By Halo Xu
Xiong Changwu
Senior Engineer at Protein Nutrition and Flavor Technology Center, Angel Yeast Co., Ltd.
“My primary role is to develop and provide technical services for specialized raw materials, such as protein hydrolysates, and media used in the probiotics fermentation and cell culture industries. As a major global supplier of raw materials in the bio-fermentation sector, Angel Yeast is committed to customizing raw materials and media. Through optimizing fermentation processes, we help our clients enhance production capabilities.”
Challenges and Opportunities
China’s microbial industry is highly competitive and rapidly evolving. Meeting customers’ stringent requirements is both a challenge and an opportunity. As a senior engineer at Angel’s Protein Nutrition and Flavor Technology Center, Xiong and his team are pursuing excellence through technological innovation. This strategy helps Angel to stay ahead in the global market.
“The bioindustry is flourishing due to our growing expertise in biological carriers like microorganisms and animal cells, and the ongoing evolution of technology, yet it also grapples with novel challenges,” says Xiong, “complex raw materials, for instance, may fail to meet the requirements for precise supply, and in the future, single nutrients might replace them. This necessitates demand-driven technological innovation to accelerate Angel’s growth in the global microbial business.”
Meeting Customer Needs
Meeting customer needs is Angel’s core mission. In 2023, Xiong successfully developed four specialized products for the lactic acid bacteria field. He improved the process for yeast extract powder products, significantly reducing production costs and enhancing efficiency. Additionally, he led a technical project to meet the customized nitrogen source needs of a South Korean client, closely monitoring their testing process, ultimately gaining client approval and achieving sales.
“Given the diverse application scenarios of our customers, existing products often can’t fully meet all the nutritional needs of specific strains. We must develop customized products based on customer requirements and monitor the testing process throughout,” Xiong explains.
Advancing the Bioindustry with Animal Cell Culture Technology
Animal cell culture technology encompasses a wide range of areas, including cell culture and finished media development. In 2023, Xiong coordinated the construction of the animal cell culture platform and the development of finished media, successfully establishing a stable operational system. Developing and promoting new products in the finished media business boosted sales growth by 70%, laying a solid foundation for new business development.
“We provide reliable technical support to our customers by establishing a stable cell culture platform and developing efficient finished media. Our extensive project experience and strong technical background help us maintain a competitive edge in the market. This effort also meets high-performance and high-quality customer demands,” Xiong notes.
Emphasizing Market Promotion and Technical Support
Xiong believes that market promotion and client visits are excellent ways to tap into new opportunities and drive product promotion and technical support. “Our comprehensive information channels include writing promotional articles and visiting key clients. I learn a lot about market dynamics and customer feedback every day, enabling me to transform technical advantages into unique customer value.”
Fostering a Supportive, Innovative, and Development-Oriented Environment
At Angel, we strive to create a supportive, innovative, and development-oriented work environment. Xiong shares, “Following the creation of our research institute, we’ve streamlined the promotion process by merging research entities across different business areas into one unified channel. This allows employees to clearly understand the capabilities and results required for promotion opportunities. Currently, the institute focuses on applied research, with several task groups forming for different fields. Each project is jointly undertaken by the group, with plans and implementation strategies discussed and executed collaboratively. Additionally, the company has an excellent reward system for new technologies and products every year, encouraging us to be more proactive in R&D and innovation.”
Looking Ahead
The bio-fermentation industry, compared to other sectors, requires R&D teams to have stronger problem-solving abilities and to respond quickly to market changes due to immediate feedback. The journey from developing a product to commercializing it undergoes strict review processes. Discussing future career development, Xiong remarks, “In pursuing success, we should not be too impatient but have enough patience to wait for things to develop. Looking ahead, my goal is to do my job well while also working on research and development to improve product stability and effectiveness. I also aspire to play a role in fostering the healthy growth of the entire microbial industry.
