Fermented goodness: Industry leaders weigh in on the evolving market for dairy cultures

10 Jun 2019 --- In the first part of FoodIngredientsFirst’s special report on dairy cultures, industry leaders gave notable examples of new developments in taste-boosting cultures within a global context. It was noted that the market for dairy cultures is highly dynamic and constantly evolving, with companies leveraging innovations in this space to produce cost-effective, value-added, flavorsome and nutritious products. The second part of this report focuses on a surge in demands for lactose-free, plant-based, sustainable and probiotic-enriched food and beverages, which further proliferates related NPD.

Probiotics for a healthy gut and body
Scientific research in the field of probiotics and gut health is spurring related NPD in functional foods, with companies seeing this as a significant investment opportunity. According to an analysis by Innova Market Insights, In 2018, 11 percent of global dairy launches featured probiotics - with the market segment enjoying 16 percent average annual growth in 2014-2018. 

Chr. Hansen is offering what the company markets as “the world’s best documented probiotic strain,” LGG, which can be applied to a variety of fermented milk products marketed as helping ease gastrointestinal discomfort. “The growing interest for probiotics that we experience in the dairy space is largely driven by a growing interest in gut health – also known to many as the human microbiome – a hot topic in the world of nutrition,” Thomas Skaaning, Senior Vice President of Dairy of Chr. Hansen, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. As research in the human microbiome progressively steadily reveals a link between gut health, mental wellbeing and overall physical health, Skaaning expects to see a quantum leap in this specific research area in the coming five to 10 years.

“DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences is recognized as a probiotic business leader in the dietary supplements industry and we are extending that competence into the fermented foods space,” comments Didier Carcan, Strategic Marketing Leader of Cultures in DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences. “We benefit from the best in class global health research center located in Finland with more than 450 publications documenting the HOWARU probiotics offered to the food and beverage industry. We are continuing to invest in digestive health and immune health. By adding probiotics, we help our customers to differentiate with added value products.”

But even while the ascribed health benefits of probiotic cultures have drawn lots of consumer interest in the last decade, tighter regulations underscoring insufficient evidence backing said claims have presented a challenge to overcome, says Christian Hemmer, Marketing Manager of CSK. “Overall, however, we believe the work on probiotics has helped to further grow the positive image of using lactic acid bacteria to produce safe, healthy and good tasting food products, which is beneficial to culture producers like CSK,” he notes. “While we are, at present, not investing in scientifically backing up probiotic claims, our yogurt portfolio comprises cultures containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis strains.”

Lactose-free and plant-based cultures
Dairy companies are closely following developments in the lactose-free space, which captures the attention of a prominent consumer segment and is expected to flourish in the coming years. The lactose-free milk product market is growing steadily and more diversified products – with vitamin/mineral fortification, higher protein content and reduced sugar – hitting the shelves.

“We see more and more customer requests to develop more “better for you” concepts with lactose-free positioning and vitamins, in line with this trend,” Nicolas Touillon, Business Director of Dairy at DSM Food Specialties, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “At DSM, we have been working with customers all around the world to successfully innovate and evolve this category beyond lactose intolerance by supplying enzymes for sugar reduction and vitamins for lactose-free dairy.”

While the market is still developing, growth is largely attributed to the burgeoning plant-based movement, which sees the heightened popularity of soy and nut-based fermented products. Birthed by this trend is a need for cultures adopted to the broadening range of plant-based protein sources.

“Consumers’ desire for plant-based foods continues to grow, with millennials increasingly opting for non-dairy products based on plant ingredients and the adoption of flexitarian or vegetarian diets,” says Touillon. “Global launches of fermented dairy alternatives have been increasing over the past few years and out-performed the dairy launches in terms of annual growth rates.”

Contributing to this dynamic market, DuPont’s Danisco is offering a line of VEGE cultures – a new portfolio of cultures specially formulated for the plant-based fermented products market. Danisco VEGE cultures have been developed for a wide-ranging variety of plant-based raw materials, such as soy, coconut, nuts, oat, maize, rice, fruits and vegetables, to satisfy consumer taste and texture expectation. As consumers continue to make health and wellness part of their daily routines, with digestive health remaining a prime concern, the company has recently extended its VEGE cultures portfolio with the addition of gut health-promoting HOWARU Dophilus VG and HOWARU Bifido VG strains.

Innovations in ambient storage
One focus of protective cultures is to provide solutions for dairy products to be preserved longer at ambient temperatures. DSM’s DelvoGuard culture range is one example – using this culture in yogurt formats allows dairy manufacturers to preserve yogurt in warmer climates, where cool transport options are limited, without affecting taste or appearance. It can also be used in “on-the-go” formats, to preserve the yogurt longer at ambient temperatures.

“Furthermore, we see a growing trend in the desire for natural products,” Touillon of DSM emphasizes. “More natural ingredients are at the top of the consumer wish list and that is why – in combination with the increased attention to food waste and spoilage reduction – bio-preservation solutions are popular in dairy and beverage products. DSM offers a wide variety of yogurt and protective cultures, as well as other bio-preservation solutions to help prolong shelf life and reduce spoilage of food.”

By applying natural fermentation, DuPont introduces its new range of HOLDBAC YM-XP protective cultures helps keep dairy products fresh and flavorsome throughout shelf-life. “The HOLDBAC YM-XP protective cultures directly impacts our customers’ bottom line by preventing product waste and facilitating longer geographical reach in the home or export markets,” notes Carcano of DuPont.

Cultures helping formulators meet sustainability targets
Sustainability is remains a hot topic across the entire dairy industry. “At Chr. Hansen, we believe that we need to look to nature for answers,” remarks Skaaning of Chr. Hansen. “We have a superior microbial platform that can help address major challenges such as food waste and the need to feed a growing population.” As an example, he presents the company’s launched cheese coagulant, CHY-MAX Supreme, which helps maximizing the value of milk in cheese production by offering a higher yield (up to 1 percent), through a “faster and more precise” production process. The culture also helps to increase flexibility and functionality of its products in terms of slicing, grating and cubing, which are essential qualities in cheese formats.

“United Nation estimates that 1/3 of food is wasted. It is simply unbearable to think of considering that at the same time many people are starving,” notes Skaaning. “This is a paradox which we are committed to address. If we take dairy as a concrete example, we estimate that almost 20 percent of yogurt is wasted. So, the challenge is to keep the yogurt fresh and safe and make it last longer.’

“In response to this need, we have developed natural bioprotective culture, FreshQ that can extend the shelf life of yogurt by up to 10 days. That is one of our means to fight food waste and we have set an ambitious target to reduce 30 percent of all yogurt waste in EU by 2025,” he concludes.

By Benjamin Ferrer