Ingredia

What Ingredia does

Ingredia is a French dairy cooperative (Prospérité Fermière Ingredia, legally INGREDIA SA) founded in 1949 and headquartered in Arras, France, operating as a B2B supplier of specialty dairy ingredients to the food, nutrition, pharmaceutical and pet food industries. The company processes over 400 million liters of milk annually at its Saint Pol-sur-Ternoise industrial site, producing a portfolio that spans branded bioactive ingredients — Lactium® (a patented milk protein hydrolysate for stress management with FDA-acknowledged claims), Pep2Dia® (a patented AP dipeptide ingredient for blood sugar management with FDA NDI registration), Proferrin® (lactoferrin-based immunity ingredient), Prodiet® Colostrum, the PROMILK® functional milk protein range, and PRODIET® nutritional proteins — alongside commodity dairy powders and Prospérité-branded UHT fluid milk.

The company's underlying technology rests on proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis processes developed over more than twelve years of research in collaboration with University of Nancy (Lactium) and LIENSs-CNRS La Rochelle University (Pep2Dia), complemented by a patented without-whey-separation cheese-making technology (patents FR0409736 and WO 188123 A1) that enables 100% cheese yield. Ingredia runs an in-house R&D unit (~30 people, roughly 6% of the workforce) and an ALLInPep research alliance with the Charles Viollette Institute (University of Lille), and is a founding partner in the ProteinoPepS industrial chair with INRAE, funded by France's ANR. A blockchain-based digital certification partnership with Connecting Food adds a Farmer-to-Consumer traceability layer to the ingredient portfolio.

Commercially, Ingredia operates an enterprise field-sales motion via direct B2B engagement, regional sales subsidiaries in Wapakoneta, Ohio (USA/Canada) and Singapore (Asia-Pacific), and a heavy trade-show presence at Vitafoods, CPhI Europe, Supply Side West, Food Ingredients Europe and Gulfood. Revenue derives from one-time B2B ingredient sales, licensing royalties on proprietary bioactives, UHT fluid milk retail under the Prospérité brand, and innovation/pilot-plant services. The cooperative is member-owned, with approximately €66.2M in capital, processes milk from a farming community of around 3,500 people, and reports that 46% of turnover is generated from international markets.

Name

Ingredia

Legal name

INGREDIA SA

Website

https://ingredia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Ingredia is a French dairy cooperative (Prospérité Fermière Ingredia) that develops and supplies patented bioactive ingredients (Lactium, Pep2Dia, Proferrin), functional milk proteins and dairy powders to global food, nutrition, pharmaceutical and pet food manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arras

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dairy Ingredients B2B Sales: Sale of dairy-based bioactive ingredients, functional proteins, milk powders, and dairy ingredients to food, nutrition, pharmaceutical, and pet food manufacturers worldwide.
2. Licensing Royalties: Licensing of proprietary bioactive ingredients (Lactium, Pep2Dia) to manufacturers in health and nutrition sectors.
3. Fluid Milk Retail: UHT milk packaging and retail sales under Prospérité brand, including differentiated milks (organic, grass-fed, goat).
4. Innovation Services: Pilot plant and application development services supporting customers from development phase through product launch, including trials and finished product sampling.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ingredia is a French dairy cooperative that manufactures and globally markets specialty dairy ingredients — including patented bioactive peptides (Lactium, Pep2Dia, Proferrin, Xelflex, Prodiet Colostrum), functional and nutritional milk proteins (PROMILK, PRODIET), dairy powders, and consumer UHT fluid milk. The portfolio is sold to food, nutrition, pharmaceutical, pet food and cheese manufacturers worldwide, with innovation supported by an integrated R&D platform, a pilot plant, and proprietary cheese-making technology.

Product overview

Ingredia is a dairy cooperative (Prospérité Fermière Ingredia) offering a portfolio of dairy-based bioactive ingredients, functional/nutritional proteins, and dairy powders. The product portfolio centers on branded bioactive ingredients including Lactium® (stress management), Pep2Dia® (blood sugar management/glycemia), Proferrin® (immunity), and Prodiet® Colostrum (immune support), complemented by the PROMILK® and PRODIET® milk protein ranges for food and nutrition applications. The company also produces commodity dairy powders and Via Lacta-branded fluid milk (UHT). Key differentiators include proprietary cheese-making technology (without whey separation), blockchain-based digital certification (Connecting Food partnership), and the Via Lacta CSR program for grass-fed milk sourcing. Products serve sports nutrition, clinical nutrition, functional food, and pharmaceutical (bioactive) applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lactium®: Natural bioactive ingredient for stress management and sleep improvement, with FDA-acknowledged health claims
• Pep2Dia®
• Proferrin®
• PROMILK®
• PRODIET®
• Prodiet® Colostrum

Products and services

• Lactium®
• Pep2Dia®
• Proferrin®
• Prodiet® Colostrum
• Xelflex®
• PROMILK® CREAMY BOOSTER
• PRODIET® Nutritional Milk Proteins
• Dairy Powders
• Fluid Milk (UHT, Prospérité brand)
• Cheese Without Whey Separation Technology

