“we Need To Understand The ‘why’” – Valio Innovation Vp Talks Protein, Glp-1 And Ai

Valio’s invention VP met Just Food successful Amsterdam to talk nan request for protein, nan rising usage of GLP-1 narcotics and utilizing AI.

A Valio accumulation works successful Riihimaki, Finland. Credit: SariMe/Shutterstock.

As 1 of Europe’s largest dairy companies, Valio appears well-positioned to capitalise connected rising user liking successful macromolecule and nan increasing usage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

Two-thirds of nan Finland-based group’s gross is derived from consumer-facing products pinch nan remainder done trading ingredients to manufacturers.

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Just Food met Dr. Kevin Deegan, vice president for invention astatine Valio, astatine nan Arena Dairy Innovation Strategies convention successful Amsterdam to research really nan institution views nan expanding request for protein, really nan institution innovates and nan emerging ways nan co-op is utilizing AI.

Dean Best (DB): Protein has been a attraction area for Valio’s merchandise improvement for astatine slightest 2 decades. But amid increasing liking successful nan constituent – and amid nan emergence successful GLP-1 narcotics – is nan institution devoting much clip and resources to nan area?

Dr. Kevin Deegan (KD): It’s difficult to say. That’s wherever we’re seeing nan strongest maturation currently, successful protein. We tin deliberation of it successful 2 ways. We person a protein-enriched brand, which is called Profeel and its USP is it’s enriched pinch macromolecule but past evidently dairy is known and is perceived arsenic a very beardown root of macromolecule arsenic well.

We get asked rather often ‘What’s nan adjacent protein?’ The adjacent macromolecule is protein, successful my view. I don’t deliberation it’s going to beryllium replaced pinch something. Fibre is mentioned. It’s not going to switch protein. Protein is excessively easy understood. It has a affirmative wellness halo. The only antagonistic is that: do we get excessively overmuch protein? Do we request truthful overmuch protein?

DB: Do you deliberation there’s been an over-emphasis connected nan ingredient? All sorts of products person deed nan marketplace that are packed pinch protein.

KD: You could look astatine it from nan constituent of position of is it amended to person macromolecule than different perchance not-as-good macro molecule, for illustration sweetener aliases fat, for example? Fat is analyzable because it’s not achromatic and white. We request sweetener to a definite grade but we eat excessively overmuch sweetener successful nan West. Would you alternatively person much macromolecule and little sugar? That’s 1 of nan drivers of nan macromolecule roar that we’re seeing? That’s only a affirmative point successful that sense. Is your physiological request [for protein] being met? Yes, successful nan West it is but, if it tin supply america pinch nan action to trim nan magnitude of sweetener that we eat, aliases nan types of fat that we eat, aliases to trim calories, for example, which is what group want to do if they want to get healthy, past that’s conscionable a bully thing.

DB: There’s been a batch of chatter successful caller months astir whether nan marketplace is astatine ‘peak protein’ and really overmuch further request tin rise.

KD: We had nan aforesaid speech astir 2016/2017. We recovered a caller driver, which was benignant of led from nan Nordics, which was astir macromolecule giving permission. We launched a scope of macromolecule puddings, really delicious snack products, precocious successful macromolecule and debased successful sugar, person artificial sweeteners successful immoderate cases, person little sweetener successful immoderate cases arsenic good but fundamentally giving you support to indulge.

GLP-1 seems to beryllium nan adjacent driver. Protein has gone done weight management, to assemblage building, to wide fitness, to ‘allowing’ currently, and then, obviously, pinch nan GLP-1 astir nutritional density, a bang for your wound arsenic I for illustration to telephone it.

DB: Valio is simply a consumer-facing business and sells ingredients to industry. Looking astatine your invention section done that lens, really do you deliberation otherwise astir trends for illustration macromolecule and GLP-1 drugs?

KD: Roughly, it’s divided 65:35 successful favour of value-added user equipment and export. Our strategical guidance has been to get maturation done value-added user goods. That intends you besides person to cognize really to waste them and build brands.

We person had this benignant of ‘push innovation’ approach, wherever we invent and we tried to find a market. Now, we’re looking much and much astatine ‘What are [consumers’] needs?’ We usually person a solution to those needs but it’s a flimsy nuance successful really we attack innovation. We’re basing and focusing our invention to supply solutions to needs, problems and challenges that exist.

DB: Are location immoderate awesome differences if you’re producing ingredients aliases value-added products?

KD: Probably nan biggest situation pinch that is that you request to see nan concept, you request to see nan communicative and nan marque whereas, connected B2B, our marque is Valio, essentially. We do person value-added ingredients successful powder.

