80% of European consumers declare to consume dairy on a daily basis, with taste, naturalness & health listed as the top three reasons to maintain their dairy consumption.* However, there is a growing appeal for alternatives to dairy too, particularly among more sustainability minded consumers or requirements for household members’ diets. This is opening up opportunities to take a hybrid route or add full plant-based to a dairy manufacturers’ product offering.
Combing portfolio & expertise for your success
Cargill’s Food Solutions offers all the solutions required for a successful dairy application (except for the dairy ingredients themselves!). Our portfolio encompasses oils & fats, plant-based proteins, texturizers, starches, functional systems, cocoa powders, and sweeteners. Furthermore, our expertise through insights, sensory capabilities and applications development means that we are there to help deliver “Dairy joy for everyone!” So at our R&D facilities in Baupte (France), and Vilvoorde (Belgium), we’ve got dedicated applications teams in place, as well as pilot plant lines for all dairy subcategories.
All of this together means that whether our customers are looking to achieve premium indulgence, cost optimization, more sustainable solutions, label-friendliness, reduced sugars, reduced fat, protein & fiber enrichment, Nutri-Score improvement, or considering going plant-based, they can tap into our reliable, dedicated and future-focused support.
Stepping up to the dairy application challenge
To show what’s possible, we decided to step up to the challenge by combining our solutions and expertise to enable our customers to address today’s hurdles by inspiring them with on-trend concepts. That’s why our experts created nine prototypes that are targeted at different consumer profiles. They’re all made by fusing solutions from Cargill’s unparalleled portfolio together with our expertise.
Let’s look at three of them that are particularly suitable for younger consumer groups:
Despite 24% of European consumers indicating that they would not consider 100% plant-based alternatives, 50% state that they want to incorporate more sustainable foods with a reduced carbon footprint into their diets.**
In response, our product developers created a recipe that combines the best of the dairy & plant-based worlds in terms of nutrition, taste, and the environment. By combining milk, cream, pea proteins, and vegetable fat together, it focuses on the needs of consumers wishing to balance their animal- vs. plant-based intake.
Through a combination of label-friendly UniPECTINE® pectin and Trilisse® (a functional texturizing starch system), this hybrid creamy chocolate dessert offers an indulgent mouthfeel and shiny appearance, without syneresis. The concept enables a consumer to enjoy an indulgent dairy product, but also makes conscious choices for the products they buy.
Plant-based alternative to stirred yogurt
35% of European consumers indicate to purchase plant-based alternatives to yogurt “because they taste good.”*** 43% of European consumers mainly increased the consumption of alternatives to dairy yogurts “because they are healthy.”*** Furthermore, a quarter of European consumers agree with the statement “consuming plant-based alternatives is one of my main ways of staying ‘sustainable’.”***
Stirred yogurt is an all-time classic product that consumers really enjoy. However, meeting the demands of these health & planet conscious consumers requires the development of delicious plant-based products that mimic the dairy stirred yogurt texture and mouthfeel as well as possible.
Our product developers duly responded by creating this plant-based alternative to stirred yogurt. It owes its smooth texture to its’ label-friendly ingredients SimPure® (functional waxy corn starch) and WavePure® (a seaweed powder based on native seaweed).
Mango flavored alternative to drinkable yogurt
35% of European consumers indicate that their key reason for purchasing non-dairy drinkable yogurt is “taste.”** Younger consumers (Millennials/Gen Z) are seeking solutions that are convenient and which can be consumed on-the-go. This demographic also seems to be more actively limiting their intake of lactose (18%) and gluten (17%), when compared to Boomers and Gen X consumers.** Of the newly launched non-dairy yogurts in Europe (2023-2024), 52% carries a protein claim.***
To meet this demand, our experts developed a flavored plant-based alternative to drinkable yogurt that can help provide a feeling of indulgence and satiety. Furthermore, in some instances it can be a solution for lactose intolerant consumers trying to conveniently fulfill their nutritional requirements, while still enjoying drinkable products on the go. The vegan concept delivers an indulgent experience, while staying close tothe nutritional standards of thedairy market references. A “source of protein” claim is achieved thanks to RadiPure® pea protein. Combined with the low level of saturated fat by using sunflower oil makes this a winning plant-based concept.
Dairy joy for everyone across the board
These are just three examples of how we are delivering dairy joy for everyone. Check out what else our experts have been working on:
- Hybrid alternative to yogurt
- Label-friendly creamy vanilla dessert
- Hybrid alternative to Greek-style yogurt
- Sugar reduced Greek style fruited yogurt
- Stevia sweetened cocoa milk
On-trend solutions to help you succeed
Taken as a whole, this broad selection of prototypes demonstrates several ways in which we can help our customers succeed:
- Overcoming market volatility: Mitigate high ingredient prices by leveraging our broad portfolio of cost competitive solutions which are plant-based by nature.
- Optimize animal/plant-based composition: Create nutritionally balanced hybrid products that strive to deliver towards sustainability and efficiency needs.
- Sensory optimization: Build back texture & mouthfeel through our on-trend solutions.
In other words, whether you’re a product developer being challenged to create a label-friendly & indulgent dessert, a procurement manager who needs to ensure a reliable supply of high-quality ingredients, or a marketing manager who needs to meet consumer expectations for both plant-based, sustainable choices, without compromise, we’re here to bring joy for you!
Our team of passionate experts are excited to explore co-creation opportunities with you.
For more information: Dairy joy for everyone! | Food Solutions Europe | Cargill
*Innova Market Insights, Meat, Dairy & Alternative Protein Survey, 2024
**Innova Market Insights category survey, 2024
***Innova Market Insights consumer insights dairy & non-dairy, 2024
