Why choose us?

Infant formula is, with reason, one of the most regulated foods, allowing only the highest standards and quality of ingredients on the market. As the preferred partner to the global food and nutrition industries, Chr. Hansen has been committed to improving food and health for almost 150 years. We are convinced that human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are suitable ingredients for infant formula, offering formula-fed infants an even closer alternative to breast milk.

Building on our deep knowledge of fermentation of microbial strains and working with food cultures in various compositions, we are cross-leveraging these competencies into the area of the highly effective and safe fermentation technology in HMO production on a large scale. Our deep, fundamental understanding of bioprocess engineering is applied to optimize our factories’ production efficiency, which results in higher yields and the creation of more advanced products.

We are running an HMO production facility and a R&D center in Bonn, Germany, and are currently building the largest factory for the production of HMOs worldwide in Kalundborg, Denmark. Here the expertise of our scientists and production specialists joins together to produce various HMOs in large quantity, while ensuring the highest quality and purity of our ingredients.

Sustainability at our core

Sustainability is at the core of our overall strategy, focusing on a wider adoption of natural ingredients. A sustainable future will only be a reality if we continue to develop natural and innovative solutions while preserving our planet for future generations.

The Chr. Hansen HMO pathway – research with dedication

HMOs were first discovered in the 1930s by Polonowski and Lespagnol¹. Since then, research has come a long way to understand the structural diversity, the functionality of HMOs and how to produce them. 

Through being a pioneer in this field since 2005, the HMO team achieved a breakthrough after 10 years of research and development with its first 2’-FL HMO ready for commercial production in 2015. Based on our expertise we achieved to commercially produce them on a large scale, by ensuring quality, applying specific analytical technologies and differentiated methods – making HMOs available in relevant quantities for infant formula producers.

Today, we have a growing team of dedicated scientists pioneering this innovative field – constantly looking into optimizing production and innovative processes and new application areas, leading a strong scientific program on HMO benefits and improving analytics to support microbiome research. 

Our work on the development of highly effective and robust HMO production processes is supported by strong analytical and in silico platforms. 

On a global scale, we work closely with private and public research institutions, academia and business partners to create and secure innovative ideas and share knowledge for mutual benefit.

Our promise to you

At Chr. Hansen we are proud to be at the forefront of the research field. We focus on continuous innovation, offering you the best and most researched HMOs for your products. We strive to be a trusted partner for our customers, by ensuring the highest quality of production and purity of our products.