Fortification at Scale

-Vikram Kelkar, Managing director, Hexagon Nutrition

In the sixth feature of the anniversary special interview series of NUFFOODS Spectrum, we present, Vikram Kelkar, Managing Director, Hexagon Nutrition. In this edition, Kelkar outlines the company’s Vision 2030 to tackle India’s triple burden of malnutrition—undernutrition, hidden hunger, and obesity—through a twin approach of large-scale staple fortification and targeted therapeutic nutrition. He discusses Hexagon’s leadership in fortified rice kernel production, partnerships with institutions like NIFTEM and GAIN, and R&D-driven innovations to enhance nutrient stability and bioavailability. With a presence in over 70 countries, a robust clinical nutrition pipeline, and strong ESG commitments, Hexagon Nutrition aims to shape both domestic and global nutrition equity—delivering scalable, science-backed solutions that meet the needs of vulnerable populations while advancing public health goals by the next decade. Edited Excerpts:

What is Hexagon Nutrition’s Vision 2030 for addressing India’s triple burden of malnutrition – undernutrition, hidden hunger, and obesity – through fortified foods and therapeutic solutions?

We envision addressing malnutrition through a dual strategy: implementing large-scale fortification of staple foods such as rice, wheat flour, edible oil, and milk to combat hidden hunger by enhancing their nutritional profiles, alongside providing targeted therapeutic nutrition for vulnerable and severely undernourished populations. This vision aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 and India’s public nutrition initiatives, focusing on affordability and achieving widespread impact through strategic partnerships by 2030. Additionally, our clinical nutrition portfolio includes products like Obesigo, specifically designed to support weight management and fitness for populations at risk of obesity-related disorders.

With India accelerating rice, flour, and edible oil fortification, how is your company gearing up to support large-scale government and institutional programmes by 2030?

The government’s push for large-scale staple fortification is historic. Our company offers staple premixes, as well as fortified rice kernels (FRK) manufactured via warm extrusion to improve retention and sensory profile. We are positioned to strongly support large-scale nutrition programmes by governments and institutions through our strong manufacturing capacities and technical expertise, with focus on quality. We have also partnered with National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to set up a Centre of Excellence for Food Fortification (CEFF) aiming at standardising fortification practices in India. CEFF has trained thousands of professionals and established standardised curricula for food fortification education across India. We also have a partnership with Sion Hospital to support and sponsor the treatment of very thin and SAM children patients in Dharavi, Mumbai. 

What percentage of your current revenue or production is dedicated to micronutrient premixes, and how do you foresee this evolving over the next 5 years?

Premix remains the largest contributor to our revenue with approximately 50 per cent share, but mix is shifting with higher-value branded lines gaining traction over the last few years. Over the next five years, premix should remain core with faster growth from clinical nutrition and export portfolios to balance margins and risk.

How are you leveraging R&D to improve bioavailability and stability of nutrients in fortified staples, especially for low-income or climate-sensitive regions?

R&D focuses on micronutrient selection (e.g., specific iron forms like micronised white ferric pyrophosphate for FRK), matrix-specific stabilisation, and shelf-life testing suited to Indian cooking/storage conditions, alongside development of rapid analytical kits and QA methods to ensure retention and bioavailability under diverse climate and supply-chain realities. We also constantly innovate with stable forms of micronutrients to enhance bioavailability and efficacy. As an example, in collaboration with Particles for Humanity, who has developed a new, highly stable form of Vitamin A Palmitate Powder for food fortification, we have signed a licensing agreement to manufacture and supply the PFH-VAP for commercial use in bouillon in Africa.

Can you share your innovation roadmap — e.g., next-gen products in pediatric nutrition, diabetes care, or oncology support — being developed for Indian and global markets?

We have a strong product pipeline expanding clinical and disease-specific nutrition, pediatric lines, and everyday fortified formats (bakery, beverage, dairy, gummies), with branded clinical nutrition gaining share domestically and recognition in 25+ export markets; the emphasis is on efficacy, stability, and sensory adherence to improve outcomes and uptake.

With exports contributing significantly to your business, what are your targets for expanding into Africa, Southeast Asia, or Latin America by 2030?

We have direct or indirect presence in more than 70 countries with growing international recognition; our certifications like GAIN Premix Facility Approval and programme experience align with expansion into Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, with 2030 goals centered on scaling premix supply and therapeutic nutrition through institutional and development-sector channels. We intend to double down in Africa, where we are constantly increasing our reach through new and innovative products; Southeast Asia is an important region for us, and we aim to be relevant by quick turnaround times and technical expertise that drives growth; Latin America is a growing market with good traction in recent times through B2B engagement.

What are your ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals, particularly in sustainable sourcing, manufacturing, and nutrition equity by 2030?

Our ESG commitments emphasise nutrition equity via affordable fortified staples and therapeutic foods, certified quality systems (FSSC 22000, ISO, GMP, Halal, Kosher), compliance governance, and CSR initiatives tied to malnutrition and SDGs; our programmes are designed to deliver safe, standardised nutrition to lower-income populations through government and institutional channels.

How are you integrating digital tools such as AI, automation, or blockchain in quality control, traceability, or product personalisation?

We prioritise digital-first technologies across our entire QA/QC process, enhancing analytical capabilities and developing rapid testing solutions that support automated and digital compliance workflows. These foundational innovations facilitate the gradual adoption of digitization and data-driven quality control and traceability in large-scale fortification initiatives, with the potential to incorporate AI-driven formulation and monitoring as implementation expands through 2030.

If you had to define one moonshot goal for Hexagon Nutrition by 2030 — whether in innovation, public health, or global leadership — what would it be?

A mission-aligned moonshot for us is to attain global leadership in food fortification and nutritional innovation, adapting continuously to emerging global nutrition challenges. Our goal encompasses the validated, widespread fortification of essential staples, such as rice, flour, oil, and milk: in India and worldwide, supported by real-time compliance monitoring and quality assurance within public systems, leading to a measurable reduction in micronutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, we aim to expand therapeutic nutrition programmes to combat severe acute malnutrition and advance clinical nutrition solutions to mitigate condition-related disorders both domestically and in key export markets by 2030. In addition, the commercial manufacturing process is underway for Particles for Humanity Vitamin A Palmitate, with full-scale availability starting January 2026. This will enable widespread Vitamin A fortification through bouillon in Africa.

Sanjiv Das

sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com