Vitafoods Europe 2026: How Givaudan balances taste, compliance and sustainability in cognitive health ingredients
22 May 2026 | Givaudan
At Vitafoods Europe 2026, Anne Auger, sales director for South-West Europe — Health & Functional BU at Givaudan, discusses integrating cognitive health ingredients like Cereboost and Zensera into mainstream functional F&B — balancing taste, regulatory compliance, sustainability, and growth opportunities across global markets.
Finnegrins first reporting from Vita Foods 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.
We're here at the dividend stand with Anne Auguer, who leads the commercial team for Southern and Western Europe, both Nutra and F&B.
Welcome to you.
So Givevidin is showcasing its cognitive health solutions like Cerreboost and Zenerra.
From a product development perspective, how do you see these ingredients being integrated into mainstream F&B offerings, particularly in functional F&B?
So what we are seeing is the food market is moving to really more convenient format, more on the go.
So here at the booth actually we are showcasing some new applications like mm.
We have shots, for example, beverages, more foody formats.
This is really something that consumers.
For something more easier and for the cognitive health market, actually what we really want to do is to have the cognitive, more daily routine, something easy to take and to be able to take it every day.
OK, so what challenges do you foresee for manufacturers looking to incorporate these concepts at scale into their products?
So today taste is critical.
Like really having a good taste in the products are one of the key points.
So this is something that we can offer at G.
We have obvious expertise in flavor, in colors, but as in all our health ingredients.
So we can really help our customers to develop finished product with a good taste and good flavor and good color.
So can you share some examples where flavor has been critical, a critical factor in consumer.
Adoption of a cognitive health product.
So for example, when we are doing innovation for us, one of the main points is to have good taste and easy to use in any application.
So we just launched last year our new ingredients and sin which is going to be used in food and beverages.
It's a lemon lime extract.
It's clinically proven, so the health part and the science part is really important for the consumers, but as as the taste.
So when we developed the ingredients, it was key for us.
Have a good ingredient with a good taste profile.
And today, for example, we have another ingredient called Cerebust.
Cerebus is American ginseng with a real bitter taste, and we have been working on improving the formula to be able to use it for example in gummies.
Again, we really want this on the on the format.
Given the increasing focus on holistic -being for consumers, how do you see the market for cognitive health and functional food in?
Evolving over the next few years.
So definitely cognitive health is one of the main markets, and it's booming, honestly, not even increasingly booming.
Something really interesting is about a new category appearing in this market, which is a mental acuity.
Mental equity is about focus, reaction time, so something being able to be sharper in the mind, and we see this this connection between the mind and the body.
So this is something that our consumers and customers are looking for.
OK, so, so as ingredients like Ceraboost and also Lyfol gain attention for their cognitive and menopausal benefits, how do you navigate the regulatory challenges, especially when working with botanicals and novel ingredients in the food industry?
So we offer end to end process innovation and taking into account the regulatory part is really key.
We are a global company, but we do have regulatory support, local regulatory support to be able to answer to each demand on each market, and this is really key to take it into account for innovation but as for our current product.
So sustainability is also a key concern for manufacturers, also for consumers.
How does Shivardan approach the sourcing of ingredients such as cranberry extract and green coffee extract to meet both consumer demand for sustainable practices and industry standards for ingredient traceability?
Sustainability is one of the key pillars in the strategy.
So we have a program called Sourcing for Good where we ensure good supply, sustainability, and responsible sourcing.
And one example, we have been nominated and we are Analyst for 2 awards at Food with our agronomy project Agropo, where we are working, we need to ensure the high quality in terms of active contents and our raw materials and as , for example, they are risking some wild harvested raw materials.
So it's really key for us as when we are talking about innovation and we are offering to the market new products.
That's great.
Thanks for your time today.
Thank you.