Probably nan attack that we’re taking much and much now is to go consumer-centric. What that intends is that we understand nan why: what are nan issues and nan challenges that they person and really we tin supply solutions for that. The illustration I ever usage is Oddlygood, our plant-based range, which was launched successful 2019. We didn’t do that because we could, judge me. We’re traditionally a dairy cooperative owned by complete 3,000 dairy farmers, so, I person to opportunity that was a very brave but very pragmatic determination arsenic well. Now it’s go rather a large occurrence story, acquiring Rude Health a mates of years ago.

DB: With respect to GLP-1, location has been investigation connected what happens erstwhile group travel disconnected nan narcotics that suggests depletion habits whitethorn bounce backmost to what they were before. Much of nan manufacture is trying to activity retired really nan medicine will impact depletion and income but immoderate observers are sceptical astir really agelong this inclination could last.

KD: It does look nan behavioural alteration is not arsenic sustainable arsenic nan beingness and physiological changes. This is not nan first clip that we’ve had this issue. It was nan aforesaid pinch Atkins. Any fare fundamentally requires willpower and requires behavioural change. Human animals, arsenic we are, we’re not responsive aliases very unfastened to alteration and it requires a batch of willpower,

It’s for illustration a set assistance maybe, a crutch that we’re utilizing to get nan results without having to put nan activity in. Inputting nan activity into it would past require a behavioural alteration to happen.

It’s interesting. I don’t cognize wherever it’s going because, connected nan different hand, currently, nan immense mostly of these GLP-1 medications are by injection and besides by medicine – obviously, depending connected markets – and nan immense mostly of users are utilizing it because of glucosuria aliases obesity. The benignant of ‘voluntary’ usage of GLP-1 is still rather debased but now it will beryllium disposable successful pill form.

I can’t opportunity if that is simply a sustainable change. Will it make it easier? Yes, definitely. Will it summation voluntary usage? Very overmuch so. Will it lead to sustainable behavioural changes successful people? I don’t deliberation so. The nutrient manufacture is not driving this. The pharmaceutical manufacture is driving it and we’re reacting to it.

DB: Given each of that, what’s Valio doing successful its merchandise improvement to respond to nan usage of GLP-1 drugs? Are you looking to motorboat products that cater to group that are connected nan medication? Are you spending much connected trading to opportunity your existing products could entreaty to users? Research has shown dairy has seen a income boost.

KD: That’s a very bully question. One point I for illustration to opportunity first is that cognition is reality and nan 2nd point is that what group opportunity and what group do are not needfully nan aforesaid thing. We request to understand, successful galore cases, nan subconscious desires aliases reasons why group are doing these things.

It has happened very quickly. Such a basal alteration arsenic this doesn’t usually hap arsenic quickly. The sustainability of nan change, that’s a mobility mark. Will it go much available? Yes. Will it go easier to attain and to use? Yes. Will it lead to behavioural changes? Probably not. We request to support our heads cool arsenic good and deliberation astir what it is without jumping successful headfirst. On nan different hand, we find galore times again and again successful dairy, that existing products, existing solutions, tin beryllium – I don’t cognize if repurposed is nan correct connection – but there’s ever thing that we tin [do].

There’s a batch successful what we presently person – and I’m not conscionable talking astir Valio but nan dairy manufacture successful wide – that we tin usage to respond to this and that group who are looking for much protein, looking for much bang for their bite, tin already use.

Dr. Kevin Deegan, nan vice president for invention astatine Valio (second left) speaks astatine nan Arena Dairy Innovation Strategies convention successful Amsterdam connected 25 March 2026. Credit: Athanasios Psimadis

DB: Moving distant from trends to really Valio innovates. How galore are successful your team? To what grade does nan institution activity pinch outer partners?

KD: We person R&D successful our Helsinki office and there’s astir 130 group moving successful that. That’s rather high, fixed nan size of our company, which has 4,400 people. Innovation management, which is what I’m leading, is astir really we tin build and support a civilization of innovation. We activity crossed each of our different organisations, not conscionable pinch R&D and NPD. We person a task ongoing pinch our sourcing department, for example. We’ve taken nan attack that invention is for everybody successful nan company. It’s not conscionable astir creating caller products. It’s astir being amended each day.

How we do that is we request to springiness group nan tools. We request to alteration group to raise their voice. Where’s nan adjacent thought going to travel from? We person fundamentally 4,500 possibilities internally and past we besides activity a batch externally. We person a awesome task ongoing successful Finland, pinch backing we person from a semi-state organisation called Business Finland, which is for nan promotion of Finnish exports.

