Jennewein Biotechnologie and Yili Group join forces in China

Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH, the global leader in the research and manufacture of human milk oligosaccharides (HMO), and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group (Yili Group), China’s leading dairy company, have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on infant microbiome and human milk oligosaccharides, with the goal to develop an innovative infant formula and dairy products specifically tailored to the Chinese market.

“After already having introduced human milk oligosaccharides in other world regions, such as the key US market and selected European countries, we are very excited to work with Yili, the domestic market leader for microbiome/baby food in China,” said Dr Stefan Jennewein, CEO and Co-Founder of Jennewein Biotechnologie. “With 50 percent of the total global market volume (2021e: 76 billion US$), China is presently the largest market for baby food. We are committed to bringing the benefits of human milk oligosaccharides for the development of a healthy infant microbiome to Chinese parents and their children.”

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) constitute the third largest component of breast milk and are unique to humans in concentration and structural diversity. HMOs possess several physiological effects; they confer protection against infectious diseases (e.g. noro viruses) and act as prebiotics for the development of the infant microbiome.

Today, it is widely recognised that the establishment of a healthy microbiome is key for the overall development of an infant. Failure to support a natural or healthy microbiome may potentially lead to obesity, autism or allergy development, in addition to other existing issues in infant health and development. However, most infant formulas do not contain HMOs as of today.

“Yili Group has been dedicated to Chinese breast milk composition studies for years and has initiated the establishment of a Chinese Breast Milk Database,” added Dr Gerrit Smit, Managing Director of Yili Innovation Center Europe “Yili has constantly brought innovative products to the market based on scientific research, for example Pro-Kido, and is looking forward to collaborating with Jennewein in the future.”