AAK Annual Report 2019

23 New products Through our co-development approach, the Customer Innovation team has developed a variety of new products around the world for all three sub-segments within Special Nutrition. Examples include high-end innovations within Infant Nutrition and a new ingredient for Senior Nutrition, Akovita ® ELIP, which is backed by clinical data. Future growth AAK continues to grow in the wider nutrition area and we will keep focusing on bringing new innovations to the nutrition markets. We are currently expanding our production facilities in China to support local production of OPO (a fat ingredient that mimics the fatty acid profile of human milk). Foodservice 2019 was a very strong year for Foodservice with double-digit year-over-year profit growth. UK-based BD Foods was acquired in February and has had a very effective and smooth integration. Solutions AAK Foodservice produces over 500 different frying oils, speciality oils, condiments, sauces, dressings, and ingredients for the commercial caterer. Trends The main trends are more customization (faster, quicker and better), health and wellness, veganism, gluten-free, new flavors, technology and delivery, and sustainable solutions. New products We constantly develop new products in close coopera- tion with our customers. As a result, a wealth of new and on-trend products has been co-developed and taken to market in 2019. We have, for example, launched a series of plant-based products across all regions as well as a new range of sauces (World Flavours) under our Lion brand. Future growth The market is in steady growth as consumer behavior is changing and as their propensity to eat out is on the rise. We see a high interest in the above-mentioned trends, especially veganism, where we will continue to provide customized solutions for customer needs.