• Co-op & Prosperity
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Partnership harnesses the power of our protein-rich milk

  • Co-op & Prosperity
  • Sponsored Content
17 Jul 2024 4 min read

Waikato-based nutrition company Radix Nutrition is taking Co-op milk products to the world.

The stuff dreams are made of is how the co-founder of a Waikato based nutrition company describes working with Fonterra’s Research and Development Centre (FRDC)¹.

Radix Nutrition was founded in 2013 by three former athletes eager to create a company that made products at the forefront of nutritional design with great New Zealand ingredients.

Radix Nutrition co-founder and CEO Mike Rudling says it was always their dream to work with Fonterra. From early discussions and a touch of mentoring, the two companies have now worked together for years, perfecting their products with scientific research and nutritional knowledge.

“Fonterra has just been an incredible partner because there’s so much science behind what it does. From the outset of our relationship, it was amazing to see the genuine passion that the Fonterra team has. They were really excited in what they’re doing and gave us a great insight into the company behind the brand, where the protein comes from, how it’s made, how the factories work, the technical teams, understanding all of the different nutritional properties of dairy, and how to work with that,” Rudling says.

The partnership has yielded some exciting developments with Fonterra products now used in Radix’s leading protein powders, including the Radix Whey Protein DIAAS Complex 1.61, which provides a complete amino acid profile with the highest DIAAS score² available in the New Zealand market. Rudling says the FRDC provided invaluable support.

“We met with the FRDC’s team early on in the picture. From a scientific research perspective, it was like being a kid in a candy shop to be able to ask questions such as, ‘We want our product to affect this in the human body, what would be the best technical application of all of the knowledge that exists and how would we best influence or achieve our design target?’. With our protein powder, we didn’t want to make any old protein powder. FRDC’s knowledgeable team helped us define a higher quality protein and the importance of a high DIAAS score.”

Radix’s products are used extensively by New Zealand’s high-performance athletes and sold around New Zealand and abroad. The company is working with several athletes in their preparations for world championships.

“New Zealand has got some of, if not, the highest quality dairy in the world. Fonterra understands this value and its work in the technical space around this and improvements in the environmental capabilities of dairy is, frankly, inspiring”, says Rudling.

“Our product development is led by the latest in scientific research and technical understanding. We care about all of the small details and getting the fundamentals right, where our ingredients come from, the nutritional design of our products, and food manufacturing.”

What is so important about protein?

Protein is essential for muscle growth and general health. Dairy is nature’s ultimate source of protein, containing all nine essential amino acids, which the body can’t make on its own.

Fonterra’s Principal Research Scientist, Aaron Fanning, says essential amino assets must be consumed each day to replace those lost during normal metabolism and to rebuild and repair our muscles.

"Dairy products provide excellent levels of all essential amino assets required by the body for growth and maintenance. Science indicates that dairy protein is easily digested and stimulates lean muscle growth to a greater extent than any other protein source," Aaron says.

What is so important about protein?

Radix Nutrition and FRDC scientists continue to collaborate on improving Radix Nutrition’s products, including looking at the phospholipid profile of its products and raising the amino acid profile further.

“Together with FRDC we’re working on one of the most exciting product concepts we’ve ever seen, designed around cognitive health and wellness, which is an emergent field in nutrition products. The great thing about nutrition is that it spans all of humanity. It’s a fun thing and we’re so grateful to work with Fonterra and able to make high quality products accessible and educate others about their value,” Rudling says.

Watch the full interview with Mike Rudling below.

Find out more about NZMP at nzmp.com and Radix Nutrition at radixnutrition.co.nz. Click here for an exclusive Radix discount for Fonterra farmers.

¹ The Fonterra Research and Development Centre (FRDC) is home to over 280 scientists that are focused on research and innovation to make the best ingredients possible from our milk – including protein. FRDC has a long history of break-through innovation, including developing the world’s first Whey Protein Concentrate and the fastest-reconstituting instant whole milk powder. These ingredients, and more, are then marketed and sold by Fonterra’s ingredients business - NZMP (New Zealand Milk Products).
² The global standard for measurement, the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS), ranks the dairy sourced proteins, milk protein concentrate and whey protein isolate, higher than 12 other protein sources including soy, pea, kidney beans, wheat, peanuts and corn.