Dairy Foods and the American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) honored Littlefield, Texas-based Select Custom Solutions Southwest with the 2025 Breakthrough Award for Ingredient Innovation for its ImmuniGen supplement. Dairy Foods Publisher Doug Peckenpaugh presented the award to Select Custom Solutions Southwest during the ADPI Annual Conference, which took place in late April in Chicago.

Select Custom Solutions Southwest operates as part of the MHF Group Holdings network. The Select Custom Solutions facility specializes in manufacturing the aforementioned ImmuniGen, a premium colostrum-based immune and gut health supplement.

Health and wellness is definitely in vogue today, and ImmuniGen certainly meets a consumer need. Launched in late 2024, ImmuniGen is formulated and processed to preserve the integrity of bioactive components such as immunoglobulins, growth factors and other naturally occurring bioactive components.

“The product is designed to support immune defense, gut lining integrity, and nutrient absorption, making it a powerful ally for overall wellness and performance,” Mike Homewood, general manager, Select Custom Solutions Southwest, tells Dairy Foods. “We’ve positioned ImmuniGen as a market leader by combining scientific formulation, superior sourcing practices, and clean-label transparency, and by responding to consumer demand for functional products that are both effective and trustworthy.”

Select Custom Solutions is being honored for much more than filling a consumer need.

In lightning-quick time, MHF Group Holdings expanded its processing and packaging capabilities with the addition of the Select Custom Solutions Southwest facility, dedicated to ImmuniGen. This investment included the integration of state-of-the-art equipment and a proprietary drying and agglomeration process, dramatically enhancing efficiency, solubility and more.

Approved by MHF Group Holdings leadership in July 2024, the facility was fully operational and producing saleable ImmuniGen by January of this year.

“This six-month timeline is a testament to our ability to execute with precision, leveraging cross-functional expertise in project management, engineering, and manufacturing,” the company stated in its award application. “The facility overhaul involved optimizing the layout for streamlined production flow, integrating cutting-edge equipment, and ensuring compliance with regulatory and safety standards. By accelerating the timeline without compromising quality, we successfully minimized downtime and swiftly brought ImmuniGen to market, capitalizing on growing consumer demand for immune-supporting supplements.”

Steve Cooper, vice president of business development for Select Milk Producers, adds: “From a processing standpoint, ImmuniGen stands out for its exceptional solubility, without going through an agglomeration step or use of lecithin. By leveraging advanced drying techniques and ingredient expertise, we’ve created a product that mixes easily and cleanly. This not only enhances the consumer experience but also reduces processing steps, energy use, and cost, making our approach more sustainable and efficient across the board.”

Although the ImmuniGen supplement has only been available in the marketplace for five months, Homewood reveals the company is “seeing strong and sustained growth in the immune and gut health categories.”

He notes that since 2020 and COVID-19, consumer awareness around proactive health management has been skyrocketing. “Immunity is no longer seasonal. It’s now a year-round priority, and gut health is increasingly recognized as a foundational element of overall wellness,” he relays. “The convergence of science-backed ingredients, clean-label expectations, and personalized health goals has created lasting momentum in the market.

“We believe this trend will continue, especially as consumers seek natural, effective and multifunctional solutions that support both short-term performance and long-term health,” Homewood adds.

Significant achievements

Always looking for ways to improve processing, packaging and sustainability for ImmuniGen are Select Custom Solutions’ hallmarks.

“The advancements made in ImmuniGen’s processing and packaging represent a major milestone for our company. By achieving an unprecedented facility turnaround, implementing proprietary technology for superior solubility, and driving operational efficiencies, we have positioned ImmuniGen as a market leader in immune and gut health supplements,” the company stated in its award application. “As we continue to innovate, we remain committed to enhancing our processes, investing in sustainable practices, and maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety.”

Employee and food safety are a top priority. Other facility enhancements include:

Ergonomic Improvements: Automation of certain steps has reduced manual handling, lowering the risk of repetitive stress injuries among employees.

Reduced Contamination Risk: The processing system minimizes exposure to airborne contaminants, ensuring product purity.

Compliance with Stringent Standards: The facility meets and exceeds food safety regulations, reinforcing its commitment to delivering high quality, safe products to consumers, according to Select Custom Solutions Southwest.

Another core value — Sustainability — also is of utmost importance for Select Custom Solutions Southwest and across the entirety of MHF Group Holdings.

“In the case of ImmuniGen, we focus on responsible sourcing partnerships with suppliers who practice humane and environmentally conscious dairy farming,” Homewood concludes. “We continue to invest in energy-efficient equipment and process improvements at our production facilities. Our goal is to deliver high quality, effective products that are aligned not only with consumer health, but with the health of the planet as well.” DF