TOKYO -Wednesday 28 October 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 2264) (hereafter, “Morinaga
Milk”) hereby announces that its subsidiary MILEI GmbH (hereafter,
“MILEI”), which has the largest share* of the global market
in terms of production volume of the functional ingredient lactoferrin,
will increase more than double its production capacity with the aim to
enhance its lactoferrin production.
* According to data for 2019 released by Absolute Reports
1. Overview
(1) Location: Kemptener Strasse 91, 88299 Leutkirch, Germany
(2) Product manufactured: Lactoferrin
(3) Total investment: EUR 15,000,000 (approx. JPY 1.8 billion*) * Assuming an exchange rate of 120 yen to one euro
(4) Production capacity: Approx. 170 tons (more than double that of fiscal 2019)
(5) Launch of operations: April 2021 (planned)
2. Background and purpose
As a functional ingredient for infant
formula, supplements and other foods, the demand for lactoferrin has
been growing particularly in Western countries and Asia.
Considering the increasing attention towards health and nutrition, the
demand for lactoferrin as a functional ingredient with health value is
expected to grow over the long term globally.
Morinaga Milk Group considers lactoferrin as an important functional
ingredient to support people’s health and nutrition worldwide and has
been conducting fundamental research and seeking commercial applications
for over six decades.
Morinaga Milk Group is aiming to increase the sales of its own
lactoferrin-related products with expanding production capacity in
MILEI, and will flexibly respond to the long-term increasing demand of
lactoferrin.
Having the largest production share of lactoferrin, Morinaga Milk Group
will increase the production of MILEI and contribute to the well-being
of people.
3. Effect on financial results
The investment will not affect financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
[Reference information]
MILEI GmbH
MILEI is based in the southern German city of Leutkirch, where its production facilities are located.
Founded in 1972, MILEI has a history of almost five decades since its
start of production in 1975. MILEI offers lactoferrin, whey protein
concentrate, lactose and other dairy ingredients mainly in Europe and
Asia. Many companies, including global food manufacturers, use MILEI’s
ingredients for infant formula, sports nutrition and others. Under the
global strategy of Morinaga Milk, MILEI plays an important role
supporting production and sales of ingredients for infant formula,
supplements and others.
Lactoferrin
Present in most exocrine secretions such
as breast milk and saliva of humans and other mammals, lactoferrin is a
component with a wide range of physiological functions. The high amount
of lactoferrin found in human breast milk, especially in colostrum, is
considered to offer important and protective benefits to newborns.
Discovered by Danish scientists in 1939, lactoferrin as a remarkable
functional ingredient, has been intensively researched by scientists
worldwide, as shown by the increasing number of the studies in the graph
(Figure 1). Paying high attention to the fact that lactoferrin is
highly abundant in colostrum, Morinaga Milk has been focusing its
research efforts on lactoferrin over the long term to develop infant
formula that closely resembles breast milk. Since its initial
publication of a research paper on lactoferrin in 1963, Morinaga Milk
has been reporting its benefits through academic forums, conferences and
publications.
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Contacts
International Division, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd.
Yoshihiko Ushida
Tamami Shibata
TEL: +81-3-3798-0152
E-mail: interntl@morinagamilk.co.jp
https://www.morinagamilk.co.jp/english/
https://www.milei.de (MILEI GmbH Website)