← Critical Product/Equipment/Process: Agri, Food & Bio-based (all topics)
Cyclodextrins
What it is
Ring-shaped sugar molecules produced enzymatically from starch, with a water-repelling internal cavity that can encapsulate another molecule. This masks taste and odour, stabilises volatile compounds and improves solubility of poorly soluble drugs
They sell in small volumes at high prices into pharmaceuticals, food, flavours and personal care - the most specialised product a starch business can make
Impact on industries
- Highest realisation per tonne in the starch portfolio, with pricing set by pharmaceutical and flavour applications rather than by any commodity benchmark
- Import substitution opportunity, since Indian demand has historically been met largely from imports
- A niche by nature - volumes are small relative to the milling base, so it lifts blended margin without moving revenue materially
- Requires enzyme technology, purification capability and pharma-grade quality systems, which is a different business from wet milling and takes years to qualify with customers