FrieslandCampina Boosts Whey Protein Capacity Amidst Tight Market, Reformulation Pressures
FrieslandCampina Ingredients has doubled WPI capacity at its Borculo plant, with further €90 million investment across three Dutch sites by 2028, responding to sustained demand, not short-term tightness. Brand owners face reformulation complexities as whey supply remains constrained, driving interest in blended protein solutions.
AI-assisted coverage: produced by SF News' automated newsroom from the cited sources and checked by automated attribution gates. Editorial responsibility: Lee Smith, Group CEO. How we work →
Utrecht, Netherlands — 15 September 2026
FrieslandCampina Ingredients has significantly increased its whey protein isolate (WPI) production capacity, doubling output at its Borculo plant in the Netherlands. This expansion follows an earlier announcement in October 2023, with commercial operations commencing in March 2026. The company is committing a further €90 million to expand and optimise three additional Dutch facilities (Bedum, Workum, Veghel), scheduled for completion by 2028. Guus Aerts, Global Director of Marketing and Product Strategy, stated this strategic investment addresses long-term structural demand, driven by an ageing population and rising protein intake, rather than merely current market tightness, as reported by Food Ingredients First.
Despite these capacity gains, market conditions remain challenging, with the USDA noting whey protein demand continues to outpace supply. This persistent imbalance compels brand owners and manufacturers to consider reformulation. Pratishtha Verma, Dairy Ingredients and Applications Specialist at the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, highlighted the complexities involved. While partial replacement of whey with high-quality dairy proteins like casein may maintain nutritional profiles, it significantly alters functional characteristics such as emulsification, foaming, gelation, and heat stability, depending on the application.
The shift towards technically demanding applications, including ready-to-drink beverages and medical nutrition, underscores the continued importance of high-purity proteins like WPI. Aerts observed that supplier discussions have evolved from price and specification to reliability and long-term supply assurance. Technical application teams are now crucial in matching suitable protein combinations to achieve desired functional, taste, and nutritional outcomes, potentially identifying alternatives to constrained ingredients without compromising product performance. For example, blending whey and casein can balance rapid and sustained amino acid release, vital for muscle growth and recovery products, while also influencing texture in applications like high-protein bars.
What this means for United Kingdom
UK supplement manufacturers face ongoing raw material cost pressures and potential supply chain disruptions for WPI until major new capacities fully materialise post-2028. Procurement teams must diversify protein sources and negotiate longer-term supply contracts with clear lead times. Reformulation initiatives will require significant R&D investment and formulation expertise to maintain product efficacy and consumer appeal, particularly for products with specific functional demands. Compliance teams must ensure any ingredient substitutions align with UK regulatory standards for nutritional claims and labelling. Brand owners can leverage blended protein formulations as a competitive differentiator, offering products with enhanced functional attributes or sustained amino acid delivery, while mitigating dependency on volatile single-source ingredients.
Verma emphasised the challenge of scaling up formulations from bench to commercial production, noting that processing conditions (mixing, heat transfer, shear) do not directly translate. Manufacturers must understand and control critical process parameters during scale-up to ensure consistent product viscosity, emulsion stability, and texture, preventing costly batch failures or product inconsistencies.
Many leading brands in this category are manufactured in partnership with Supplement Factory.