In conversation with Anand Jaiswal, Regional Salse Manager, discover how Coperion’s advanced extrusion technologies enable efficient, sustainable production of plant-based foods and innovative snacks.
Question– Coperion’s global footprint spans polymers, chemicals and also Food, Health & Nutrition technologies. How does Coperion balance innovation across such diverse sectors, and what unique value does this bring to F&B manufacturers today?
Coperion drives innovation across food, health and nutrition as well as performance materials markets such as polymers and chemicals by leveraging a shared foundation of core processing technologies, engineering expertise, and deep application knowledge. While each sector develops solutions tailored to its specific regulatory and material requirements, the company encourages knowledge transfer across industries in areas like extrusion, mixing, ingredient automation, digitalization, and hygienic design. This cross-industry approach allows proven advancements in continuous processing, material handling, and automation to be adapted for food production, while food-sector innovations in hygiene, cleanability, and safety further strengthen engineering standards across the organization.
For food and beverage manufacturers, Coperion offers fully integrated processing solutions through its Food, Health & Nutrition Division—covering everything from raw material handling and ingredient automation to mixing, extrusion, depositing, baking, coating, and finishing. This single-source capability simplifies project execution and speeds up the scale-up of new product concepts. Drawing on expertise from multiple industries, the company helps producers develop flexible, future-ready production lines capable of supporting emerging trends such as alternative proteins, functional foods, pet nutrition, and premium snacks, while ensuring consistent quality, efficiency, and long-term operational reliability.
Question- With increasing demand for plant-based proteins, meat analogues and healthier snacks, how are Coperion’s extrusion and processing technologies helping food companies improve texture, taste and nutritional profiles?
As consumers worldwide shift toward plant-based diets, meat alternatives, and healthier snack options, food producers face growing pressure to deliver products that are not only nutritious but also appealing in taste, texture, and appearance. As a leader in advanced extrusion and processing technologies, Coperion supports this shift by enabling manufacturers to develop innovative plant-based foods and healthy snacks with greater efficiency and precision. Designed with hygienic principles at their core, Coperion’s extrusion systems help companies comply with stringent food safety standards while ensuring easy cleaning and minimizing contamination risks—particularly important when processing sensitive ingredients such as plant proteins, pulses, and functional nutritional additives.
At the same time, Coperion technologies allow manufacturers to create complex, multi-textured products through advanced die configurations capable of producing layered, filled, and multi-component snacks. Their extruders also offer the flexibility for real-time ingredient addition, enabling the seamless incorporation of grains, pulses, vitamins, and minerals to enhance nutritional value. Multi-color co-extrusion technologies—including the Baker Perkins Spectrum Colour Change System—enable continuous flavor and color injection, allowing producers to create visually striking snacks with layered flavor profiles. Combined with advanced laminating, shaping, and die design capabilities, these systems support the development of intricate 3D snack structures and varied textures, from playful shapes for children to soft, easy-bite formats, helping brands differentiate in an increasingly competitive market.
Question- Sustainability and efficiency are key priorities in the F&B industry. What innovations or service enhancements is Coperion introducing to help food manufacturers cut energy use, reduce waste and optimize overall process sustainability?
In the food and beverage industry, improving efficiency while reducing environmental impact has become a key priority. Manufacturers are increasingly seeking technologies that lower energy consumption, minimize waste, and support more sustainable production. Coperion addresses these needs through innovative extrusion designs and strategic service solutions that help food producers optimize operations while meeting environmental and economic goals. Leveraging advanced metallurgical expertise, the company has developed smaller extruders capable of operating at higher screw speeds, maintaining the same throughput as larger machines while reducing equipment size, energy use, and overall resource requirements. At the same time, advanced barrel designs improve heat transfer during heating and cooling, enabling better thermal management, lower energy consumption, and greater process control.
Beyond equipment efficiency, Coperion also supports sustainable production through flexible extrusion technologies capable of utilizing alternative raw materials such as spent grain, cassava, and pulses. This adaptability enables manufacturers to upcycle by-products and maximize raw material utilization, helping reduce waste and support circular production models. The company further assists producers with tailored production strategies based on product portfolios—whether through larger single extruders with rapid changeover capabilities or multiple smaller systems designed to handle varied product runs. These customized extrusion solutions optimize capacity, reduce downtime during transitions, and create compact, efficient production lines that require less floor space while lowering energy costs associated with facility infrastructure.
Question- Digitalization and Industry 4.0 are transforming manufacturing across sectors. How is Coperion leveraging data, automation and smart systems (e.g., digital monitoring, control systems) to support real-time optimisation for food processing plants?
Modern extrusion technology has evolved significantly over the past 5–10 years, delivering substantial improvements in throughput and efficiency. Today’s extruders feature advanced control systems providing detailed information and enabling close monitoring of operations. With better control systems and data analysis capabilities, manufacturers can gain a comprehensive understanding of their processes. When issues affecting product quality arise, manufacturers can more quickly identify the root cause and resolve problems effectively.
Through tools like Coperion’s secure digital service platform, manufacturers can view performance parameters of their entire system in real-time. Such platforms help reduce downtimes, evaluate overall equipment efficiency, and facilitate proactive maintenance. These digital tools enable continuous process optimization, improve operational reliability, and contribute to more consistent product quality, ultimately supporting a leaner, smarter manufacturing environment.
Question– Looking at the Indian and wider Asia-Pacific food landscape, what opportunities and challenges do you see for adopting advanced process technologies like extrusion, feeding and bulk handling, and how is Coperion tailoring its approach to local market needs?
India and the Asia Pacific region represent significant growth opportunities for advanced food processing technologies, driven by rising demand for convenient, high quality, and innovative products across bakery and baked goods, cereals, confectionery, snacks, extruded foods, high moisture meat analogues, pet food, and pet treats.
Regional manufacturers can leverage integrated solutions to scale production, ensure consistent quality, and efficiently introduce new product formats – from raw ingredients to finished products. The growing consumer preference for innovative, healthy, and convenient foods further accelerates adoption.
Market-specific factors such as diverse regulatory environments, varying infrastructure standards, and labor costs can complicate technology implementation and operational standardization. Through our Food, Health & Nutrition division, Coperion offers fully integrated, end-to-end solutions by combining the expertise of its legacy brands such as Baker Perkins, Bakon, DIOSNA, Gabler Engineering, Kemutec, K-Tron, Peerless, Shaffer, Shick Esteve, Unifiller, and VMI. This comprehensive portfolio enables regional manufacturers to scale production efficiently, ensure high and consistent product quality, and streamline the transition to new formats – covering everything from ingredient handling and mixing to forming, baking, extrusion, decorating, cutting, and finishing. Coperion offers process technologies that deliver complete systems from a single source.
