DuPont Plans $100M Expansion of U.S. Probiotics Production

Seeking to expand its manufacturing capacity of probiotics by 70% over the next two years, DuPont Nutrition & Health is investing $100 million to optimize production and install new processing equipment and high-volume fermenters at its Madison, WI and Rochester, NY facilities, the company said Tuesday in a press release.

The investment, the second phase of an on-going project to expand probiotics production in the U.S., is a response to increased demand for probiotic products around the world, the company said.

“This investment reinforces our commitment to the probiotics industry. We see strong growth worldwide, and increasing our capacity enables our partners to continue growing and capturing the opportunities from very favorable market trends,” president of DuPont Nutrition & Health Matthias Heinzel said in a statement. “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.”

Producing probiotics for over three decades, DuPont probiotic products are often used in food and beverages, dietary supplements, and animal nutrition products. Market research firm Euromonitor forecasts that the global market for probiotics will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% between 2015 and 2020.

“Consumers want to proactively take care of their health, and they’re increasingly turning to probiotics to fit that need,” global business leader for DuPont Nutrition & Health’s Probiotics, Cultures, Food Protection, and HMOs unit, John Rea, said. “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 as playing the role of a ‘balancer’ in the midst of a stress-filled, fast-paced lifestyle.”

DuPont said its portfolio of Probiotic strains are supported by research that documents their efficacy in immune and digestive health.

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