The clean label dairy space is one that’s typically had heavy overlap with health and sustainability interests. After all, low/no/reduced fat, allergen- and lactose-free options count among the first products to spearhead the movement towards healthy eating options.

Today, even mainstream consumers are demanding cleaner labels.
In the dairy space, clean label means ingredients that are:

• Familiar: recognizable ingredients with natural origins, non-GMO and free-from or low-in additives
• Healthy: “better-for-you” enabling sugar and fat reduction or allergen-friendly
• Responsible: Eco-friendliness matters—as does traceability and a low carbon footprint. Customers also want their dairy products to be locally sourced, socially responsible and considering animal welfare
   

Delighting dairy consumers together

It’s clear that consumer expectations are high, to say the least. They expect label-friendly dairy to have a similar taste and texture to the products they’ve come to know and love.

But reformulating can be tricky—there are no simple one-to-one substitutions. For example, sugar alone has a huge impact on flavors and textures. The same goes for fat, and adding a plant protein causes a complete shift in taste, flavor and texture.

In spite of this, dairy manufacturers need to innovate and evolve in order to offer their customers the nutritious, label-friendly, healthy and affordable options they’re looking for.  This is where Nutrition & Biosciences can help.

We’ve created a three-stage system for success in reformulating and launching successful label-friendly products - fast:
 

Investigate

All our clean-label work is built on a foundation of consumer insights—from traditional surveys and focus groups, to digital listening. We help identify what clean label means to your customers, and what regulations you need to follow.

Once you’re clear on your clean-label path, we’ll talk you through the benefits and trade-offs in areas such as taste, texture, nutrition, sensory attributes, cost, speed, shelf life, and label implications.
 

Formulate

Through decades of experience working in nearly every facet of the dairy industry, we’ve built up an in-depth knowledge of ingredients, their properties and synergies, as well as their application in industrial processes. But most of all, we know consumers.

We’re a leader in sensory science and have been using our sensory expertise and insight into consumer preferences to help manufacturers reformulate label-friendly dairy with the tastes and textures their target market loves.

Our clean label reformulation toolbox for dairy covers responsible, familiar and “better-for-you” solutions:

• High quality cultures for cheese, fresh dairy and plant-based products
• Enzymes for coagulation or enhancing cheese flavor and freshness, as well as lactose reduction
• Premium probiotics for digestive and immune health benefits
• Fiber with prebiotic properties
• Naturally sourced fermentates and protective cultures to optimize your food protection strategy, reducing spoilage while maintaining taste and texture.
• Plant-sourced lecithin for securing the right mouthfeel, product appearance and extending shelf life.
• Label-friendly hydrocolloids as thickening, gelling and stabilizing agent
• Functional systems or blends of ingredients enabling label-friendly solutions
• Human milk oligosaccharides with multiple documented health benefits relevant in several dairy applications for child and maternal nutrition
• Sweeteners from natural origin for reduced calorie and low glycemic index formulations

Browse our product pages now.

Our global network includes dairy application centers in each region, where we monitor global and local trends. All our centers are equipped with advanced pilot facilities and analytical equipment. This allows you to test new formulations without having to resort to factory-sized yields.

Navigate

Clean-label journeys never really end. We’re here to help you anticipate and respond to changing consumer trends and regulatory guidelines with:

• Ground-breaking quantitative and qualitative studies of consumer preferences.
• Regulatory support to optimize your clean labels.
• Reliable product information, and transparent and sustainable supply chains.

Though it’s new ground for many companies, the journey to clean dairy labels doesn’t need to be bogged down with uncertainty. Nutrition & Biosciences can help you truly delight your customers with the best version of your products.