At Health Ingredients Europe 2018, FrieslandCampina Ingredients’ marketing director Mai Nygaard spoke with FoodBev’s Martin White about the company’s new protein solutions, and she claimed that the demands of lifestyle consumers are becoming an increasingly important factor for the company.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients’ main focus at the show was based around two new protein ingredients, Micelate Prestige – showcased in an ultra-high protein shot – and Nutri Whey Isolate Clear – demonstrated through two clear protein water concepts.
Micelate Prestige is a micellar casein isolate extracted directly from milk through microfiltration, which results in a 95:5 casein: whey ratio, and FrieslandCampina claims this makes it the “purest micellar casein available.”
Meanwhile, the Nutri Whey Isolate Clear ingredient is a high-quality, low-lactose whey isolate suitable for the creation of high-protein premium waters, delivering a good-tasting, convenient and nutritious product to increasingly health-conscious consumers.
Indeed, Nygaard told FoodBev that the needs of lifestyle consumers were proving increasingly important for the company, claiming that lifestyle consumers represented the ‘biggest opportunity’ in the protein market.
“Lately we’ve focused a lot on reaching the mainstream consumer, and for that we’ve developed the new concepts that are based on new ingredients in the dairy protein area.
“So basically what we’re doing is speaking to both professional athletes, but also to consumers such as millennials and we’re asking them what would you like to see for your protein nutrition.
“One of the key messages we’ve got was demand for more natural, minimally processed products, so there’s really a concern about the processing that goes into creating products, and based on that we developed Micelate Prestige.”
When asked whether the protein trend had shifted towards lifestyle consumers from athletes, Nygaard said: “I think it’s an and, as you still have the hardcore athletes and they’re still seeking natural proteins and variety in how they consume it, but I think that the biggest opportunity is definitely with the lifestyle consumer.
“We see a lot of that with ‘weekend warrior’ wanting to effectively recover, but it’s also a part of having more protein in your diet and having a more healthy lifestyle.
“But there, taste always has to be number one. You’re only going to re-buy a product if you actually like the taste, so we put a lot of emphasis on taste but also on the quality of our proteins.”
Presented and edited by: Martin White
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