Our Latin American operations are characterized by longstanding customer relationships, extensive local expertise and a range of local facilities. With our broad product mix, we are ideally suited to serve a rapidly urbanizing population that has an increasing demand for packaged foods.
Flexibility is the key to our success in Mexico. A significant portion of our grind in Mexico served the brewing industry, which experienced reduced demand in 2025. Concurrently, producers of baked goods and confectionery faced higher demand for sugar-reduction solutions. In response, we repurposed a portion of our capacity to increase production of glucose-based higher-margin sweeteners, such as ASTREA® liquid allulose.
Ingredion's locally-produced ASTREA® allows consumers in Mexico to satisfy their sweet tooth without adding calories. Allulose sugars are absorbed by the body but are not metabolized, resulting in no added calories. ASTREA® provides food and beverage manufacturers with an effective solution for reducing sucrose and other caloric sweeteners while maintaining comparable bulk, sweetness and functionality.
Ingredion continues to streamline its operations in Brazil's dynamic market by optimizing its manufacturing network to capitalize on market opportunities. This year, we closed our Alcantara facility, enabling us to consolidate our polyol production to reduce costs.
We expanded market penetration for differentiated solutions. For example, we are marketing SORBO®, a sorbitol solution, to toothpaste manufacturers, who use it to 1) maintain moisture in their products when exposed to air, and 2) to impart a subtle, sugar-free sweetness.
