GEO-Poland

GEO-POLAND

TAKING THE NEXT STEP IN BABY MILK POWDER INNOVATION powered by Inside Food & Drink

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GEO-POLAND

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PROFILE

Family-owned Geo-Poland is a leading global exporter of baby milk powder for infants and children through its own brands and under private label.

As a company that keeps an eye firmly on the future, its R&D team has developed exciting patented technology that further improves food products and brings additional health benefits to the consumer. Report by Andy Probert.

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Geo-Poland

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a leading baby milk powder exporter to more than 25 countries, Geo-Poland certainly has a rosy outlook on the future.

As the world’s population continues to grow, the demand for its product will never run dry.

That doesn’t mean the company, led by the Dobrzynski family for over 30 years, is content to sit on its laurels: just as a child develops, so Geo-Poland is looking to grow further. It has taken a firm grip on R&D activities and is formulating the next step beyond baby milk powder.

“We are very much focused on the potential of creating new ingredients to be used in food products and make them better for consumers by adding extra value,” acknowledged Tytus Dobrzynski, Business Development Director and son of the founders of the company – Beata and Wlodzimierz Dobrzynski, representing the second generation of the family.

Patented brain boosting ingredient breakthrough One of the proprietary ingredients developed by Geo-Poland is Coloco ® PRP, the company’s trade name for proline-rich polypeptides (PRP) complex, otherwise

known as colostrinin, extracted from bovine colostrum using Geo-Poland’s own proprietary and patented technology, developed in cooperation with several Polish scientific institutions.

“The ingredient has therapeutic effects in preventing and treating neurodegenerative diseases, viral infections and allergies,” listed Mr Dobrzynski. “It supports cognitive functions and is a powerful ingredient for dietary supplements and infant nutrition.”

Geo-Poland conducted a clinical study on several hundred healthy adults in Poland and examined the effects of the intake of Coloco® PRP for three months. He disclosed: “We found that regular intake of Coloco ® PRP improves the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level in blood.

“As BDNF is important for our brains, such as long-term memory, it encourages growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses. This influence of Coloco® PRP on BDNF is a subject of yet another one of Geo-Poland’s patents. It has already been successfully granted in Poland, Australia and Israel and pending in more than a dozen other countries.”

Coloco ® PRP can be used as an ingredient in various innovative food products, giving them an extra selling point.

“What is essential for our customers and us is that BDNF is critical when taking into account the application of Coloco ® PRP as an ingredient in infant nutrition,” Mr Dobrzynski emphasised.

“According to past studies, breastfed infants show higher BDNF level than infants fed from the bottle. Hence, when we add Coloco ® PRP to infant formula, we could make it a little more similar to breastmilk.”

He reflected: “This fully reflects that we are capable and ready to support our clients in the development of tailor-made infant formulas for their specific needs, markets, and regulatory requirements.

We supply infant nutrition products under our brands, such as Mami Lac, or via private label.”

Geared to client needs The company, fully aware it’s usually a challenge for a new client to begin with large quantities, is highly flexible in tailoring production and delivery, even to initial small amounts.

That client-focus has been part of GeoPoland’s DNA since it was founded in the early 1990s as a dairy products trader. The business mainly involved exporting the products of the Polish dairy industry, Geo-Poland

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GEO-POLAND

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PROFILE

Tytus Dobrzynski, Business Development Director

which wasn’t capable of selling on its own shortly after Poland’s rapid transition in the late 1980s from communism to capitalism.

As the business grew, Geo-Poland stepped from trading to manufacturing, producing various milk powders intended for adults and food applications.

In the early 2000s, Geo-Poland’s management acquired an infant formula production facility in Kutno. Previously operated by one of the largest Polish pharmaceutical companies, the facility produced specialised infant nutrition formulas for the Polish market under the license of Mead Johnson.

Since then, the company has shifted its focus entirely to dairy-based baby food.

