Gut feeling

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This article was published 23/09/2020 (1953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Carberry-based MSP Starch Products Inc., the largest potato starch producer in Canada, is getting into the food ingredient business.

The company has launched a branded ingredient, Solnul, designed to be added to powdered nutritional supplements and a host of other products.

The company now has plenty of scientific and clinical trial data to back up its health claims that Solnul feeds the good bacteria in our gut that supports optimal digestion and gastrointestinal health.

For a few years now MSP has been selling its resistant starch in packaged form, called MSPrebiotic, at stores including Whole Foods across the country.

Jason Leibert, the company’s chief growth officer, said the move into the business-to-business market has been in the works for some time.

“This does not happen overnight,” he said. “We are in discussions with and working with some of the leading brands in North America.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted product development work at consumer packaged goods companies around the world, Leibert believes that MSP Starch Products is well positioned to capitalize on the growing realization of the need for this kind of additive that the modern diet does not always contain.

A recent study done in Australia showed that most diets are 80 per cent deficient in the kind of prebiotic supplement that Solnul can provide.

“We have built the science research, the patents and a manufacturing facility to unlock the supply and get this into products that people can consume,” he said.

Leibert cannot disclose the companies they are in discussions with but he said MSP is months away from starting to ship to these new customers.

Powder supplement and prepared packaged powdered shake products are the most obvious targets but he said they are working with other companies doing development work to integrate it into many other commercial food products.

The company has already distinguished itself in the retail market with MSPrebiotic containing the highest concentration of prebiotic resistant starch and is the only supplement-grade source available on the market.

The patented natural product comes from dried, peeled potatoes, labelled as dietary fibre. This is grown, processed and packaged in Canada and supported by over a decade of clinical research.

Once a widely consumed prebiotic, resistant starch is making a resurgence as a valuable nutrient that has become deficient in modern diets.

MSP is also taking advantage of the commercial interest in plant proteins and Manitoba’s growing involvement in that market with the development of pea protein production facilities here.

“We are well positioned in the agricultural sector in Manitoba to capitalize on this market on a global level,” Leibert said.

By focusing its efforts on digestive health formulations, the company hopes it can get resistant starch back into modern diets in many different dietary supplements and functional food formats.

“We have made resistant starch relevant in 2020 when it comes to nutrition, “ Leibert said in reference to the clinical research and product development work the company has done on its potato starch.

“Plant protein is booming and protein is important, but I would argue fibre and pre-biotic is just as important,” Leibert said. “This is the best time to get into this market. On top of the increased awareness the pandemic (is underlining the fact) that we are in a nutrition deficiency crisis.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca