s Taste division, says the company.

Plant-based ingredients firm Nepra Foods collaborated with an industry expert to develop a proprietary concentrated hemp protein for food applications. The move aims to deliver functional and nutritious plant-based ingredients to a growing customer base. The hemp protein is currently in early production stages in the US and retains its complete nutritional profile. It offers enhanced texture, taste, and versatility, mainly in baked goods. The company is planning a future patent application for the process.

Research highlights

Researchers at the University of Washington, US, developed a sustainable method to convert used coffee grounds into a 3D-printable paste to address food waste concerns. Nearly 1.1 billion pounds out of the 1.6 billion pounds of coffee Americans consume in a year, is wasted. They mixed used coffee grounds with brown rice flour, Reishi mushroom spores, xanthan gum, and water to create the paste, which forms a resilient, fully compostable alternative to plastics. The findings are published in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing.

Food safety scientists at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency developed a streamlined workflow that detects low-level Listeria monocytogenes in food samples in eight hours, as opposed to the 24 to 72 hours taken by current methods. The bacteria can contaminate foods and represent a foodborne pathogen of public health significance, causing a high mortality rate of 20% to 30%, according to the study published in Microbiology Spectrum. The team evaluated the method using ground beef samples artificially contaminated with the bacteria.

North Carolina State University researchers developed a mathematical model to improve the efficiency of food delivery operations in food banks to support food security. The method accounts for the location of food distribution sites and delivery locations to develop optimized delivery routes that make food delivery faster and more fuel efficient. The findings are published in the journal Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering. The team is currently conducting proof-of-concept testing with food banks under real-world conditions.