If Arla Foods is to stay ahead of the competition in terms of developing new ingredients for the food industry, we need a pilot production plant that bridges the gap between innovators and largescale production. This is precisely what can be found at Arla Foods Ingredients R&D in Nr. Vium in Jutland, Denmark, where mobile testing equipment can be moved around in endless permutations. Several of Arla's best-selling, innovative products first saw the light of day here.

The Head of Innovation Kristian Albertsen can talk at length about filtering machinery. There are 25 different types in the pilot production hall in Nr. Vium where he is based. To ask him to choose a favourite would be like asking a father to choose between his children. Nevertheless,  filtering is also one of the key skills at Arla Ingredients R&D Nr. Vium, which focuses on two whey and milk protein properties: nutrition and functionality. The nutrition element is, for instance, concerned with creating ingredients for infant formula that is as similar to breast milk as possible.
The functionality element is all about making ingredients for the food industry that can make ice-cream more creamy, ham with the right texture or muffins with just the right sponginess. In both areas, the pilot plant plays an important role in bringing an idea from the drawing board to largescale production.

Mini production ushers in new products
When, a few years ago, Kristian Albertsen was given the go-ahead to set up a test production of a highly concentrated protein powder called WPI (Whey Protein Isolate) he had no idea that he was sitting on a golden egg. The mini production, however, resulted in a variant of WPI, which has provided Arla Foods Ingredients with a unique market position within the sports drinks area.

Arla Foods Ingredients is now among the very few in the world with the ability to make proteins that do not make sports drinks cloudy when heat treated and acidified. A huge improvement on the original varieties and the solution is greatly in demand by sports drinks manaufacturers.

A mini production allows for deeper insight into the production process as well as enabling product development at one and the same time. And that's precicely the point of the mini production concept, Kristian Albertsen emphasises:

"If we had said we should first set up largescale production and then begin second generation product development, we would never have come to where we are now,” he explains.

Working closely together the sales and production teams and Kristian Albertsen jointly decided to initiate a test production based on reports from customers. Such production can usually be done at no additional cost - as was, indeed, the case with the sports drink protein:

 "This cost no more than we could earn back by selling our small production volume," he says. ”In this way we could keep costs down while we optimised the production process and developed variations of the basic concept," he explains.

Eliminating risk
Another important point about the pilot production is that it helps to minimise the risks involved in the start-up phase of a new product. As investing in new production equipment can easily run into ten million Danish kroner, such investments require some major decisions. Pilot production runs at Nr. Vium can make such decisions easier. Kristian Albertsen explains:

"We get the product going very quickly which, in turn, means that our customers can run their own test production and test their market. At the same time, we get to know the market and the product so that we have a much better basis for deciding whether to invest the 10 million or so in a new production plant."

 In this way, the pilot production helps to build a market. Once full-scale production has been approved, the test production can be accelerated. Explains Kristian Albertsen:

"During the establishment phase, the sales teams introduce the product to more customers as we speed up the test production. Once large-scale production is up and running, demand starts to rise," explains Kristian Albertsen, sketching out an invisible ski jump with his hand. 

Test plants are unique to Arla and, therefore, set Arla apart from those companies that also supply ingredients to the food industry.

"This means that our customer can choose between two suppliers: one who can offer small quantities for use in test marketing, and one that cannot. For many of our larger customers, it’s an advantage to be able to test the potential of the market," Kristian Albertsen explains.

Successful products, which currently generate several hundred million kroner in sales, began as pilot productions:

• Alpha-lactalbumin: Protein used in infant formula.
• Lacto free/lactolite. Drinking milk product. A collaboration between R&D Stockholm, UK and R&D Nr. Vium
• WPI: Whey Protein Isolate. Highly concentrated protein powder with a protein content above 90 g per 100g. Used in the meat industry and in sports drinks.

Fore more information please contact: ingredients@arlafoods.com