The world’s largest corn processor, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), is shifting focus from its long-standing cash generator ethanol into developing new food ingredients as the biofuel boom that underpinned its financial success has cooled.

The shift could be one of the most transformative moves ever made by 113-year-old ADM, triggered by signs of strain in its legacy products. Demand for the gasoline additive ethanol is forecast to remain flat over the next decade while its other mainstay, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is beset by health concerns.

“Coming up with new products is really what keeps us up at night,” said Chris Cuddy, president of corn processing. Critics associate HFCS with obesity, and companies including Panera Bread Co and Kraft Foods Group are cutting it from their goods.

ADM’s corn business profit dropped 39 percent in the first quarter due to poor ethanol margins. Demand is flattening as government targets for ethanol use in gasoline have been reached and increasingly efficient vehicles consume less fuel. But its ingredients business, currently just a tiny revenue generator for the $31.6 billion company, posted a 17 per cent profit jump in the same period.

It invested $3 billion in that business last summer with the purchase of natural flavorings company Wild Flavors, ADM’s largest-ever acquisition. Analysts say it is too early to tell if the strategy will be successful.

“They did deliver a higher return on invested capital in their business last year. Now, it’s hard to tell if that’s just low corn prices for the ethanol side or whether it’s a combination of lower input cost plus better strategy, so it remains to be seen if those returns are sustainable,” said JP Morgan analyst Ann Duignan.