The invention relates to a process for the recovery of betaine from a raw material consisting essentially of molasses, comprising: i. a demineralisation step, in which the overall amount of salts in the molasses is brought to a level lying below 2 wt.% (on overall dry matter)； ii. a conversion step, in which the molasses is subjected to the action of a fructan-forming enzyme, to form a fructan-containing molasses (fructan-molasses)； iii. a separation step, in which the fructan-molasses is subjected to a chromatographic separation, thereby obtaining a betaine-containing fraction, whereby step (i) is executed prior to step (iii), and whereby step (i) may be executed prior to, during, or subsequent to step (ii). The raw material may alternatively contain or consist essentially of thick juice.
