Under the theme “Your Possibilities, Our Purpose,” Cargill is highlighting cost-competitive and trend-aligned solutions designed for manufacturers across categories such as bakery, snacks, chocolate, and processed foods. The showcase focuses on helping food and nutrition companies address key industry challenges including margin pressures, raw material volatility, premiumization, rising protein demand, and regulatory compliance.

At the 40th edition of the event, the company’s booth features a mix of product displays, live culinary demonstrations, and interactive experiences aimed at demonstrating how Cargill converts consumer insights into scalable applications for food manufacturers.

“Food manufacturers are balancing growth ambitions with cost pressures and the evolving regulatory landscape. Our focus is on bringing innovations that are technically fit, commercially viable, and ready-to-scale. Whether it is protein fortification, oil reduction, premium chocolate formats or reformulation, we are helping customers navigate the dynamic landscape,” said Dheeraj Talreja, Vice President & Managing Director, Cargill Food South Asia.

Five-Pillar Innovation Showcase

At AAHAR 2026, Cargill has structured its showcase around five innovation pillars designed to address emerging market trends and operational challenges.

Healthy for You:
This segment highlights products designed to support healthier reformulation, including high-protein cookies and bars powered by RadiPure pea protein, sugar-reduced cream biscuits using polyols, trans-fat-free bakery fats, and high-oleic sunflower oil alternatives that help lower saturated fat levels without compromising taste.

Elevated Experience:
Cargill is demonstrating sensory-focused innovations such as fruit- and pulp-infused treats enabled by Pulptex technology, stretchable jellies, and premium chocolates that enable brands to deliver unique textures and enhanced taste experiences.

Premium Indulgence:
The company is also showcasing gourmet confectionery made using the Aalst chocolate portfolio, Gerkens® cocoa powders, and premium puff fats. With the rising demand for premium and single-origin chocolates in India, Cargill has introduced a diverse portfolio of single-origin cocoa liquors.

Affordability / Value Accelerated:
Addressing cost pressures in food manufacturing, Cargill has presented oil-reduction frying systems such as Frytech that help improve yield and reduce oil usage by up to approximately 3 percent. The segment also features NatureFresh Professional Star bakery fats and Protex SFR 101, a stabilizer system designed to support cost-optimized sausage and meatball production.

Convenience:
The company is demonstrating ready-to-use mixes and instant food solutions, including an instant dessert pudding concept designed to help food manufacturers reduce production complexity and accelerate time-to-market.

Future-Focused Innovations and Sustainability

The booth also features a Future-Ready Innovation Zone, showcasing Cargill’s pipeline innovations such as EverSweet zero-calorie stevia sweetener, EpiCor postbiotics, and NextCoa, a plant-based cocoa alternative developed from sunflower and rapeseed oil.

Alongside this, the Sustainability Corner highlights the company’s sustainable sourcing initiatives and certifications, including RSPO and Rainforest Alliance, reflecting its commitment to responsible ingredient sourcing.

Across the five-day event, Cargill is hosting live chef demonstrations and product tastings, featuring protein-rich wellness bars, texture-rich beverages, instant desserts, tropical cookies, and premium chocolate creations.

Through its presence at AAHAR 2026, Cargill aims to reinforce its role as a food, health, and nutrition solutions partner for manufacturers across South Asia, combining global expertise, consumer insights, and scalable innovation to support growth in India’s rapidly evolving food industry.

The post Cargill Showcases Food Innovation and Scalable Solutions at AAHAR 2026 in New Delhi appeared first on Business of Food.

Ravinder Balain joined Cargill in 2024 and now takes on the country leadership role in addition to his enterprise role as the Senior Managing Director for Cargill’s Animal Nutrition & Health business. He will be leading strategic collaboration across all Cargill enterprises and functions in India. In this new role, he will spearhead the company’s India operations and market growth, strengthen government and stakeholder engagement, ensure business continuity, and advise the global executive team on India’s evolving landscape.

Ravi will also continue to oversee Cargill’s Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) business in South Asia, ensuring the delivery of Cargill’s nutritional core into high-quality and innovative nutrition solutions through renowned brands like Purina, Provimi & Vetcare.  Spanning a career of over 33 years, his prior experience includes serving as Managing Director for South Asia and Southeast Asia at Corteva Agrisciences (DuPont), besides spending more than three decades in senior global and regional marketing roles at DuPont, where he focused on market creation and talent capability building.

