Vitafoods Europe 2026 live: Transforming functional foods with sustainable biotech solutions

F&B ingredient manufacturers are exploring biotechnology to create more sustainable, efficient, and consistent products that meet the growing demands of eco- and health-conscious consumers. At Vitafoods Europe 2026 in Barcelona (May 5–7), Spain, industry leaders are unveiling innovations in precision fermentation, probiotics, and enzyme technologies, highlighting biotech’s transformative role in shaping the future of food ingredients.

Biotechnology can play a key role in developing probiotics and postbiotics, which are beneficial microorganisms that support gut health. The process also avoids ethical and sustainability concerns around animal-derived ingredients by producing high-quality, animal-free alternatives.

At the trade show, Gnosis by Lesaffre is showcasing its advanced fermentation techniques, providing sustainable and precise solutions for food applications. Also, Lallemand Bio-Ingredients is spotlighting its postbiotics and precision-driven enzymes, emphasizing functionality and scalability. 

Meanwhile, Symrise is highlighting its expertise in probiotics, focusing on consistent delivery of high-quality probiotic strains for health benefits.

Food Ingredients First speaks with the companies on the show floor to understand how biotechnology is evolving beyond an emerging trend, as manufacturers harness its potential to develop products that address the rising demand for health-driven solutions.

Fred Narbel, VP global sales and marketing at Probi, part of the Care & Wellness Division of Symrise, says the use of biotechnology is increasingly practical and applied.

“It underpins how we identify, cultivate, stabilize, and deliver our probiotic strains with consistency, and scientific rigor. This encompasses advanced microbiology, fermentation science, strain characterization, and robust quality control — all focused on producing live beneficial bacteria at an industrial scale with proven functionality,” he says.

Narbel views biotechnology as a way to unlock new formats, improve stability, and broaden usability. “Critically, it also enables clinically-proven benefits to move from controlled supplement environments into scalable, consumer-friendly food systems that align efficacy with convenience, and sensory appeal, while supporting long-term consumer health.”

Biotechnology’s role in food innovation

At Vitafoods Europe 2026, Symrise’s Probi is showcasing solutions that illustrate how biotechnology can drive the role of biotics in modern nutrition, as traditional boundaries between supplements and food “continue to blur.” This includes the company’s probiotic strains, including LP299V and Heal9, and postbiotic solution Rham271h.

Rham271 is a heat-inactivated variant of Probi’s proprietary strain Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus 271 and promotes immune support and gut barrier integrity in supplements and F&B applications.

“From a biotechnology perspective, this significant innovation addresses some of the historical limitations of probiotics, particularly stability, formulation flexibility, and ease of use.”

At Vitafoods Europe 226, Gnosis by Lesaffre is displaying fermentation-based animal-free ingredients for bone, joint, and women’s health.“Rham271h offers excellent stability across pH, heat, water activity, and shelf life and neutral organoleptic properties. Its low effective dose enables cost-efficient and flexible formulations,” says Narbel.

He emphasizes that these innovations tie together by how today’s informed consumer engages with health, moving away from pill-based wellness to integrated, everyday nutritional solutions.

The ingredients can be used in functional beverages and fortified food formulations in convenient formats, such as powders and gummies, to deliver clinically validated benefits, without disrupting daily routines.

Alternatives to animal-based ingredients

Biotech-based ingredients are also helping companies overcome challenges associated with animal-derived sources, such as chondroitin sulfate, a popular joint-support ingredient that has traditionally been sourced from animal cartilage.

The ingredient has been associated with concerns about quality inconsistencies, adulteration, and potential safety risks, chiefly contamination with transmissible agents, says Silvia Pisoni, global operational marketing director at Gnosis by Lesaffre.

“In tandem, the reliance on animal-derived sources raises ethical- and environmental-impact issues,” she says.

Gnosis is overcoming this challenge with its MyCondro chondroitin solution by “re-engineering” the widely known joint-health ingredient to fulfill growing consumer demands for cleaner, non-animal-sourced, and easily sustainable products. It offers high bioavailability and proven efficacy in smaller doses.

Optimizing food ingredients with fermentation

Fermentation-driven solutions simplify formulation challenges while delivering “clear functional benefits,” says Véronique van Zyl, marketing director of Enzymes & Aromas at Lallemand Bio-Ingredients (LBI).

She emphasizes that fermentation also allows manufacturers to optimize ingredient stability and functionality while using efficient, renewable production processes that support more sustainable food systems.

“We see strong momentum around precision fermentation ingredients, such as postbiotics and application-driven enzymes, with a growing focus on targeted functionality, process consistency and sustainability.”

