Where Science and Creativity Meet

IFF’s Health & Biosciences Division delivers diverse health and wellness products and solutions

BY SIMON HERRIOTT

CONSUMERS HAVE BECOME increasingly focused on effective health and wellness products and ‘functional foods’ that support health. The global health and wellness market (USD $1.5 trillion in 2021) is growing 5-10 percent annually. One of the leaders in the global health and wellness industry is IFF Health & Biosciences (IFF H&B). IFF H&B is one of four divisions of International Flavors & Fragrances resulting from its merger with DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences in February 2021. It employs approximately 400 people at its site in Wilmington, including business and functional leaders who manage multiple sub-business units and health and wellness product lines.

Some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands, as well as regional and niche brands, use IFF Health & Biosciences’ ingredients and solutions. IFF H&B utilizes its world-class bioscience and microbiome capabilities to create ingredient solutions for health care, food and home care. Its product portfolio is diverse and includes enzymes, yeasts, cultures, probiotics, and plant-extracts.

With a focus on health, IFF H&B develops clinically demonstrated wellness solutions including probiotics, prebiotics, and natural botanical extracts used in dietary supplements and food and beverage applications. IFF H&B high-performance probiotics (HOWARU® probiotics) are carefully tested under strict conditions to ensure they provide real health benefits. Each probiotic strain or strain-combination provides benefits including digestive, cognitive, and immune.

The business recently launched a probiotic product, HOWARU® Calm, that has been shown to reduce perceived stress. Stress and its effects on society continue to grow, and the negative impact public health and productivity is well known. In fact, 65 percent of American adults report battling stress. A clinical trial of HOWARU® Calm demonstrated benefits in helping manage the psychological response to stress, promoting mental well-being and helping balance and regulate perceived feelings of stress. The IFF Health portfolio also includes high quality natural health and nutrition ingredients derived from plants and herbs and backed by science and clinical studies. These products are used in dietary supplements, functional food, infant and elderly nutrition, cosmetics, personal care, and other over-the-counter health products.

In food applications, IFF H&B provides cultures and enzymes for foods and beverages. Worldwide, one out of three yogurts and approximately 50 percent of all plant-based yogurts are made with IFF H&B cultures. Our cultures allow customers to reduce their environmental impact by conserving water and energy and reducing emissions. IFF H&B’s cultures also extend the shelf-life of products, reducing food waste. With the use of our food enzymes, food companies can make foods and beverages for healthier diets, including lactose-free, reduced sugar, and fiber enriched products. IFF H&B also improves animal nutrition, health, and welfare with feed ingredients (direct-fed microbials) that enable antibiotic-free and sustainable livestock production.

In home and personal care, our enzymes for laundry and dishwashers help our customers’ products break down stains on soiled clothing and dishware, deliver sustainable, lower-cost cleaning through reduced temperature washings, and shorten wash cycle times—all while using less energy and being eco-friendly. Approximately 50 percent of all cold-water wash laundry and dishwashing products in the world contain IFF H&B enzymes.

From its Delaware roots, IFF Health & Biosciences is driving breakthroughs in products and solutions that support the health and wellbeing priorities of customers and consumers worldwide.

Simon Herriott is president of health and biosciences at IFF.