CoreFX introduces brand refresh, focus on ‘Health Through Nutrition’

Editor’s note: Welcome to Ingredient Innovation, CMN’s new segment exploring recent innovations and trends in the dairy ingredients sector. For this segment, we will profile a leader in the ingredients industry as well as share updates on mergers and acquisitions and new offerings for cheese and dairy in ingredients — where flavor begins.

Photo courtesy of CoreFX Ingredients

NOURISH AND NURTURE — CoreFX Ingredients’ new tag line, “Health Through Nutrition,” is a statement to the world that the company is focused on delivering not just nutrition but health through nutrition, says CEO Denis Neville. “Our defined purpose and mission is to nourish and nurture bodies and minds,” he says.

Photo courtesy of CoreFX Ingredients

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION — Following a fire at its Chicago headquarters last year, CoreFX Ingredients has made a new home for its Innovation Lab in Evanston, Illinois. The company specializes in developing innovative dry nutritional ingredients that satisfy taste and well-being — especially where convenience is a premium.

By Alyssa Mitchell

EVANSTON, Ill. — CoreFX Ingredients LLC, a leading provider of spray-dried fat and oil-based ingredients solutions for dairy and other industries, recently unveiled a brand refresh as the company settles into new offices in Evanston, Illinois.

The brand refresh was inspired by the company’s defined focus on functional nutrition and a move to new offices after its former Chicago location was lost to a fire last December, notes Denis Neville, CEO, CoreFX Ingredients. Neville, who was raised on a dairy farm in North Kerry, Ireland, and has been involved in the industry his entire life, launched the CoreFX line of specialty dairy ingredients in 2009 as a division of MCT Dairies. In 2016, the CoreFX Ingredients division was acquired by Ornua, Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products.

Neville notes the fire happened last December on a Sunday, so there were no personal injuries — but the company lost everything at its Chicago headquarters, including its Customer Innovation Center.

Ornua’s Kerrygold brand has offices in nearby Evanston, Illinois, and offered CoreFX a temporary home while it figured out its future, an offer CoreFX and Neville were grateful for and accepted. Nearly a year later, CoreFX has made a home in the same Evanston building, where it plans to stay.

“One of the biggest challenges has been re-creating that innovation space,” Neville says. “That’s a key deliverable we’ve been working on — to make sure it’s fit for our purpose to continue our innovation and creativity.

“We’re not quite finished, but we’re really delighted to be able to move on and find a new home and a place to create new stories and memories,” he adds.

With the move, CoreFX saw an opportunity to refresh its branding and messaging, Neville notes. The company’s new logo features brighter colors and pastels, and the “X” in “FX” has a molecular look to it in order to reflect the scientific aspect of the company’s offerings.
“Science is a really important part of what we do,” Neville says.

The company’s new tag line, “Health Through Nutrition,” is a statement to the world that CoreFX is focused on delivering not just nutrition but health through nutrition, he adds.

“We want to make the world a better place by delivering through health and nutrition, while also focusing on sustainability — not just in how we make our products, but making them sustainable, long-term products for customers,” he says.

“Our defined purpose and mission is to nourish and nurture bodies and minds,” Neville adds. “I wanted to ensure we had a statement platform to deliver on this.”

CoreFX has about 70 employees across its operations, with 13 in Evanston. The company also has a manufacturing facility in Orangeville, Illinois, focused on spray drying and blending.

Like all companies across the dairy and other industries, CoreFX is facing some labor and staffing challenges, Neville notes. The company just added a new director of operations, Jenny Johnson, at its Orangeville facility. Johnson has more than 20 years of experience and will be responsible for driving manufacturing operational efficiency, asset management and leading employees in a proficient workforce.

Neville notes that employee shortages coupled with increased demand creates “a perfect storm.”

“Our team has done a phenomenal job of doing more — we’ve had greater output from less people. And we’re turning the corner in terms of adding operator talent at the manufacturing site,” he says.

There also have been challenges on the supply chain side, particularly with the fats and oils that CoreFX sources.

“It’s one of our key procurement needs,” Neville says. “A lot comes from Southeast Asia, and there have been challenges with lack of containers, etc. But I think we’ve navigated it well with good forward planning and knowing that the partnerships we’ve developed over the years — this is truly when they are tested and come through when you need them.”

CoreFX specializes in developing innovative dry nutritional ingredients that satisfy taste and well-being — especially where convenience is a premium. The company serves an array of end markets but with a focus on nutraceutical, functional foods, medical foods and pet nutrition.

Currently, the company is focusing on proving efficacy and enhancing absorption with its offerings, Neville says.

“We’ve improved our absorption capabilities of dry emulsions through an added technology — nanoencapsulation,” he says. “It’s a technology that enables greater absorption and greater stability of the active oil deliverable.”

CoreFX also has added liposomal technology to its offerings, using it in dry product applications that the company wants to deliver in a more mainstream way for functional foods and beverages, Neville notes.

The company continues to add to its portfolio of oils and fats. CoreFX now offers ingredients such as Ahiflower, Algae, Evening Primrose, Borage, Sea Buckthorn and many more that offer the benefits of essential omega fatty acids, Neville notes, adding CoreFX has an exclusive trademark license to deliver dry Ahiflower oil to the United States.

He adds today’s health-conscious consumers are seeking cleaner, plant-based energy sources to fuel their busy lifestyles.

“Nutritional lipids are the ideal solution for clean label products catering to markets such as sports nutrition, personal nutrition, medical food, supplement and nutraceuticals,” he says. “With the growing demand for these high-value nutritional oils, CoreFX has developed a range of dry stable powders rich in natural energy-boosting fatty acids, antioxidants and omegas. These highly functional clean label systems deliver the nutritional value of the lipid in applications where the convenience of powders is key. This makes them the perfect solution to be used in a variety of on-trend nutritional applications such as functional food and beverages, meal replacers, sports drinks and supplements within the health and wellness category.”

Looking ahead, Neville says CoreFX is watching the key trend of consumers seeking out personalized — and beyond this — precise nutrition.

“That’s where consumers figure out exactly what their nutrition profile needs are based on — not just their lifestyle but genetics and history — to figure out solutions that work,” he says. “To deliver on this aspect of a consumer’s preference requires a high amount of agility because you’re basically creating solutions person by person. But that’s our focus — to be agile and work with brands and co-manufacturers to make sure we can deliver on this trend and need.”

CMN

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