Pisoni explains that Gnosis’ MyCondro is developed using precision fermentation of micro-organisms, and is suitable for any type of diet and diet restrictions. “It is GRAS for foods, is an European Food Safety Authority Novel Food, and Therapeutic Goods Administration approved.”

The company has also developed MenaQ7 K2 for bone and heart health, which activates vitamin K-dependent proteins in the body for proper calcium utilization and helps healthy postmenopausal women to improve bone mineral density and bone strength. These mobility and women’s health solutions are food-applicable and showcased at Vitafoods Europe 2026.

Food formulations transformed with biotechnology 

Van Zyl continues that these efforts ensure that biotech advances translate into real-world value for food and nutrition manufacturers, including fermentation-driven solutions that simplify formulation challenges while delivering functional benefits.

Lallemand Bio-Ingredients is highlighting precision-driven enzymes for improved functionality and sustainable food formulations.For instance, microbial fermentation provides precise control over strains, processes, and matrices, which Van Zyl says allows well-characterized enzymes and yeast-derived functional ingredients with “reproducible performance, reliable scale-up and consistent quality.”

“In enzymes, fermented aroma ingredients and health ingredients, biotechnology allows greater consistency and control, helping manufacturers manage variability in formulation and processing “while maintaining the purity of the end-product.”

Meanwhile, in vitamins and minerals, microbial fermentation mirrors nature by allowing yeast to “naturally synthesize or bind micronutrients within a food-like matrix, supporting better absorption and gastrointestinal tolerance than purely synthetic forms,” notes Marcia da Silva Pinto, category manager, LBI Health Ingredients.

LBI’s “clinically supported,” fermented ingredients from its Health Ingredients business are on display at Vitafoods Europe 2026, including the launch of Re-Vaya — its proprietary metabolic health combination, says Pinto. 

Biotechnology challenges in F&B

However, using biotechnology processes in F&B applications presents some operational challenges to manufacturers.

“One of the key challenges in scaling biotechnology-driven food ingredients includes ensuring stability and performance through to the end of shelf life, especially when ingredients are incorporated into complex food and beverage matrices,” says Narbel at Symrise’s Probi.

Efficacy extends beyond production — it must continue during processing, storage, and real-world consumption. “This requires deep application know-how, careful strain selection or ingredient design, and extensive experience with formulation and manufacturing conditions,” he adds.

By combining robust science with practical application expertise, Probi helps manufacturers overcome scale-up challenges and deliver reliable, high-quality products that perform as intended throughout their shelf life.

Meanwhile, Pisoni at Gnosis points to the consumer awareness challenge in supplementation and functional F&B to understand how they prefer to consume nutrients to support their health.

“Educating consumers on the science behind functional ingredients to dispel misconceptions is a challenge. Yet, establishing trusted certification programs helps consumers identify high-quality, evidence-backed products.”

Navigating biotech regulations in food industry

Biotechnology in the food and nutraceutical industry operates in a highly scrutinized regulatory environment, flags Narbel.

“Once the science is in place, we take a structured, cross-functional approach. Our R&D teams work closely with scientific affairs, regulatory affairs, quality, and manufacturing to ensure that each ingredient is innovative and safe, substantiated, and compliant with market requirements.”

Biotechnology will drive functional ingredients focused on transparency, sustainability, and system-level impact over the next decade.Pisoni at Gnosis says that navigating complex regulations around health claims and product labeling is eased when these efforts are grounded in rigorous scientific data.

“Where scientific foundations are concerned, emphasis should be on ingredients and suppliers who continue to build a strong body of clinical research demonstrating the specific mechanisms by which ingredients impact the health and the aging process.”

Pinto notes that innovation at LBI is guided by a precautionary, science-first mindset, where “safety, regulatory alignment, and transparency” are integrated from the earliest stages of development. “This approach helps ensure new ingredients are not only innovative but also trusted and market-ready.”

The future of biotechnology in food systems

In future, Van Zyl at LBI expects biotechnology to ensure more precise, functional, and consistent ingredients across food systems, as well as allow scale-up capabilities and eventually, more reasonable ingredient costs.

“Over the next decade, biotechnology will increasingly support ingredients that are not only functional, but also designed for transparency and sustainability, with a system-level impact. Fermentation will continue to play a central role in delivering reliable nutrition for a growing global population.”

For Pisoni at Gnosis, “science-backed ingredients supported by robust clinical evidence” will be crucial to make functional food ingredients and products mainstream rather than niche.

“At Gnosis, we strive to raise the standard of human health by offering natural, science-based ingredients that work in a variety of applications for our partners. As a raw material supplier, we want to collaborate with our partners to bring their finished product visions to life.”