“India is a strategic growth market for Cargill, and I am honored to lead our efforts here,” said Ravinder Balain. “Our focus will be on deepening partnerships, driving innovation, and delivering sustainable solutions that support our customers and communities. Together, we will build on Cargill’s strong foundation and unlock new opportunities for growth.”

Dheeraj Talreja joins Cargill as Vice President and Managing Director, Food South Asia. He is a seasoned professional with a distinguished career spanning over two decades across diverse industries and geographies, including food ingredients, specialty chemicals, and manufacturing. Most recently, he was leading AAK India, South Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa, where he drove the company’s transformation from a joint venture to a wholly owned entity. He has also held senior leadership roles at Huntsman Singapore, where he was instrumental in driving commercial strategy and operational turnaround across North East and South East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other high-growth markets. At Cargill, he will be responsible for delivering on Food APAC strategic priorities, including driving innovation, operational excellence, and customer engagement across South Asia.

“I am excited to join Cargill at this pivotal moment. India’s food, health and nutrition landscape is evolving rapidly. I look forward to working with our teams, partners and stakeholders to deliver innovative, nutritious, customer-centric solutions and driving Cargill’s purpose of nourishing the world. Cargill’s legacy and values resonate deeply with me, and I am committed to driving the impact agenda in this key geography for Cargill.”

Marking a new chapter for of growth in India, the newly appointed leadership team will bring a bold strategic vision and deep industry expertise, harnessing Cargill’s 38 years of market experience to deliver long-term value for customers, partners, employees, and communities across India.

The post Cargill appoints new leaders to drive innovation and accelerate customer-centric growth in India appeared first on Business of Food.

One of the highlights is the launch of Chocolate Indulgence products under the NatureFresh Professional brand, including block chocolates, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Crafted based on extensive research among India’s top bakers, these products come in four variants – Intense Dark, Dark, Milk, and White – offering unique flavors with high-quality cocoa and a creamy texture. Leveraging Cargill’s advanced DoMiReCo processing technology, these products ensure consistent high quality meeting the expectations of Indian bakers. Available in slabs and chips form, these products have a shelf life of 12-15 months and can be used in a wide range of bakery and ice cream applications such as ganache, mousse, filling, garnishing, molding, and enrobing.

Moreover, the company showcased a selection of food solutions demonstrating its proprietary research capabilities. This includes Modified Starch, a functional ingredient for sauces and dressings like Tomato Ketchup and mayonnaise. Developed using Cargill’s continuous innovation capabilities, these modified starch solutions help products maintain viscosity throughout their shelf life, ensuring uniformity and resilience against acid and heat. Cargill also presented its trans-fat-free premium bakery fats with applications in cookies, puffs, and cakes, available in three variants – Elite, Classic & Master under the NatureFresh Professional brand.

Additionally, Cargill presented an array of novel recipes, functional fats, and solutions for cakes, cookies, bread, Danish pastries, and peanut butter, primarily in the bakery category. These applications were developed to meet and exceed consumer demands for superior quality, flavor, and texture.

The booth attracted strong footfall amidst the launch of its chocolate products from the bakery and food industry. Cargill also showcased innovative recipes in Bakery and Convenience Food from its “BakeZone” at its Innovation Center in Gurgaon, using their differentiated ingredient products.

Simon George, President, Cargill India, and Managing Director of Food Solutions South Asia, said, “As we continue to grow together with our partners and customers in India, we are inspired by the exciting new opportunities ahead. Bringing together our global expertise, deep local market insights, and a strong innovation portfolio, we will continue to create safe, healthy, and innovative food solutions for the Indian market. Through AAHAR, we aim to widen our reach to customers and provide comprehensive food solutions to them.’’

Cargill is committed to providing safe and quality products, investing in advanced manufacturing and refining equipment and processes to ensure compliance with the highest standards of food safety regulations in the country. Recently, Cargill India received two CII Food Safety Awards 2023 for its food safety initiatives at its oil refinery plant in Kurkumbh, Maharashtra, and the sweeteners plant in Davangere, Karnataka.

The post Cargill Unveils NatureFresh Product Range, Showcases Innovative Food Solutions appeared first on Business of Food.

