Innovation & R&D: at the heart of our expertise!
As a company 100% dedicated to infant nutrition, we are fortunate to rely on our spécialistes R&D, travaillant dans des laboratoires situés sur chacun de nos 9 sites industriels. Ainsi, chaque site de production à un savoir-faire dédié et ses propres certifications qualité, pour proposer des recettes sûres, savoureuses et adaptées à chaque étape de développement de l’enfant.
Thanks to our infant nutrition expertise, we support our clients in creating innovative and safe product ranges that comply with nutritional and regulatory requirements, whether for conventional or organic baby food manufacturing.
An expert and multidisciplinary team
Our R&D division brings together experts across our various industrial sites, with dedicated teams for each product category.
From R&D project managers to R&D technicians, technologists, and laboratory managers, every role contributes to a shared objective: designing and developing products that precisely meet the nutritional needs of babies and young children (0–36 months), while integrating market developments such as taste preferences, textures, naturalness, functional needs, formats, organic innovations, and more.
An industrial strength dedicated to innovation in infant nutrition
Our 9 industrial sites, located in France and the United Kingdom, form a unique ecosystem entirely dedicated to infant nutrition.
Together, these 9 sites ensure maximum industrial flexibility, complementary expertise, optimized time-to-market, and complete quality control at every stage of the product manufacturing process.
Innovation serving infant nutrition
Materna’s R&D teams rely on a combined scientific and market-driven approach based on:
pediatric recommendations
expectations of new generations of parents
key trends: juniorization, functionality, indulgence, flexitarianism
the baby food expertise within our ecosystem
R&D works closely with the Quality & Regulatory teams in order to guarantee:
safe and progressive textures
pieces adapted to each stage of child development
full compliance with infant nutrition regulations
Our work on protein sources for young children
Materna’s R&D explores and masters various protein sources suitable for children’s nutrition :
- dairy proteins
- plant-based proteins (oats, rice, etc.),
- recipes tailored to specific needs: digestion, comfort, progressive diversification, immunity.
This expertise enables the development of balanced, easy-to-digest recipes adapted to child development and current trends (flexitarianism, plant-based, hypoallergenic formulations, etc.).
Organic baby food manufacturing
Since 2018, Materna has accelerated its expertise in organic products: all products can be developed in organic or conventional versions, depending on market or client needs. The formulation of organic recipes for infants and young children is fully mastered, with responsibly sourced raw materials mainly from France and Europe, and industrial processes designed to ensure naturalness and safety while meeting strict organic certification requirements.
This approach guarantees natural and safe products that comply with the highest standards in the infant nutrition sector.
Dedicated laboratories at each industrial site
Each of our 9 factories has an integrated R&D laboratory where industrial trials, prototype development, nutritional analyses, texture testing, and weekly tasting sessions are conducted.
These tastings help refine flavors, textures, and colors, assess optimal shelf life, and ensure a consistent organoleptic quality.
Continuous innovation, driven by more than 30 years of history
Since its founding, Materna has delivered major innovations shaping the infant nutrition market. Each innovation is built on:
in-depth analysis of parents and babies' needs,
R&D and industrial complementarity,
a long-term vision of market and consumer expectations.
Looking forward to developing your next baby food innovation?
Materna is the ideal partner to support you.
Contact us to co-create tomorrow's recipes!