Whey squeeze: FrieslandCampina builds capacity as experts map replacement trade-offs

Whey protein demand is running ahead of supply, according to the USDA, and ingredient suppliers are answering on two fronts. They are adding high-value capacity and helping formulators work around the proteins that are in shortest supply. FrieslandCampina Ingredients has doubled whey protein isolate (WPI) capacity at its Borculo plant in the Netherlands and committed €90 million (~US$104 million) to three more Dutch sites.

Guus Aerts, global director of marketing and product strategy at the company, says its build-out follows continuing structural demand and not the current whey protein squeeze.

Meanwhile, Aerts says tight supply is pushing companies to reformulate, and Pratishtha Verma, dairy ingredients and applications specialist at the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), US, says whether that works depends on the product they are reformulating.

Food Ingredients First speaks with Aerts about capacity planning and with Verma about what happens when whey is partly replaced or blended.

“Adding capacity in high-value whey proteins starts with understanding the opportunity across the wider production network, rather than a single site in isolation,” says Aerts.

“An expansion in ingredients such as whey protein isolate (WPI) or milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) involves looking at where capacity is best located, how it fits with existing operations and the infrastructure required to support it.”

Build versus buy

From decision to commissioning, Aerts says the timeline turns on engineering, equipment lead times, permitting, and the work of expanding a running plant. New lines must be tested and qualified before they supply commercial volumes. He adds that acquisition creates a different path.

“Our acquisition of Wisconsin Whey Protein provided established whey protein capacity in North America, giving us access to existing production capabilities and a regional customer base without the lead time of a new build,” says Aerts.

“We use both approaches depending on the market opportunity, capacity requirements, geography and capabilities we are looking to add.”

He says the Borculo plant shows the build-out route. FrieslandCampina announced the expansion in October 2023 and it began commercial operation in March 2026. The plant doubled the company’s WPI and MFGM capacity. The expansions of the plants in Bedum and Workum, along with an optimization of the Veghel plant, are scheduled to be finished in 2028.

“We are building flexibility into the network as well, because customer requirements will continue to evolve,” says Aerts. “The Bedum and Workum investments add scale and flexibility, while the upgrade at Veghel supports the wider utilization of the whey stream as we increase protein production.”Guus Aerts says FrieslandCampina plans whey capacity around structural demand, not short-term tightness.

Matching proteins with formulas

Aerts says FrieslandCampina Ingredients plans around structural demand rather than current market tightness, citing an aging population and the influence of GLP-1 medications on appetite and eating patterns as longer-term shifts in how people eat.

“Nearly 60% of global food and beverage consumers say they are deliberately increasing their protein intake, while the whey market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% through 2030,” he says.

“Demand is moving toward more technically demanding applications, including ready-to-drink and clear beverages, medical nutrition, and high-protein powders, where high-purity proteins such as WPI are important.”

Aerts notes that the way customers approach suppliers has shifted as well. He says conversations that once opened on price and specification now open on reliability and long-term supply. At the same time, he says application teams spend more time matching the right protein to a given formula.

“Our technical and application teams work with customers to understand the product they are trying to create and identify the protein or combination of proteins that will deliver the required functionality, taste, and nutritional profile,” says Aerts. “That can sometimes open up alternatives to a constrained ingredient without compromising product performance.”

Replacing part of whey

Replacing part of the whey does not automatically lower nutritional quality, says Verma at UW-Madison CDR. He explains that whey carries a full essential amino acid profile and a high DIAAS (digestible indispensable amino acid score).

“If whey is partially replaced with another high-quality dairy protein, such as casein, the overall nutritional quality may not change substantially, although the amino acid profile and digestibility characteristics can differ,” says Verma. “Most individual plant proteins lack one or more essential amino acids in sufficient amounts and generally have lower DIAAS values than dairy proteins.”

According to Verma, function can be much more significant, and it depends on the application. She says whey delivers emulsification, foaming, gelation, and water binding. However, heating denatures it, which can weaken those functions or, in some products, strengthen them.

“As the pH approaches the isoelectric point, the net charge on the proteins decreases, reducing electrostatic repulsion and making protein-protein interactions and aggregation more favorable when the whey proteins are denatured,” says Verma. “This is particularly relevant in acidified dairy products such as yogurt.”

“In a UHT (ultra-high temperature) beverage, replacing a portion of whey with casein may influence heat stability because casein is inherently more heat stable than whey proteins. In applications such as bakery products or foams, reducing whey could alter emulsification and foaming behavior.”

Verma asserts there is no default answer.

Pratishtha Verma notes that partial whey replacement shifts function more than nutrition.“Whey replacement is not necessarily positive or negative; it can change both the nutritional profile and functional behavior of the protein system, and the impact needs to be evaluated based on the specific application,” she attests.

Balancing bar texture

Blending proteins is the other lever, and Verma says it is a way to combine what each one does well. Whey digests fast and delivers leucine quickly. Casein digests slowly and releases amino acids over a longer stretch.

“Combining whey and casein can provide both a rapid and more sustained supply of amino acids, which can help support muscle growth and recovery over a longer period,” she says. “Different proteins contribute differently to solubility, emulsification, foaming, gelation, water binding, heat stability, and texture.”

Verma states that high-protein bars are a good example of how the trade-off works. She says blending whey and milk proteins balances cohesion and firmness over shelf life.

“Whey protein can contribute to a more cohesive and flexible structure, helping the bar hold together without becoming overly brittle,” she says. “However, too much whey protein can also cause the bar to harden relatively quickly during storage.”

“Milk proteins, which are more casein-rich, can contribute a firmer and more brittle structure but may not harden as quickly during storage.”

Verma stresses that mixing, shear, heat transfer, hydration, residence time, and the order ingredients are added that all can change as batch size grows. They move viscosity, emulsion stability, and texture at the same time.

“One of the biggest challenges when moving from bench to scale is that processing conditions do not always translate directly,” Verma concludes. “The key is to understand and control the critical process parameters during scale-up rather than simply increasing the batch size.”