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Biosolutions gain ground in Indian F&B industry
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Thursday, 08 October, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Anurag More, Mumbai
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The Indian food and beverage industry is facing a combination of challenges ranging from rising raw material costs and food waste to evolving consumer expectations around health, nutrition, clean labels and product quality. Against this backdrop, biosolutions are emerging as an important technology enabler for manufacturers seeking to improve shelf life, food safety, processing efficiency and product performance.
According to Anurag Chadha, Director – Food & Beverage Biosolutions, South Asia, Novonesis, biosolutions can help manufacturers improve product quality, extend shelf life and reduce food waste, while also enabling more efficient and resilient food production.
Bread making is one example. Globally, more than 10 per cent of bread is discarded, largely because of staling. Freshness enzymes can modify starch molecules during baking, helping baked products remain moist and elastic for longer and reducing stale returns across the supply chain.
In dairy, bioprotective cultures use fermentation to slow the growth of yeast and mould in products such as yoghurt and fresh white cheese. According to Chadha, the application of these cultures has helped prevent more than one million tonnes of yoghurt waste over the past eight years. Such technologies can be particularly relevant in markets where products travel long distances and cold-chain infrastructure can be inconsistent, as extended shelf life provides manufacturers with an additional buffer between production and consumption.
The opportunity, however, extends beyond shelf life. Biosolutions can support the reduction of certain chemical ingredients, including emulsifiers, while helping manufacturers develop formulations with reduced sugar, fat, salt and selected additives. Enzymes, cultures, probiotics, yeasts and proteins can also support the development of products responding to growing demand for natural, high-protein and clean-label foods.
A broader technology toolbox
Novonesis' portfolio spans enzymes, microbes, yeasts, cultures and probiotics, allowing the company to address multiple challenges across the food production process. Chadha said probiotic cultures can support fermentation, shelf life and product quality, while enzymes can improve texture, processing efficiency, yields and nutritional profiles. In India, these technologies are being applied across areas such as high-protein dairy, smoother textures, fat reduction in bakery products and cleaner-label formulations.
The ability to combine technologies can be particularly valuable. In cheesemaking, for instance, cultures and enzymes can work together to improve cheese quality and flavour while reducing spoilage. Similarly, a high-protein dairy project could combine cultures for mildness and consistency, enzymes for texture and bio protection for extended shelf life.
This integrated approach is supported by access to a large bacterial strain collection and local technical and application capabilities. Rather than applying a standardised solution, the company works with manufacturers to understand individual processing conditions and adapt global technologies to local requirements.
Local consumer preferences shape innovation
Consumer priorities vary significantly across India, the Middle East and Africa, making localisation an important component of biosolutions innovation. In India, quality, taste and mouthfeel remain important purchase considerations, alongside price and nutritional value. Health consciousness among younger consumers is also driving interest in functional and premium products. Similar trends are visible in the Middle East, while affordability and everyday nutrition remain particularly important across several African markets.
Dairy provides a clear illustration of the need for localised innovation. Products such as dahi in India, laban in the Middle East and other fermented dairy products across different markets share a common biological foundation but have very different expectations around tanginess, thickness, aroma and consumption occasions.
Biosolutions can help manufacturers adapt products to these local preferences rather than simply importing finished concepts from another market. This approach also creates opportunities to develop new categories suited to regional tastes.
Across the Middle East, India and Africa, demand is emerging around areas such as higher protein, gut health, reduced sugar, clean labels, consistent quality and longer freshness at accessible price points. Biosolutions can address these needs through a common technology base while allowing outcomes to be customised according to local products and consumers.
Collaboration can accelerate adoption
For biosolutions to move from scientific innovation to widespread commercial application, collaboration between food companies, startups, research institutions and ingredient partners will be critical.
India has a strong base of food research institutions and a rapidly expanding food-tech startup ecosystem. Chadha pointed to the BioE3 framework, which identifies areas including bio-based chemicals and enzymes, functional foods and smart proteins as priority areas and emphasises public-private collaboration.
Partnerships with institutions such as NIFTEM and NDRI can combine scientific expertise with an understanding of Indian raw materials, processing conditions and consumer preferences. At the same time, collaboration can help address the R&D resource constraints often faced by startups and provide research institutions with clearer pathways to commercial application.
Food companies and ingredient partners ultimately provide the production environment in which technologies need to demonstrate their value. For biosolutions, laboratory performance alone is insufficient; solutions must work with local raw materials, existing processes and commercial-scale production.
The broader opportunity, therefore, lies in creating an ecosystem where scientific research, application expertise and manufacturing capabilities are more closely connected, allowing innovations to reach the market faster and at scale.
Health, indulgence and resource efficiency to drive growth
Chadha identified three broad trends likely to shape the biosolutions opportunity in India: health and wellness, better-for-you indulgence, and the transition towards more resource-efficient food production.
Health and wellness are increasingly becoming part of everyday food consumption. According to consumer data cited by Chadha, 61 per cent of consumers consider gut health very important, while 69 per cent are actively trying to include more protein in their diets. Functional beverages are also gaining momentum, with 49 per cent of consumers increasing beverage consumption because they perceive beverages as healthy.
These trends create opportunities for probiotics, cultures, enzymes and fermentation technologies to support functional nutrition in familiar food and beverage formats, including protein-enriched products.
