Layn starts animal nutrition unit, launches antioxidant line for use in feed
Layn is a global company headquartered in China focused on vertically integrated production of plant-based sweeteners, extracts and flavors. The company’s work to expand into the feed market, in addition to food, started earlier this year.
The company has a background working with natural extracts and sweeteners, added Elaine Yu, president of Layn USA. The newly established business segments are intended to improve the company’s portfolio and support multiple industries including animal feed.
Much of the company’s earlier work was more focused on the use of plant-based sweeteners for sugar reduction and to provide substitutes for artificial sweeteners, said Mary Joe Fernandez, global VP of sales and business development with Layn’s animal nutrition division. “But ‘plant-based,’ ‘natural,’ and ‘clean label’ do not just apply to the sweetener market,” she added.
“We see the overall demand and growing interests in all aspects,” she told FeedNavigator. “Now is the time for Layn to invest in selected areas and systematically develop more natural solutions for food, beverage, nutraceutical and animal nutrition. This organization will help to allocate the right resources to each area and adjust the products to the market requirements.”
The new structure allows for the establishment of expert teams focused on each category and to address industry needs, she said. Within animal nutrition, it gives the company a way to focus on both animal feed ingredients and pet food, independently.
“Animal feed producers are looking for ingredients from natural sources,” she said. “Consumers want to understand which type of ingredients are in the meat they are eating.”
Feed ingredient business development details
The new business segments include TruGro Animal Nutrition and Plantæ, a plant-based sweeteners unit and a CBD and hemp extracts-focused business, according to company information.
The animal nutrition segment is focused on botanical extracts including citrus bioflavonoids, plant-based sweeteners, polyphenol-rich extracts and other extracts. The additives are intended for use addressing palatability, antioxidation and gut health or to provide an alternative to antimicrobial use, the company reported.
The products for use in animal feed are now available globally, added Fernandez. The range of extracts includes products for use in feed for multiple animal species.
Interest in establishing ingredients for use in feed followed the move to replace the use of antibiotic growth promoters with alternative additives, she said. Adding, “Technological and metabolic anti-oxidation products are other fields where the industry is interested in avoiding synthetic ingredients.”
“At Layn, we are convinced of the efficient performance of some botanical extracts and their synergies, consequently the company is investing a lot of resources on running in vivo trials with different species to validate all the products it commercializes in animal nutrition,” said Fernandez. “Results are the objective data the animal nutrition sector needs to replace synthetic products with botanical-based products.”
Antioxidant platform launch
Following the establishment of the company’s new animal nutrition business segment, Layn announced Tuesday [October 8] that it was launching its TruGro AOX antioxidant platform for use in animal feeds.
The product line is intended to provide alternatives to synthetic antioxidants while improving performance without changing dose levels, the company reported. The products can be used with animal feeds, premixes and food for companion animals.
“TruGro AOX is developed with botanical extracts, and research has demonstrated that it provides improved anti-oxidation efficacy in a variety of fat and oil substrates commonly used in animal feed and pet foods in comparison with the most used synthetic antioxidants,” the company reported. “The TruGro AOX platform allows for an increase in the shelf life of animal feed and pet foods, delaying the oxidation process through synergic anti-oxidation mechanisms.”
