GLAC Biotech wins 2026 award for probiotic manufacturing innovation

GLAC Biotech has received the Technology Breakthrough Award at the 2026 Nutrition Intelligent Manufacturing Awards for our rapid-freezing and freeze-drying process for probiotics. Announced in Guangzhou, China, on October 29, the award follows recognition of the same technology at the 2026 iSEE Global Food Innovation Awards.

Established by nutrition industry platform Xinyingyang, the awards recognize companies across China's nutrition supply chain. This year's recognition adds to our work in developing probiotic manufacturing processes that help preserve viable cells while improving production efficiency.

Preserving probiotic viability during manufacturing

For brands developing probiotic products, ingredient quality starts with how the bacteria are produced and processed. Cooling speed, ice crystal formation and drying conditions can all affect bacterial survival.

We developed our rapid-freezing and freeze-drying process to manage these stages together. The system combines liquid nitrogen cooling with uniform radiant heating during freeze-drying. Controlling these conditions helps reduce stress on bacterial cells and maintain viability through processing.

The equipment also includes clean-in-place (CIP) features to reduce manual cleaning work and support manufacturing hygiene.

Improving freeze-drying efficiency

Under the process conditions used in our technical comparison, our system shortened freeze-drying from approximately two to three days to a single working day of approximately eight hours, compared with the conventional process evaluated.

This shorter drying cycle is one outcome of our work on freezing and drying controls. For each development project, we consider the selected strain and production requirements when discussing the appropriate manufacturing approach with our partners.

From probiotic ingredients to finished products

Our manufacturing research supports a broader range of services for overseas ingredient distributors and brands. Alongside probiotic ingredient supply, we offer formulation development and commercial production through our ODM/CDMO services.

Distributors can work with us to explore ingredients for their brand customers. For brands developing finished products, we help connect ingredient selection with formulation and production planning, based on the product's positioning and target market.

We will continue to refine our probiotic processing technology and apply that experience to ingredient and finished-product development.

To discuss a project, share your target market, intended product format and development requirements with our team at glac@glac.com.tw.

View the 2026 Nutrition Intelligent Manufacturing Awards announcement.