Cargill has achieved this milestone by becoming the first global supplier whose entire worldwide edible oils portfolio meets the WHO’s best practice standard on iTFAs, limiting iTFA content to no more than two grams per 100 grams of fats/oils, including in countries where there is currently no legislative mandate.

iTFAs are most often formed through the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils (PHOs) but can also be created by high thermal treatment during edible oil refining. In 2018, the WHO called for the global elimination of iTFAs by 2023, noting that trans fats intake greater than 1 percent of total energy intake is associated with coronary heart disease events and mortality.

While Cargill announced its commitment to removing iTFAs from its fats and oils portfolio in December 2021, the achievement reflects decades of work. The company’s iTFA journey spans more than a quarter century including early innovation, millions of dollars of investments in capital expenses and resources, and thousands of R&D hours. Along the way, Cargill has helped more than 400 customers create nutritious and tasty products that contribute to happier, healthier lives, removing more than 1.5 billion pounds of products containing iTFAs from the global food supply.

“We’re pleased to see Cargill’s continued commitment to reduce industrially produced trans-fats in all their oils, recently achieving their goal to align with the World Health Organization’s recommended standards,” says René Lammers, PepsiCo’s chief science officer. “This move aligns with PepsiCo’s successful reduction of iTFAs in our foods to meet this same standard, and we encourage our fellow industry partners to join us in this important initiative to evolve our food and beverage portfolio to be better for the planet and people.”

In the past two years alone, Cargill has invested an additional $8.5 million to upgrade facilities to reduce the amount of trans-fat produced during oil processing, while working closely with more than 100 additional customers in two dozen countries to reformulate new product solutions that meet their needs.

“We’re extremely proud that we’ve met our commitment and helped fulfill our purpose – nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way,” said Natasha Orlova, Cargill vice president for edible oils and managing director for North America. “Taking this industry-leading step, even in countries without current iTFA legislation, helps ensure consistency in their supply chain for larger food manufacturers, while offering Cargill’s breadth of innovation and experience to smaller manufacturers.”

To ensure compliance, Cargill has added iTFAs to its larger food safety and quality assurance program. This systems-based approach includes multiple layers of monitoring, compliance and auditing.

In its latest progress report, the WHO noted that policies limiting the use of iTFAs have only been implemented in 60 of the world’s countries, covering approximately 43% of the global population. This leaves the majority of the world’s consumers at risk for continued iTFA consumption. The report called on major suppliers of oils and fats to “follow the pioneering effort of Cargill to remove industrially produced TFA from the products that are sold to food manufacturers globally.”

“We are the first and only global edible oil supplier to commit to and meet the WHO standards consistently and across the board for our full global portfolio, and while we are understandably proud of this milestone, the WHO report highlights that much work remains,” Orlova said. “We have proven it is not only feasible to meet the iTFA recommendations while being mindful of saturated fat levels, but it can also be done without discernibly changing the taste or texture of consumers’ favorite foods. We call upon other industry players to follow our lead and remove iTFAs from all their products, too.”

Cargill has also taken steps to help advance industry-wide reformulation during the past two years, particularly in countries that did not have iTFA regulation at the time of the company’s commitment. Among its actions, in Pakistan, Cargill partnered with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute on a public awareness campaign. In Malaysia and Mexico, the company interacted with industry, academic and government stakeholders to raise awareness of WHO best practices, while sharing experiences and expertise in iTFA reformulation.

The post Cargill Achieves WHO Standards, Eliminating Trans-Fats Globally appeared first on Business of Food.

The 14th edition of the CII Food Safety Award ceremony took place on January 31, 2024, where Cargill’s food safety initiatives were recognised in two award categories: Large Manufacturing Food Businesses: Fats and Oils – Kurkumbh plant, Maharashtra; Large Manufacturing Food Business: Sweeteners – Davangere plant, Karnataka

The CII Food Safety Award is a respected industry platform benchmarking food safety best practices in manufacturing across the supply chain. The evaluation criteria for the award cover company performance on stringent domestic food safety standards, leadership initiatives, besides social and statutory compliances. Winners are selected following a rigorous assessment process that also includes onsite evaluation of food safety practices by a team of experts.

Simon George, President, Cargill India, and Managing Director, Food Solutions South Asia, said, “At Cargill, we are committed to providing safe and quality products. We invest in advanced manufacturing and refining equipment and processes, to ensure compliance to the highest standards of food safety regulations in the country. Our customers and consumers count on us to ensure the safety and quality of our products. This award is a great validation of the progress we have made in our food safety performance over recent years. As we move ahead, we continue to set a higher benchmark for ourselves in this important area.”

