Process for manufacturing an infant formula product with hydrolysed protein

The present invention concerns a process for manufacturing an infant formula product comprising: (a1) providing an aqueous mixture having a protein component and a carbohydrate component, (a2) subjecting the aqueous mixture to a protein hydrolysis step, (a3) subjecting the aqueous mixture to a heat treatment step; (b) mixing the heat-treated aqueous mixture comprising hydrolyzed protein with a lipid component; (c) subjecting the aqueous mixture comprising the lipid component, the carbohydrate component and the heat-treated hydrolyzed protein component to a homogenization and emulsification step to obtain a homogenized oil-in-water emulsion having a total solids content in the range of 45-80 wt %; (d) conveying the homogenized emulsion into an extruder, independently adding digestible carbohydrates and optionally dietary fibres to the extruder and extruding the contents of the extruder to obtain an extruded material; (e) preparing an infant formula product from the extruded material. The invention further concerns Infant formula product obtainable by the process according to the invention and to a modular system suitable for performing the process according to the invention.