In order to meet growing manufacturing needs, in 2017 Geo-Poland acquired a neighbouring, large pharmaceutical production facility (dry forms) from TEVA Pharmaceuticals, enabling it to scale up its potential manufacturing capabilities significantly. At the moment, the company is capable of producing regular baby food and speciality nutrition products, food supplements, and, potentially, pharmaceutical products.

Mr Dobrzynski said: “Our main focus is in developing countries, with high population growth, where we can deliver our high-quality, yet affordable, nutritional products for babies. We supply to over 25 countries from Latin America, through Europe, to the Middle East, Africa and Far East Asia.”

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Apart from the production and distribution of infant formula, Geo-Poland also produces and sells a number of food supplements for adults in addition to developing and marketing innovative dairy ingredients that can be used for any food products.

While growth throughout the pandemic has been slow and steady, the €15 million company, which employs 70 people, is firmly planning to maximise its neighbouring facility, given that it currently produces around 120 tonnes per month.

“We have over 7,000 sqm of pharmaceutical-grade production areas, which allow us to easily work on new projects. We are also currently looking for new partners to collaborate on the use of these assets,” Mr Dobrzynski commented.

On top of this, Geo-Poland has invested heavily in its laboratories, enabling the company to analyse many nutrients and microbiology.

Recently, the company invested in new software infrastructure, including a tailored IT system for gathering and analysing quality parameters and trends, and a modern, flexible, easy-to-use software called RecipeMaster Cloud.

This was developed specifically for the company and “is a great tool for managing recipes of complex food products such as our infant formulas, and allows us to rapidly develop new products in compliance with appropriate requirements and regulations,” Mr Dobrzynski emphasised.

“Thanks to this innovative tool, we can maintain very stable production quality as well as control and optimise the raw materials costs.”

Differentiating factor Mr Dobrzynski confirmed Geo-Poland aims further expand its distribution network to more countries. Establishing offices abroad to coordinate and support the marketing of these products, is also being discussed.

“We also want to launch new business lines, with a focus on innovative food supplements, functional foods and vegan nutritional products for both children and adults,” he added.

The company was quick to adapt to the pandemic restrictions, adjusting its operations to take into account shipment delays and supply chain problems. They invested more capital into inventory to ensure enough raw materials were in stock to carry on production.

Mr Dobrzynski reflected the main challenges to Geo-Poland were mainly Covid-19 pandemic related issues, from logistics

and frequent shipment delays to inflationary costs in manufacturing.

“We work closely with our distributors to mitigate these problems, try to limit the costs and ensure there is enough stock of our products in shops. We are hoping that by the end of 2022, everything should be back to normal.”

Quality and transparency Geo-Poland has always been concerned about sustainability and in minimising its environmental footprint.

“We have been using only fully recyclable metal cans for packaging of our infant formulas,” offered Mr Dobrzynski. “We also limit the use of the utilities whenever possible. As part of our sustainability strategy, we plan to install solar panels to our factory to enable us to use more renewable, green energy.”

When it comes to providing the best service available to customers worldwide, Mr Dobrzynski said Geo-Poland never compromises on quality and follows strict procedures at all times.

Uniquely, Geo Poland also offers full

traceability and transparency to consumers of its products and the quality testing results for every batch of baby formula they produce. This is available via a special online platform, and is publicly accessible for everyone willing to access the data.

“Through the supplying of our highquality, modern nutritional products, our aim is to enable infants, no matter where they live, to have access to the best dairy-based baby food allowing them to have a better start in life, and equalising their chances for further development” added Mr Dobrzynski.

As a family-owned company, Geo-Poland has a relatively flat structure, allowing quick decision-making. Being able to deliver solutions, recipes, and product ranges suited to individual markets and customers and rapidly responding to market trends and needs, Mr Dobrzynski concluded that GeoPoland would confidently move forward with innovation and product quality remaining at its core.

“Recipes will continue to evolve and attempt to be as closer to breastmilk as possible,” he concluded. n

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