From a science-driven to a consumer-driven ingredient

Benecol is a branded food ingredient that has been scientifically proven to reduce serum cholesterol level, one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease. Initially launched in margarine, numerous other Benecol products have been added since then, including dairy products, snack bars, and pasta and meat products – all designed to help people reduce the level of cholesterol in their blood through a more healthy diet.

A 10-year-old innovation from Raisio, Benecol has gained a leading position on European food markets in particular. More recently, marketing efforts have turned to South-East Asia, which is a very promising region because of high cholesterol levels and growing heart health issues there.

Given the pioneering nature of Benecol, Raisio has had to put a lot of work into communicating its benefits to a wide range of people over the years, from the authorities to health care professionals, and ultimately consumers. Driving the Benecol brand has become a different, and equally challenging, task in recent years with the spread of alternative products competing in the same segments that Benecol was instrumental in developing.

The spread of daily-dose packs of Benecol-branded yogurt drinks has really pushed the European cholesterol-lowering product market forward.

Reflecting this, Raisio has launched the ‘Partners by Heart’ programme to bring a new level of cooperation between its partners worldwide, as both Raisio and partners can benefit a lot from sharing and learning from the experience they have built up in different markets.

The science behind Benecol

The science in question revolves around stanol, a natural compound found in plants and wholegrain cereals, for example. This is the active ingredient in Benecol foods, and the component responsible for their cholesterol-lowering benefits.

As the levels of plant stanol are too low to provide a significant health effect, Raisio realized there was a clear opportunity for developing stanol ester-enriched foods, and patented the use of stanol ester in foods for cholesterol-lowering purposes in the early 1990s.

Stanol ester is produced by a Raisio-patented process, utilising plant stanols and vegetable oil fatty acids, specifically developed to provide maximum efficacy in terms of reducing cholesterol. The major advantages of stanol ester include a minimum of absorption, which translates into a high level of safety, and it is the only ingredient in this category with a proven long-term effect.

Numerous studies over the years have confirmed the efficacy of the ingredient. Raisio has a number of studies ongoing to research new applications and develop the Benecol ingredient itself further.

Raisio works closely with its partners to bring the cholesterol-lowering benefits of Benecol to a growing range of segments and markets.

A versatile ingredient

One of the major advantages of Benecol is that it can be incorporated into almost any type of food, including many low-fat or non-fat foods, such as yoghurt, yoghurt drinks, or milk. The amount of the Benecol ingredient in a product depends on the typical daily consumption of the food product in question.

Raisio’s Benecol ingredient is tasteless and odourless, and has the same physical and chemical properties typical of most fats, and a shelf life comparable to edible oils and fats.

Raisio licences the Benecol brand and sells the Benecol active ingredient to food companies worldwide. The last two or three years have been particularly active ones for Benecol, and have seen numerous product launches in a number of markets around the world.

Today, Raisio works with some 14 partner food companies producing more than 10 different types of Benecol-branded applications sold in more than 20 countries.