Infant Nutrition
Consumer packaged infant nutrition solutions, base powders, and infant grade ingredients made from pure Finnish milk and fresh whey in our own modern facilities.
Good to remember: Breast milk is the best food for babies
Breastmilk is the best choice for babies. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months; continued breastfeeding after introduction of complementary food (up to two years); and consultation of a healthcare professional when introducing infant formula or complementary food.
Latest news and events
Stay up to date with the latest news and events.
Valio’s fat similarity index illustrates the benefits of milk fat in infant milk formula
To simplify the comparison between fat sources in infant milk formula (IMF) products, Valio will take into use a new way of visualizing the differences.
Valio Prime SMP – exceptional pureness for dry blending IMF
Valio’s new ultrapure IMF-grade skimmed milk powder has been created specifically for dry blend production. Valio’s experts spill the secrets of what makes…
Infant nutrition recipes, regulatory help, market insights
Valio experts can help infant nutrition manufacturers enter new markets, develop recipes and products, and stay on top of updates in regulations.
OEM
Complete Infant Formulas
Valio offers an optimal full IMF process based on wet process, dry blending, and premium packing.
State-of-the-art infant nutrition manufacturing
In our Lapinlahti plant, the new dry blend facility adds even more flexibility in terms of recipes and nutrients. The dry blending process allows us to add heat-sensitive micro ingredients such as lactoferrin and probiotics.
Wet process: The composition of the formula is 70-80% of Valio’s own high quality and fully traceable key macro ingredients. In the wet process, the key macro ingredients (milk, whey, lactose, milk fat/vegetable oil), prebiotics and vitamins and minerals are blended prior evaporation and drying.
Dry blending: A wide range of value-added micro ingredients can be added to tailor the product for a certain nutritional or market specific need. A tailored composition may allow a variety of marketing claims related to the value-added ingredients.
Support for your go-to-market strategy
Valio has over 70 years of experience in infant nutrition and science-driven innovation. We can support you in everything you need for a successful market entry, from product development and recipes to legal requirements and patents.
- Recipe design management to meet the nutritional and regulatory requirements
- Trial runs and shelf-life tests
- Registration support and clinical study management (if required)
- Stages 1-3: Infant formula, follow-on formula, and growing up formula
- Additional portfolio range possibilities in further stages, mama products and ready-to-feed UHT liquid formulas
Opportunity to add product qualities such as organic, lactose free, and hydrolysed whey
Base powders
Base powders from basic blends to complete formulas
Valio offers base powders from basic blends to almost completed formulas.
From tailored formulas to standard recipes
Valio offers base powders from basic blends to almost completed formulas. You can choose between fully customised solutions and Valio’s own high-quality recipes. We supply both tailored formulas and standard recipes according to EU and CODEX regulations.
High-quality ingredients and recipe knowhow make Valio a reliable partner for adding capacity where needed, resulting in less need for investments at your own facility. We can tailor the solution to your specific needs so that you can make nutritious, high-quality infant nutrition products, while optimising your manufacturing process.
Valio base powders are an ideal solution for milk-based infant formulas. They also offer a variety of possibilities for a wide range of other baby foods, such as milk-based cereals.
Business opportunities in value-added early life nutrition
Toddler and mama products are a rapidly growing business opportunity. It is becoming clearer that the foundations for health are laid during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. As a result, parents are increasingly willing to invest in nutritional products that support normal growth and development.
Our dry blend process allows us to add heat-sensitive value-adding micro ingredients, such as lactoferrin and probiotics. With these micronutrients, you can create new special nutrition products and succeed in the value-added early life nutrition market.
Valio base powders for infant nutrition:
- packaged in 20 kg modified atmosphere
- also available in big bags with modified atmosphere
- standard specifications for stages 1-3
- tailored base powders for infant, toddler, and mama products
- tailored base powders for special nutrition products, such as lactose free
Wet and dry blend facilities allow for a variety of micro ingredients
All Valio base powders are manufactured in our new state-of-the-art IMF production plant that has the highest standards of hygiene. The wet blend process and spray drying started in 2014, and the dry blend process and tin packing line was added in 2020. All processes are built on decades of R&D, manufacturing, and market experience in infant nutrition, as Valio’s first consumer IMF product was launched in 1955.
In the dry blend process, we can add heat-sensitive micro ingredients, such as lactoferrin and probiotics. This allows for flexibility in recipe design.
The whey is delivered in a closed system from our cheese factory next door. We have full control over the quality chain, and the quality of the whey is not affected by transport. All our milk is fully traceable to the farm of origin and subject to our strict quality controls.
Nutrition for healthy development
Explore our range of B2B infant nutrition solutions—made from pure Finnish milk on our farms and fresh whey in our ultra-modern facilities.
Infant grade ingredients
Milk and whey based ingredients for infant formula production.
Infant grade ingredients from fresh milk and whey
Valio’s IMF grade ingredient offering includes demineralized whey powders, as well as regular, organic, and lactose free milk powders for use in wet blending processes. The latest addition, Valio Prime SMP, can also be used in dry blending because of its exceptional pureness.
Compared to production processes that use powdered milk as raw material, we can skip one processing round altogether. The manufacturing process of our infant milk formula (IMF) grade milk powders always starts with fresh, unprocessed milk. In a less processed product, the nutrients are better preserved, risk of contamination is lower, and the taste is more natural.
We deliver quality through the entire value chain, offering full traceability and complete records right from our own dairy farms to the end-product. You can manufacture safe and nutritious infant formula with our ingredients that meet highest quality requirements as well as nutritional recommendations.
For example, all the whey used in our processes comes from our own cheese factories. In our Lapinlahti plant, the whey is delivered from the cheese factory in a closed system. We have full control over the quality chain, and the quality of the whey is not affected by transport.
Research
From research and science to solutions
Phospholipids for infant nutrition
As the brain grows rapidly during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first year of life, with optimal nutrition being critical during this period – phospholipids can have a meaningful role in baby food. According to latest research, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) holds great potential for infant nutrition. Valio’s expertise on MGFM helps you better meet the nutritional needs of infants.
The science behind the fat similarity index
Comparison between the benefits of different fat sources in IMF is difficult, but there is a way to compare them with only one number: the fat similarity index. The fat similarity index clearly shows that for commercially available milk-fat-based IMFs the index is significantly higher and closer to that of breast milk than the index of vegetable- oil-based IMF.
Read more about the research
Valio Prime SMP – exceptional pureness for dry blending IMF
Valio’s new ultrapure IMF-grade skimmed milk powder has been created specifically for dry blend production. Valio’s experts spill the secrets of what makes…
Valio’s fat similarity index illustrates the benefits of milk fat in infant milk formula
To simplify the comparison between fat sources in infant milk formula (IMF) products, Valio will take into use a new way of visualizing the differences.
Nutrition and well-being impact the immune system
The Covid19 epidemic has made consumers increasingly aware of the importance of a well-functioning immune system, and they are looking to make changes to…
Valio — your OEM partner
Developing new dairy products from scratch can be time-consuming and investing in new production facilities can be costly. The choice of your original…
What makes cow milk fat the optimal fat in formula
Cow milk fat has many natural similarities with human milk fat both in composition and structure. Dr. Baoru Yang breaks down these similarities.
White paper: Dietary phospholipids in all stages of life
In this whitepaper, Dr Anu Turpeinen explains the effects of phospholipids in food products.
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