IN Brief:
- FrieslandCampina Ingredients will invest more than €90m across sites in Bedum, Veghel, and Workum.
- The programme will support WPC80, instantised whey proteins, and Nutri Whey ProHeat production.
- Full operational capacity is expected in 2028, with upgrades also targeting energy and water efficiency.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients is investing more than €90m to expand high-value whey protein production across its Dutch manufacturing network.
The investment covers technological upgrades at production sites in Bedum, Veghel, and Workum, increasing the company’s ability to convert internally sourced whey into advanced protein ingredients. The programme will support production of WPC80, instantised whey proteins, and Nutri Whey ProHeat, a microparticulated whey ingredient designed for applications requiring heat stability and controlled texture.
The ingredients are used in high-protein drinks, bars, yoghurts, and specialist nutrition products. FrieslandCampina Ingredients is targeting active nutrition, performance nutrition, early-life nutrition, and medical nutrition markets, all of which are placing greater demand on functional dairy proteins with reliable processing performance.
The investment builds on previous work elsewhere in the company’s protein network. FrieslandCampina expanded its Borculo facility, doubling capacity for whey protein isolate and milk fat globule membrane. It has also acquired Wisconsin Whey Protein in the US, adding whey isolate capability outside Europe.
Anne Peter Lindeboom, president of FrieslandCampina Ingredients, said: “Global demand for advanced protein solutions continues to accelerate. This programme is the next step in our broader investment strategy to lead in high-value proteins, building on recent investments to strengthen whey capacity and valorisation in the Netherlands such as in Borculo, and in the United States through the acquisition of Wisconsin Whey Protein.”
He added: “By investing across our ingredients network, we are strengthening our ability to serve customers worldwide and to create more value from our whey streams in a sustainable and future-oriented way.”
The Dutch site upgrades are expected to reduce Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 16 kilotonnes of CO2e. Older production lines will be replaced or upgraded with more energy- and water-efficient technologies. FrieslandCampina will phase the investment over the coming years, with full operational capacity expected in 2028.
Whey has shifted from a secondary dairy stream into a strategic ingredient platform. Sports nutrition, medical nutrition, high-protein dairy, ready-to-drink beverages, and weight-management products have all increased demand for protein ingredients that combine nutritional value with processing stability. The competitive focus is moving from basic protein content toward solubility, mouthfeel, heat resistance, flavour neutrality, and consistency across production batches.
High-protein product development also places pressure on ingredient suppliers to solve formulation problems that become more difficult at scale. Protein drinks can sediment or thicken, bars can harden during shelf life, and yoghurts can lose texture if ingredient functionality is inconsistent. Capacity expansion is therefore tied closely to technical capability, not just volume.
The investment strengthens FrieslandCampina’s position in a category where manufacturers are trying to build more protein into mainstream products without sacrificing sensory performance or processing efficiency. It also improves the value extracted from whey streams, linking dairy processing economics with lower waste and more efficient use of raw materials.
As protein demand continues to diversify, dairy processors with advanced fractionation and functional ingredient capability will be better placed than those selling less differentiated streams. FrieslandCampina’s latest investment reinforces that shift.
