April 30, 2026
Interviews with our leaders who make our products happen
As General Manager of Innovation, Dr Anil Kaw is helping shape the future of Yili’s Oceania companies in New Zealand. In this interview he explains how innovation, which includes the development of new products, is purposeful, commercially relevant, and closely aligned with customer needs. His focus on building teams and capability allows Yili’s Oceania Companies in New Zealand to partner with customers, bringing science, application knowledge and commercial understanding together to support future growth.
How would you describe Yili Oceania’s approach to innovation in a sentence?
Innovation is purpose‑driven and customer‑focused—combining science, capability and commercial discipline to create differentiated dairy solutions with lasting value.
When you think of “customer‑led innovation,” what does that look like in practice?
Customer‑led innovation means working closely with our customers from the outset, not just responding to specifications.
We invest time in understanding how our ingredients are used, the challenges customers face, and the markets they serve.
By collaborating early and testing ideas together, we co‑create solutions that are practical, scalable and tailored to real‑world needs—strengthening partnerships and accelerating successful outcomes.
What capabilities are most important to be a true technical partner, and how are you strengthening those across the team?
To be a true technical partner, you need deep technical expertise, strong application knowledge, and the ability to translate science into commercial solutions.
We are continually strengthening these capabilities by developing multidisciplinary teams, investing in pilot‑scale and application capabilities, and connecting our people to global knowledge networks.
Just as important, we focus on curiosity and collaboration—ensuring our teams work seamlessly with customers to solve complex challenges.
How do you keep innovation work focused on areas that deliver clear purpose and long‑term commercial value for the business?
Focus comes from clarity of purpose and strategic alignment. We prioritise innovation that plays to our strengths—our milk, our manufacturing capability, and our expertise in nutrition and specialised ingredients.
By being selective and disciplined, we ensure our innovation efforts deliver meaningful customer benefits while building sustainable, long‑term value for the business.
As General Manager of Innovation, what do you find most rewarding about shaping direction for the long term?
For me it is helping shape the future of Yili’s Oceania Businesses—building the capabilities, partnerships and culture that will enable the business to thrive over the long term.
Innovation is not just about new products; it’s about creating a mindset that embraces learning, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Being able to influence that journey, while staying true to the company’s heritage and values, is incredibly fulfilling.
Anand Mohan is a Senior Dairy Scientist for Yili’s Oceania group of companies with a focus on advancing protein solutions.
Anand has huge expertise in dairy proteins which includes application and formulation. He works closely with customers to understand how ingredients perform across different food and nutrition systems. In this interview Anand explains Westpro's focus on optimising functionality, texture and stability – ensuring ingredients deliver as expected in finished products, not just on paper. This reflects Westpro’s application-led approach to innovation.
How do you describe Westpro’s focus on dairy proteins currently?
Westpro’s dairy protein strategy is centered on prioritising high-value ingredients that deliver specialised functionality and nutrition. A major pillar of this transition is the commercial expansion of categories like milk protein concentrate and caseinates, backed by our strategic relaunch of Westpro SoluNate™ Calcium Caseinate production to target high-growth sectors like medical, sports, and weight-management nutrition.
To support this, we are building a comprehensive ‘functional library’ of technical data across our entire protein portfolio—including Westpro RapidPRO™ Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC80)—to provide formulators with precise proof of performance. We remain committed to scientific rigor and are always open to tailoring new protein variants that solve specific customer challenges in complex food systems.
What areas of technical expertise are most important when supporting protein functionality and application performance?
To successfully support high-value dairy proteins, technical teams must build a robust ‘functional and applications library’ by mastering exactly how various protein ingredients behave in complex foods. One critical area of expertise is emulsification capacity and stability—knowing precisely how much oil a protein can stabilise before the mixture breaks, and for how long. This is vital for products like coffee creamers and beverages such as cream liqueurs. This must be paired with a deep understanding of heat stability to ensure proteins survive the high temperatures required for shelf-stable products without gelling or curdling. Additionally, teams must provide precise data on rheology and viscosity control to help formulators achieve the perfect product thickness, alongside foaming and aeration expertise for building volume in whipped toppings, for example. A primary challenge for food scientists is designing protein ingredient specifications that translate directly into these desired functional characteristics. Technical experts must also understand and evaluate functionalities such as water binding, solubility, and wettability, alongside sensory profiling, to ensure the protein performs perfectly and tastes clean in the customer's specific application.
Caseinates are a core part of Westpro’s protein portfolio. What makes caseinates such a versatile solution across different applications?
Caseinates are incredibly versatile because the natural protein structure is rebuilt to perform specific functions. Sodium caseinate acts as a powerful emulsifier, texturiser, and stabiliser. Its flexible protein chains wrap tightly around fat droplets and bind massive amounts of water, making it the ideal workhorse for creating coffee creamers, cream liqueurs, processed cheese, and bakery and processed meat products. It is also a primary driver for building volume in whipped toppings and mousses by creating a stable film that traps air. It remains the go-to solution for any application requiring a rich consistency and superior foam stability.
Calcium caseinate is optimised for high-density nutrition and heat stability. The calcium cross-links the protein into dense clusters that remain fluid even at high concentrations, allowing formulators to pack significant amounts of protein into medical beverages and nutritional shakes without the product thickening. This structural integrity ensures it can survive extreme temperatures without gelling, while its firm water-trapping properties make it a premier choice for specialty meats and nutritional cheeses, preventing fat loss and providing a restricted melt profile. Additionally, its lower viscosity and high calcium-to-protein ratio make it ideal for fortifying chocolates, yoghurts, and protein bars with a desirable ‘short’ texture and even enhance the stability of hybrid plant-based beverages. We are also working on developing some niche caseinates (such as potassium or magnesium), so watch this space.
What trends are you seeing emerging in the protein space?
The protein landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by a consumer shift toward functional nutrition and ‘on-the-go’ lifestyles. For some time, we have been seeing a surge in demand for high-protein snacks and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages that provide dense nutrition without sacrificing taste or smooth texture. One of the significant commercial drivers today is the GLP-1 weight-loss wave. These consumers need specialised, satiating protein products to help preserve lean muscle mass while eating smaller volumes. We are also seeing the rise of hybrid’ products, where dairy proteins are used to bridge the gap in plant-based alternatives, providing the creaminess and stability that plant proteins alone often lack. Finally, there is a renewed focus on sustained-release nutrition, with athletes and medical patients seeking proteins that provide a steady drip of amino acids for long-term benefits like overnight muscle recovery.
What do you enjoy most about integrating dairy protein science into food and nutrition applications?
I have always found it fascinating that the primary evolutionary role of the casein micelle structure, which is the major milk protein, is to act as a natural nanocarrier, keeping high levels of calcium and phosphate in a stable, liquid form. Left to their own unbound forms, these minerals would naturally react and crystallise into a solid mass; if that happened, milk would be an undrinkable, gritty mess! Instead, nature brilliantly uses the casein micelle structure to lock up those minerals and keep them safely suspended in a colloidal form. From a nutritional perspective, it is pertinent to note that calcium exhibits the highest bioavailability when naturally bound as colloidal calcium phosphate within the casein micelle.
What I love is how we are able to adapt those proteins’ structural and compositional characteristics to build perfect textures in food applications. For example, creating the smooth creamy texture in a coffee whitener or packing high-density protein into medical beverages. It’s incredibly rewarding to turn microscopic physical chemistry into high-performance ingredients that improve people’s everyday health and nutrition.
