Arla Foods Ingredients launches clean label yogurt concept for Chinese market
04 Jun 2020 | Arla Foods Ingredients
Yogurt sales are growing faster in China than anywhere else in the world, with ambient yogurt the fastest growing segment in the country’s liquid dairy market. In response to this, Arla Foods Ingredients recently launched a clean label ambient yogurt concept to meet Chinese demand which the company hails as a “first of its kind.” Allan Eriksen, Application Specialist from the company, gives FoodIngredientsFirst some further insights on the latest launch in line with current trends.
This is Elizabeth Green from Food Ingredients First.
Yogurt sales are growing faster in China than anywhere else in the world, with Ambient yogurt the fastest growing segment in the country's liquid dairy market.
As a response to this, Arla Foods ingredients recently launched a clean label ambient yogurt concept to meet the demand, the Chinese demand, which the company hails as a first of its kind.
Alan Eriksson, an application specialist from ARA, is with us now.
Alan, can you share some additional insights with us on the latest launch in line with current trends relating to the Chinese market specifically?
Hi, Elizabeth.
Thanks for the introduction and for sure.
We have an answer.
What we have developed is a concept that drives on its naturalness.
It's a concept named, aim for the ambient yogurt category, and it's one of a kind due to the claim of the clean label.
The product behind the concept is a tasting, long life, clean label yogurt with no addition of additives or preservatives.
It's a concept, we believe will fit into the Chinese population's search for natural and -tasting dairy products.
And it's, at the same time, it's a concept that allows the allows the producers of ambient yogurt to tap into the high-end premium yogurt category.
OK, fantastic.
So in your opinion, Alan, then, do you think that clean, clean label dairy products are tapping into the premium dairy dairy space and what is driving this demand?
Yes, absolutely.
We see the focus on clean label using no additives or or preservatives in China is rising.
Because the customers associated with something healthy and food safety plays a major role as.
Customers want to understand what's in the product they consume.
Our concept clean label offers a way our customers can, Differentiate in the, in this ambient category and at the same time tap into the premium segments.
OK, great, and what about the sort of potential then for innovative kind of dairy flavors?
Yeah, our new clean label ambient yogurt solution, it comes in 3 different flavors.
We have made a plain version and then a popular peach version, and then a more innovative green tea flavor.
Of course, all the flavors are natural, but I would say there are no limits for the flavor combination you can do with this kind of products.
Mhm.
And then what, were there any sort of R&D challenges in creating these concepts, and if so, how did you overcome them?
I would say the main challenges have been live up to the demands for long-life ambience through the whole shelf life, meaning you'll need a product that keeps the same texture through the whole shelf life without separation and, and other quality issues.
But we believe we have overcame these issues by making a lot of internal tests in our great pilot lab facilities with our functional protein solutions where we have tried to find a preferred solution that could live up to the demands like heat stability, viscosity, sensory control, but also thanks to a good colla collaboration with our external partners like Ingredient and Christian Hansen who have helped us optimizing on the recipe.
OK, great.
So outside of sort of clean label then, what about the demand for high protein concepts?
Can you give some some insights on whether you're still, you're still seeing a significant interest in protein?
Yes, we still see a great demand and interest for high protein concepts among our customers, and this is all from drinking yards to high protein drinks.
But I would say that focus have changed slightly from just adding and adding and thereby just increasing protein contents to now, to select the protein that contributes the most to secure and protect the health of the human body.
That's a more focused area right now.
OK.
So, what other trends are sort of yogurt concepts tapping into then?
Are there any other overarching themes that we see dominating the industry today?
I would say health and wholesomeness, the demand for healthy natural concept either is due to the protein content and low fat or reduced sugar, and, and more like that.
People want to stay fit and healthy and take good care of themselves.
But food safety and clean labeled products are two major topics when looking into the Chinese dairy market going forward.
And the Chinese population is very concerned about food safety and therefore, we see an increased interest in clean labeled products with a limited ingredients list.
More, we also see that organic would be the nutrient for this region as.
Mhm.
I know you mentioned it, but why is China and more specifically Asia, a, a key target area for you as a company?
There are two main reasons for other foods interest in the Asian market, and one is, of course, the pure size and growth rate of the Asian and especially Chinese market, which makes it very interesting for us.
But, however, the most important is, the obvious match between AFI's capabilities and the desires from the population in Asia.
The quality, the functionality, and the nutritional benefit that we can provide with our product is a perfect match to the lifestyle of the different populations in Asia.
OK, that's great, Alan, thank you very much.
You're welcome.