As portion of that, successful nan past 2 years, we person an RDI ecosystem of complete 200 partners, chiefly successful Finland, but much and much internationally arsenic well, moreover competitors. The purpose of that programme is to summation Finland’s nutrient exports. It’s a very bully illustration of wherever we’re each coming together nether this umbrella, moreover competitors, and looking astatine nan bigger image of what a sustainable nutrient accumulation strategy successful Finland looks like. The 3 parts we spot are animal-based, plant-based and cell-based, which, is rather a extremist point for a accepted dairy cooperative to say. We person invested successful startups looking astatine really we tin utilise immoderate of our broadside streams successful producing protein, for example. Cellular agriculture is besides thing we’re looking astatine investing in.

DB: What do you deliberation nan prospects are for cell-based dairy?

KD: Dairy is incredibly complex. I don’t judge we’re going to have, astatine slightest astatine commercially viable levels, dairy products, for illustration milks, cheese, produced by cellular agriculture. What we are going to spot is that location are a batch of very valuable bioactive compounds successful milk, which we tin extract and past usage successful infant-milk formula, for example, aliases successful circumstantial functional goods. The extraction of those from beverage is not difficult but it’s very expensive. It requires finance successful bid to do that and, successful those benignant of individual, circumstantial bioactive ingredients, that’s wherever we spot nan future.

DB: Speaking of tech, really are you harnessing nan advances successful digitalisation and successful AI successful your invention work?

KD: What I for illustration to opportunity astir AI is AI is simply a solution for a problem we don’t understand. We’ve gone done nan hype now of everybody doing funny things pinch ChatGPT and showing each other. We’ve started to deliberation astir it from 2 different directions. One is top-down. Where tin we spot AI and information translator having nan biggest effect connected our business? To springiness you an example: bringing different information streams together, standardising our information infrastructure, uncovering links and patterns and insights that we can’t see. Making our processes much efficient, bringing america caller possibilities.

The 2nd 1 is that AI is nan first exertion successful a agelong clip that enables people: to test, to prototype, to return chances.

We talk a batch astir AI maturity levels successful companies. The first level of that maturity is if you tin prevention time. It can’t beryllium conscionable that. The 2nd portion of that maturity level is astir creativity. It’s not conscionable astir really tin we do things much efficiently. It’s astir wherever tin we get caller ideas. The biggest situation we person successful productivity arsenic humans is our ain minds. A batch of group judge ‘I’m not creative. I’m a doer.’ In immoderate level, we’re each imaginative arsenic children. All of these things are learned arsenic we get older. How tin we usage [AI] to trial aliases to trim nan consequence of trying these things?

DB: So, you would opportunity location person been tangible benefits of utilizing nan exertion wrong your function?

KD: Yes, definitely. For example, pinch inclination analysis. What is simply a trend? A change, essentially. We tin spot what guidance nan alteration is going and really accelerated it’s going. We request to understand nan why down it. Is Dubai cocoa a inclination astatine immoderate level? Yes. Why is it happening? If we excavation down into that, is location thing we tin study from that? The knee-jerk guidance is that we request to make nan Dubai cocoa yogurt, which is good but that can’t beryllium our measurement of working. We can’t conscionable person knee-jerk reactions.

We request to understand nan why and beryllium capable to predict, extrapolate that guardant arsenic well. How tin we automate nan postulation of data, of what happens connected societal media, of what happens successful nan news, and put that into a digestible shape that we tin past construe and past use, free up nan clip to really usage nan quality intelligence that we have?

DB: What do unit deliberation astir nan imaginable effect connected jobs? Is location concern?

KD: It’s quality quality to deliberation that and particularly erstwhile you commencement to realise yourself successful your ain activity what you tin do. The attack that we’ve taken from it is: what’s nan biggest logic why invention doesn’t happen? We cognize this and this is not unsocial to us: a deficiency of time. We request to commencement challenging that because are we ever going to person time? We person much tools, we person much conveniences than we’ve ever had before? Does it mean that we person much time? It’s debatable.

How tin we get group to deliberation astir nan early if you’re 9 to 5 is all-consuming and you’re conscionable afloat of meetings? Is location thing that AI could do successful bid to free up your time, to springiness you nan clip to deliberation beyond nan adjacent year, 2 years. That’s what we request to beryllium doing arsenic well. In our location markets, we’re marketplace leaders successful galore of nan categories. The marketplace leader’s work is not conscionable to turn but besides to bring caller ideas, to situation nan class and situation nan market. It can’t beryllium nan routine. It can’t beryllium keeping nan motor running. It has to beryllium reasoning extracurricular nan box, looking into nan future.

DB: We are seeing awesome CPG companies cutting jobs and automation, digitalisation and AI are factors. It tin beryllium a lever for retrenchment.

KD: And that’s thing new. If you look successful accumulation and operations, that has been nan lawsuit for a agelong time, and improvement will ever beryllium successful that direction. I deliberation that if we deliberation astir it successful position of creativity, deliberation astir it successful position of uncovering attraction successful your ain work, that has to beryllium nan attack that’s taken.