Over the last 35+ years of operations in India, Cargill has established robust food safety measures and mechanisms. The Cargill plants including Kurkumbh and Davanagere have state-of-the-art infrastructure, in-house testing facilities, trained manpower and stringent process control that ensure product safety at every touch point. The packaging lines at Kurkumbh and Davanagere plants are entirely automated to avoid manual intervention and deliver safe products to our customers.

Cargill’s internal Product Safety, Quality and Regulatory Policy follows international standards of operating procedures and processes at plants to ensure product safety, quality, authenticity, statutory and regulatory compliance of our products and services, meeting customer requirements.

Cargill also has a dedicated Continuous Improvement Production Excellence (CIPE) team that continually improves the quality management programs and processes across products and services. Product safety is integrated in Cargill culture. This recognition further strengthens the company’s commitment to deliver on its purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way.

The post Cargill Earns Dual Honors for Food Safety at CII Awards 2023 appeared first on Business of Food.

Inaugurated in 2022, the CIC works with food manufacturers, both large and small, to innovate and enable new product development, across bakery, food service, dairy & beverage, specialized nutrition, snacks, and confectionery categories.

Cargill’s proprietary TrendTracker 2023 study on the Global Food and Beverage Industry highlights some of the trends that the company is working on with its customers. They are: 

• Healthy for me: According to the study, consumers today are prioritizing health seeking healthier choices, and making deliberate decisions regarding their food and beverage choices. They focus on immune boosting, digestive wellness, gut health, and higher-fiber content that have grown significantly post-pandemic. Alternate sources of protein are being sought as consumers are looking to cover their daily protein requirements through natural plant-based sources. 

Consumers are opting for healthier ingredients, and prefer products with more natural ingredients. 82% of consumers in India read on-pack health claims while purchasing a product. Clean-label products resonate with consumers. Nine out of 10 consumers actively seek recognizable ingredients in the products they choose.

• Experience it: Consumers are becoming more indulgent with their food choices and are looking to elevate sensorial experiences. They want to go beyond taste and engage all the senses like good texture, mouth-feel, crunchiness, creaminess, chewiness, and crispiness. They are also looking for a healthy twist to their snacks.

The Cargill study shows that 28% of Indians have increased consumption of indulgent snacks over the last 12 months, signaling a shift in snacking preferences, and 39% of consumers prefer their snacks to be ‘tasty but healthy,’ emphasizing a growing need for snacks that offer indulgence with health benefits.

Tailored solutions developed by the Cargill Innovation Center

Some of the tailored solutions developed by the Cargill Innovation Center in India are:

• Protex DS, a vital wheat gluten substitute developed in India, is designed to enhance cost efficiency, reducing dependency on wheat. It is used as a key ingredient in baking.

• Elite Choice, India’s flavored aerated cookie shortening, a trans-fat-free proprietary fat that transforms cookies to make them lighter, crispier, and tastier with a longer shelf life, ultimately elevating the customer and consumer experience.

• Modified Lipid, developed at CIC, helps manage oil separation to enhance convenience and stability across various food products like peanut butter, fat spread, chocolate spread, RUTF (Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food), frozen flatbreads, and more. 

• Classic Gold, a light bakery shortening, is used in making puffs and patties lighter and tastier. It ensures guilt-free indulgence.

In addition to this, CIC is adapting Cargill’s global innovations for the Indian market:

• RadiPure and Protex E8001G arenatural, plant-based pea proteins that provide superior mouth-feel and a healthier alternative to protein, used by the Dairy and Beverage industry. 

• Epicor is a post-biotic ingredient for gut health that supports the immune system. Catering to the emerging trend of post-biotic, Cargill Innovation Centre in India is building prototypes for the Dairy, Confectionery, and Bakery industry with applications like gummies, chocolates, and chocolate milkshakes focusing on the health and nutrition space in India.

Kunal Yadav, B2B Commercial Leader, Cargill’s Food Solutions business in South Asia, said, “We adopt a customer-driven approach and provide R&D support to create end-to-end food solutions and offerings for our customers.’’Apart from being a center for food innovation, CIC empowered over 100 bakers mostly from small and medium enterprises, providing them with knowledge and necessary skills to thrive in a competitive market.

The post Cargill delivers customized food solutions in line with evolving consumer trends appeared first on Business of Food.