CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S. — Recent acquisitions have Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) busy integrating ancient grains, seeds and flavors into its specialty ingredients portfolio. The Chicago, Illinois, U.S.-based company, however, might not be through making moves and adding ingredients.

Proteins are a “hot area” for the company as are fibers, said Greg Morris, senior vice-president of ADM and president of the company’s Wild Flavors and Specialty Ingredients business unit, during a Dec. 3 investors’ day.

“But we also have opportunities to get into some additional businesses organically,” he said. “So it could be a soy fiber that we pursue to leverage existing assets and capabilities to build out a more robust fiber portfolio, or it could be in finding new protein sources on the back of Specialty Commodities and all these new raw materials now that we become basic in.”

Before 2013, ADM’s specialty ingredients were housed within three business units: oilseeds, corn and agricultural services, Morris said. Expansion came this year when the company acquired Wild Flavors GmbH and Specialty Commodities, Inc., a processor and distributor of such ingredients as nuts, fruits, seeds, legumes and ancient grains.

“We have made a significant bet on two sizable acquisitions that we need to deliver synergies against, and so we want to be mindful that we’ve got a lot on our plate,” Morris said. “We want to make sure we allocate our resources appropriately, but we also want to make sure that we keep our strategy intact so that we are ready when the next opportunity comes up.”

ADM at its investors’ day presented two nutritional bar systems that incorporated 23 ADM ingredients, including Fibersol, lecithin, beans, quinoa, macadamia nuts, cashews and Cameroon coconut. One system featured a piña colada flavor. The other system featured an orchard fruit flavor.

Vince Macciocchi, North American chief operating officer for Wild, will become global president for Wild Flavors. He said Wild Flavors operates in the natural flavors segment, which is growing at 6% per year.

“At Wild Flavors, we built our business with small to mid-sized entrepreneurial companies, but the entire time we’ve been building food capabilities,” Macciocchi said. “At ADM, they have a massive portfolio of products and significant broad and deep customer relationships. This will allow Wild to further expand its position in beverage, but also expedite our entry in the food area.”