Quantifiable outcome

• Clinical studies show Pep2Dia reduces postprandial blood sugar with significant effect versus placebo
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ENGIE SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2024Partnership for sustainable energy production. New biomass boiler at Saint Pol sur Ternoise factory using renewable and local wood energy. 85% renewable energy target with 26,000 tons CO2 avoided per year.
• INRAEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2022ProteinoPepS industrial chair selected by ANR (National Research Agency) as part of 2021 Industrial Chairs program. Focus on production and transfer of knowledge for dairy protein transformation giving new functional and biological properties.
• Scop EthiquableminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2022Partnership to support organic milk production in France for organic chocolate production. Three PME including Ingredia and Biolait create first equitable and organic milk powder supply chain for chocolate.
• ValorialminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2022Partnership with Valorial, the 1st network dedicated to food innovation by collaborative way. Valorial supports over 530 R&I projects and has nearly 390 members for developing new R&D projects.
• General MillscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2021Five-year pilot partnership to support dairy farmers in introducing regenerative management techniques. Ten selected farmers from Prospérité Fermière cooperative receive ongoing technical support from BTPL and IDELE.
• Connecting FoodcoreTechnology or Integration · 7 November 2019Strategic partnership with Connecting Food, the first blockchain-based platform for real-time digital food audits. Enables blockchain-traced and digitally certified dairy ingredients, allowing consumers to verify Ingredia's grass-fed specification promises.
• LIENSs-CNRS La Rochelle UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2019Research collaboration resulting in Pep2Dia bioactive ingredient. Pep2Dia developed with extensive research proving efficacy on glycaemia after meals with pre-clinical and clinical studies.
• WELFARMminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2018Partnership with French association working on animal well-being. Purpose is to carry out diagnosis in farms engaged in Via Lacta grass milk program to improve animal welfare.
• Charles Violette Institute (University of Lille)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2018ALLInPep R&D unit created with Charles Violette Institute, laboratory dedicated to food industry. 17 specialists focusing on development of new dairy peptides for seniors, infant, or sport markets.
• WWF FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Three-year partnership (2017-2020) with WWF France related to Via Lacta CSR program. Established indicators for continuous improvement of sustainability and reduction of environmental impacts in dairy business.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Arla Foods Ingredients: Headquartered in Denmark, Arla Foods Ingredients is one of the world's largest B2B suppliers of dairy-based bioactive ingredients, whey proteins, and infant formula ingredients. Highly comparable to Ingredia given overlapping focus on functional proteins and health-and-nutrition bioactives sold to global food and supplement manufacturers.
• FrieslandCampina Ingredients: Dutch dairy cooperative with a substantial ingredients division producing functional proteins, bioactive peptides, and infant nutrition ingredients. Direct comparable to Ingredia given overlapping customer base of food, nutrition, and pharmaceutical manufacturers and similar whey/milk protein hydrolysate capabilities.
• Glanbia Nutritionals: Irish-listed dairy and nutritionals group with a B2B ingredients arm focused on whey proteins, micellar casein, and bioactive ingredients for sports nutrition, clinical nutrition, and functional food. Comparable to Ingredia given PRODIET and PROMILK protein ranges serving sports and clinical nutrition customers.
• Hilmar Cheese Company: US-based dairy ingredients producer specializing in cheese and whey protein ingredients for food, nutrition, and clinical applications. Comparable to Ingredia given cheese-technology IP and whey-derived functional proteins targeted at food and nutritional supplement manufacturers.
• Valio: Finnish dairy cooperative with a strong functional ingredients portfolio including patented bioactive peptides and lactose-free dairy technologies. Comparable to Ingredia given cooperative ownership structure and overlapping focus on science-backed dairy bioactives for health and nutrition applications.
• Agropur Cooperative: Canadian dairy cooperative operating a sizeable ingredients division producing whey proteins, milk protein concentrates, and functional dairy ingredients for food, nutrition, and sports nutrition manufacturers. Comparable to Ingredia given cooperative ownership and similar B2B ingredient portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Lactalis Ingredients: French-headquartered global dairy giant with a dedicated ingredients division serving food, nutrition, and industrial customers worldwide. Comparable as a French-headquartered dairy competitor operating at much larger scale across similar product categories including milk powders and proteins.
• Sodiaal: France's largest dairy cooperative, owner of brands such as Yoplait and Candia, with a sizable ingredients operation. Comparable to Ingredia as another French dairy cooperative serving overlapping food, nutrition, and ingredient markets but at materially larger scale.
• Fonterra: New Zealand-headquartered global dairy cooperative with NZMP, its B2B ingredients business, supplying dairy proteins, bioactive ingredients, and specialty milk powders. Comparable to Ingredia as a dairy cooperative with a global B2B ingredients platform and functional protein capabilities.
• Kerry Dairy Ireland: Irish-headquartered taste and nutrition company with significant dairy-based functional ingredients serving food, beverage, and pharma customers globally. Comparable to Ingredia as a B2B supplier of dairy-derived functional ingredients and proteins but operating at larger scale across broader end markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Ingredia-Dairy-Experts-1199483420170566
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/468387/admin/updates
• Xx.com/ingredia1

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ingredia