Can functional dairy beverages thrive on the ‘dusty shelf’?

Functional shelf-stable dairy could be a billion-dollar market in just a few years, with RTD beverages poised to take off first. This was predicted by the CEO of Irish foodtech specialist AnaBio Technologies in March 2023.

At the time, the company told us​ its microencapsulation technology could pave the way for a new product category: probiotic-enriched, long-life dairy. Typically, functional dairy products that contain added probiotics or vitamins need to be placed in the fridge to protect the bioactive ingredients’ viability; there are also processing challenges whereby probiotics can’t be added until after the UHT stage for the same reason, in turn creating potential for safety issues. But if encapsulated, probiotics can survive high-temperature processing.

Meanwhile, the market potential of ambient, functional beverages is significant, we were also told, with probiotic beverages a tiny fraction of the entire beverage market currently and poised for expansion if the category can exist outside the fridge aisles. Other benefits include improved sustainability as no energy is required for cooling during distribution and storage.

In September 2023, AnaBio and packaging manufacturer SIG released​ a probiotic-enriched drinking yogurt concept. Julia Trebels, SIG’s category & consumer insight manager, told us the firm devoted about a year to develop a filling technology that ensures a homogeneous suspension of probiotic cells per pack.

Now, one manufacturer has taken this concept and brought it to life.

Buttermilk with a twist

India’s MilkyMist recently introduced the first long-life probiotic buttermilk in aseptic carton packs. According to the announcement, AnaBio’s encapsulation protects the probiotics with a protein coating, ensuring they withstand high-temp processing and remain stable throughout the product’s shelf life.

Once consumed, enzymes naturally present in the intestine break down the protein coat, releasing the probiotics to colonize the intestine and deliver their gut and immune health benefits, the Irish company said.

And by eliminating refrigeration requirements, MilkyMist can distribute its probiotic beverages more widely and at lower costs, making healthy nutritious products more accessible.

The development has been described as ‘ground-breaking’ but there’s another angle: would consumers pick up functional dairy from the so-called dusty UHT shelf?

The issue with consumer trust

Even in a well-established category such as milk, a degree of confusion continues to exist among some consumers about long-life and fresh products. According to research into consumer perceptions towards packaged milk in Turkey, UHT milk was the preferred type of milk for just under a quarter of consumers. The majority of those surveyed (52%) also thought the composition of both UHT and pasteurized fresh milk is affected during processing, suggesting that even well-established food processing methods may be unfamiliar to mainstream consumers.

Academic research has also concluded that lack of knowledge among consumers regarding innovative and emerging food technologies can serve as a barrier to acceptance, with Guerrero et al. discovering that “consumers are open to packaging and convenience-oriented innovations, on the condition that they do not modify the fundamental intrinsic characteristics of the product.” In addition, Vanhonacker et al. found that Europeans welcome innovations that highlight the origin of traditional foods and improve their shelf-life, but reject innovations that may affect the sensory properties of the product. [See 'sources' below for more information on these studies]

Still, in many European countries, UHT milk is the norm. In the US, however, consumers have long associated milk and dairy with the refrigerated aisles – a trend that prompted makers of plant-based milk alternatives to bring their products closer to or inside the fridge.

But in markets such as India, China, Africa, South America and the Middle East, where cold-chain distribution isn’t as well-developed or affordable to establish, ambient dairy has greater potential to thrive.

For example, ambient yogurt is already well-received by consumers of all ages in China, according to research by packaging major TetraPak; so much so that the Swedish company introduced the concept in Brazil in 2019.

But since UHT processing destroys probiotic bacteria in fermented dairy, encapsulation may hold greater potential for manufacturers looking to produce both shelf-stable and probiotic-enhanced yogurt beverages in those markets - with the added benefit that consumers there may already be more open to the emerging category.

Sources:

Consumers’ Perception and Attitudes toward Packaged Milk in Turkey—A Descriptive StudyIraz Haspolat Kaya
Ankara University Institute of Biotechnology, Ankara, Turkey.
DOI: 10.4236/fns.2016.76042

Guerrero, L., Guardia, M.D., Xicola, J., Verbeke, W., Vanhonacker, F. and Zakowska-Biemans, S. (2009) Consumer- Driven Definition of Traditional Food Products and Innovation in Traditional Foods. A Qualitative Cross-Cultural Study. Appetite, 52, 345-354.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.11.008​

Vanhonacker, F., Lengard, V., Hersleth, M. and Verbeke, W. (2010) Profiling European Traditional Food Consumers. British Food Journal, 112, 871-886.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070701011067479​