At the same time, consumers are not necessarily willing to compromise on taste for health. Indulgent F&B launches in India increased 26 per cent over the past year, highlighting the continuing demand for enjoyable food experiences. Biosolutions can help manufacturers strike this balance by supporting reformulation, improving taste and texture and simplifying recipes while retaining the sensory characteristics consumers expect.
The third trend is resource efficiency. As manufacturers face rising demand, raw material price volatility and pressure to reduce waste, technologies that extract greater value from existing inputs are becoming increasingly relevant.
Biosolutions can improve processing efficiency, extend shelf life, reduce food loss and enable more efficient use of raw materials. This makes them relevant not only to product development but also to the broader sustainability and productivity agenda of the food industry.
Plant-based products seek better taste and functionality
Plant-based foods and beverages represent another area where biosolutions can address important formulation challenges. Plant proteins can introduce beany or bitter notes, while higher protein levels can affect solubility, viscosity and mouthfeel. Enzymes can modify plant proteins to improve their functionality, while cultures and fermentation can support more appealing flavour profiles.
These technologies are particularly relevant in beverages, where protein stability, smoothness and taste directly influence consumer acceptance. In plant-based dairy products and meat alternatives, biosolutions can also help achieve desired creaminess, bite and structure without continuously adding formulation components to compensate for inherent ingredient limitations.
Fermentation and enzymatic processing can further help unlock the nutritional potential of plant ingredients, supporting products that offer meaningful nutritional benefits rather than simply serving as alternatives to animal-based foods.
Building business case beyond ingredient cost
Cost sensitivity remains a defining feature of the Indian food industry. Chadha believes the business case for biosolutions needs to move beyond the cost per kilogram of an ingredient and instead consider the cost per unit of finished product.
While biosolutions may represent a relatively small proportion of recipe costs, they can influence yield, processing time, waste, shelf life and consistency. These factors can have a much larger impact on overall manufacturing economics.
Rising milk prices, for example, place pressure on dairy manufacturers because milk is a major input for products such as cheese and curd. In such circumstances, improving yield from the same quantity of milk can have a significant economic impact. Biosolutions can support better utilisation of milk, reduce losses to whey, extend freshness and limit spoilage.
Similar opportunities exist in baking, where enzymes can support shorter processing times, reduced sugar use and the incorporation of locally available grains such as millets. In instant tea and coffee extraction, enzymes can improve yield, clarity and body while helping address viscosity-related processing costs. The larger value proposition, therefore, lies in productivity, consistency, waste reduction and the ability to derive more value from existing raw materials.
Demonstrating value, key to wider adoption
Despite growing awareness, biosolutions are still sometimes perceived by manufacturers primarily as an additional ingredient cost. Chadha believes the industry needs to shift towards evaluating these technologies based on their overall impact on plant performance.
More application trials, technical demonstrations, industry partnerships and measurable production outcomes can help manufacturers understand the practical benefits of enzymes, cultures and fermentation technologies.
Local application expertise is particularly important in India, where raw materials, processing conditions and consumer preferences can vary significantly across regions.
The same principle applies across the wider Middle East and Africa region. Wheat and flour characteristics, milk composition, climate, distribution distances and cold-chain reliability can all influence how a biosolution performs.
Examples from India demonstrate the potential of such localisation. Enzyme solutions have enabled around 20 per cent fat reduction in cakes and biscuits without compromising taste and texture. In brewing, application expertise has also enabled producers to substitute barley with more locally available grains such as rice, wheat and sorghum while maintaining taste and alcohol content. Similar approaches can support millet-based baking, improve yield and body in instant tea, and adapt fermented dairy cultures to meet local taste expectations.
India, a strategic growth market
India is strategically important to Novonesis as the company expands its food and beverage biosolutions business across the Middle East, India and Africa region. The Indian dairy sector, in particular, presents significant opportunities as industrialisation, innovation and changing consumer preferences reshape the market. Novonesis is looking to strengthen its presence in core categories such as dairy and baking while exploring emerging areas including healthy beverages and high-protein dairy.
The company's approach is centred on combining global science with local application capabilities. This enables technologies to be adapted to specific customer challenges while also allowing learnings from India to inform opportunities in other markets.
Across the wider region, markets are at different stages of development and have varying consumer priorities. However, they share several underlying challenges, including growing populations, rising expectations around quality and nutrition, and the need for manufacturers to produce more efficiently from available resources.
From ingredient to production enabler
One of the key misconceptions around biosolutions, according to Chadha, is that they should be viewed simply as an additional ingredient cost. The more relevant consideration is what happens to the overall manufacturing process when a biosolution is introduced. Improvements in yield, throughput, quality, shelf life and waste can create value well beyond the initial cost of the technology.
Biosolutions can also open possibilities for cleaner labels, healthier formulations and products capable of maintaining quality across longer distribution chains. In this context, their role is evolving from that of a specialist ingredient technology to a broader production enabler.
Across the food value chain, the potential impact can be measured through faster and more consistent fermentation, improved moisture and fat retention in cheesemaking, reduced staling in bakery products and better utilisation of by-products.
Whey, for example, is increasingly being transformed from a waste stream into a valuable protein ingredient. Biosolutions can help create cleaner whey streams with fewer fines, supporting downstream recovery while potentially extending filtration equipment life.
For the Indian food industry, this convergence of nutrition, productivity, food safety, shelf life and resource efficiency could make biosolutions an increasingly important part of the next phase of food innovation. As manufacturers look to deliver better products while managing costs and reducing waste, the ability to extract more value from existing resources could become one of the strongest drivers of adoption.
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