Hilmar’s PROtelyze Bio-Brain — expected to be commercially available later this year — was named the winner of the 2026 Breakthrough Award for Dairy Ingredient Innovation, presented by Dairy Foods and the American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI). Hilmar was awarded in person during the 2026 ADPI Annual Conference, which took place in Chicago on April 27.

Hilmar PROtelyze Bio-Brain is a breakthrough whey-derived ingredient that demonstrates how targeted peptide science can unlock meaningful cognitive benefits from dairy proteins. As the first whey peptide nootropic, PROtelyze Bio-Brain moves dairy innovation beyond traditional protein’s focus on muscle and into a new functional space supporting memory, cognitive performance and healthy aging, according to the company.

The ingredient uses a specific bioactive peptide called GTWY (β Lactolin), a naturally derived tetrapeptide composed of glycine, threonine, tryptophan and tyrosine that is designed for rapid absorption and targeted cognitive support, the company says. 

“It has been commonly known for more than 20 years that whey protein provides benefits for immunity, cognitive health and cardiovascular function. We have been interested in bioactive peptides for a number of years to understand what type of benefits they can provide. We have done a great deal of research on protein fractionation and hydrolysate development which allowed us to produce PROtelyze Bio-Brain with a high GTWY level,” says Chao Wu, director of product research at Hilmar. 

Hilmar has done research on GTWY over the past five to 10 years.  “To validate what had been studied in the literature, we then did our own research, leading us to the development of PROtelyze Bio-Brain,” Wu adds.

PROtelyze Bio-Brain is intended to advance the dairy category by combining protein fractionation and advanced hydrolysis technologies, which optimize the release of the GTWY sequence. 

As Hilmar notes in its award application: “This transforms whey into a consistent, reliable source of cognitive support suitable for mainstream food, beverage and supplement applications. This product delivers a clinically effective level in just one gram per day, with controlled human studies demonstrating improvements in memory formation and retrieval, attention, executive control and neural efficiency, particularly in aging or cognitively stressed populations. These studies also confirm that consumers may safely increase intake to capture additional protein fortification benefits if desired.” 

Hilmar was founded in 1984 and operates manufacturing plants in Hilmar, Calif.; Dalhart, Texas; and Dodge City, Kan. “We manufacture cheese and high-quality whey protein ingredients, delivering products to customers in 50-plus countries worldwide. We specialize in the production of natural cheeses sold to private label, regional and national-brand cheese packagers. Our specialty proteins are offered in the form of whey concentrates, isolates, hydrolysates and unique protein fractions to meet the needs of our brand and private-label customers worldwide,” the company says.

Hilmar recognized a growing consumer need for safe, food-based brain support as cognitive wellness became a priority for aging adults and working individuals. With increasing interest in mental clarity and healthy aging, the market “lacked an ingredient that could provide credible cognitive support without stimulant mechanisms. Given the company’s expertise in protein research and enzymatic processing, identifying and validating cognitive supporting peptides was a natural extension of Hilmar’s science and innovation strategy,” the company stresses to Dairy Foods.

The ingredient’s genesis

Although no new production facility was required, Hilmar made meaningful updates to processing lines, enzyme handling steps and quality control systems to support PROtelyze Bio-Brain. Research and development and quality teams underwent specialized training on peptide specific controls, ensuring the ingredient could be produced reliably at scale.

To bring PROtelyze Bio-Brain to market, Hilmar refined hydrolysis conditions to enable targeted peptide release along with favorable processing characteristics. It was engineered to integrate smoothly into high-protein beverages, powders and traditional supplement formats. 

The company points out that PROtelyze Bio-Brain’s peptide composition demonstrates excellent stability through heat treatment, pH changes and high protein processing conditions. Application work confirmed stability through thermal processing, shelf life and varied pH environments, enabling use across ready-to-drink beverages, powder drink mixes, liquid shots, bars and baked goods while supporting clean labels and familiar dairy positioning.

According to Marina Crocker, Hilmar’s senior director for Product Category and Marketing,  even after development, it has taken more than two years to bring this product to market. “This included proof of performance studies, testing methods development, production scale-up and collaboration with our partner on the intellectual property protection,” she explains. 

The biggest challenge was “bringing to market an ingredient where most of the value is derived from a biological activity rather than nutrient content has been challenging, as this is a new market for us and we are still learning how to approach a new audience,” Crocker continues.

Wu adds, “It’s also been a challenge to be able to produce the product, as it requires commercial protein fractionation and the hydrolysate technology to release specific peptides as well as the analytical method to measure specific peptides.”

Commercially, the ingredient aligns with global nutrition brands expanding their healthy aging portfolios and food manufacturers seeking to add brain health benefits to popular high protein products. The end user spans adults experiencing mental fatigue, individuals focused on preventing cognitive decline and consumers who want every day, food-based memory support without stimulants.

Scientifically, PROtelyze Bio-Brain represents a significant advancement in dairy-based cognitive innovation, Hilmar suggests. 

“Multiple randomized controlled studies show improvements in memory, attention and executive function and objective methods such as EEG and near infrared spectroscopy confirm increases in neural efficiency, attentional resource allocation and task specific prefrontal blood flow. Animal studies support these findings with evidence of reduced neuroinflammation, improved dopamine related signaling and protection against age linked cognitive decline, the company shares in its award application.

For the dairy sector, PROtelyze Bio-Brain demonstrates the unexplored potential of whey’s natural peptide complexity and shows how precision processing can unlock benefits far beyond traditional protein roles.

“Though PROtelyze Bio-Brain is a dairy-based ingredient, it is a biologically active component. The application and the mode of ingestion of this ingredient is much broader than dairy products. It will work well in applications ranging from ready-to-mix to ready-to-drink to capsules and tablets in segments extending from dietary supplements to better-for-you snacks,” QiQi Peng, manager, Applications Cheese & Ingredients, maintains.

Crocker concludes: “PROtelyze Bio-Brain is a symbol of our determination and dedication to innovation in the dairy ingredients space. We want to thank Hilmar leadership for supporting the development and the vast amount of Hilmar team members who have worked together on this project.”