Meat giant JBS is taking advantage of the rising demand for protein by creating a new business for its Genu-in subsidiary in Brazil.
Genu-in produces collagen peptides and gelatine for food and beverage manufacturers but will now become Genu-in Solutions in what JBS describes as a “new business front”.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
As part of JBS Novos Negócios, São Paulo-based Genu-in Solutions will now shift from being a partner in ingredients to innovation in end-user proteins.
JBS said it has developed a new product over the past 18 months, a “puff-type protein snack”, which has now passed regulatory approvals and is “ready for retail commercialisation”.
Collagen gummies and ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) are also in the pipeline.
Genu-in has previously been focused on protein partnerships in areas such as dairy products, ready meals, protein waters and non-alcoholic beers, JBS said in a statement today (21 September).
“The new operating model represents an evolution of this trajectory. Instead of being a supplier and ingredient consultant, the company becomes a strategic partner, bringing together technical knowledge, development capacity and a network of partners to conduct different stages until a solution is in a position to reach the market,” the meat major added.
Ricardo Gelain, the president of JBS Novos Negócios, said. “With Genu-in Solutions, we have advanced from ingredient to final product development, combining our protein expertise with research and technology.
“By integrating the entire development process into a single platform, we ease the path between a market opportunity and a product ready to reach the consumer. It is a way to accelerate innovation and, at the same time, reduce risks for our partners.”
JBS is making the move as consumers put greater priority on health and well-being.
“Adding protein to different foods and beverages is far from just adding an ingredient to the recipe. Each matrix presents its own challenges of solubility, taste, texture, transparency, and stability,” JBS explained. “Solving these issues is part of the work required to transform a lab-grown formulation into a product that can be produced on an industrial scale.”
JBS said it has entered a partnership with the Food Technology Institute (Ital) – The Collagen Innovation and Development Center in Campinas, São Paulo – to “research and test applications in different food and beverage matrices”.
It covers product areas such as dairy, meat, bakery snacks and beverages.
Vivian Zague, the director of research, health and nutrition at JBS, added: “It is not enough to add protein to a formulation. Each food or beverage has its own characteristics and the ingredient needs to work within that matrix.
“Ital’s structure allows us to test these interactions at different scales and bring research closer to the conditions found in the industry.”
The development comes as JBS expands its protein operations through M&A having recently acquired UK firm Walkers Deli & Sausage Company via its subsidiary Pilgrim’s Europe.
JBS has also formed a joint venture in Indonesia this year with PT Danantara Investment Management (DIM), the financing unit of the Southeast Asian country’s wealth fund, for investment and acquisitions.
It also announced a plan to build a B2B ingredients processing site in Melbourne.
On Just Food, alongside the daily diet of news, analysis and interviews on the website, we have a quarterly digital magazine in which we dig into some of the hot topics facing the sector.
The latest edition, out now, has as its cover story a look at how snack makers are adjusting to the rise of GLP-1 drugs.
“In no way do we see GLP-1 as the end of snacking,” Bosco Fonts, the CEO of Cerealto, told Just Food. “On the contrary, snacking is the unlikely winner of GLP-1.” Is he right?
The issue also explores the questions facing Big Food as some of the major names in the industry talk up their efforts on regenerative agriculture, while we also weigh up the development of the alt-milk market in Japan.
The magazine includes an interview with French dairy giant Bel about its plans to grow in the US, the Laughing Cow maker’s largest market.
And we speak to the founders of Biomel Gut Health about why they believe the UK plant-based business can successfully ride the interest in gut-health seen in the country.
