Lactalis Ingredients’ milk whey powders are rising in consumer popularity due to price competitiveness with skimmed milk powders and increased interest in sports nutrition, according to company experts, who tell FoodIngredientsFirst they “do not see plant-based dairy alternatives as a threat to traditional products.” 

Speaking live from Anuga 2021, Lactalis Ingredients’s sales manager Sibylle Schneider asserts these benefits will not stop a rise in dairy powder ingredients and that the spike in plant-based protein alternatives poses no real threat to traditional dairy ingredients. 

“People are changing recipes to lower their costs and looking to increase protein concentrations for sports nutrition consumers. Every product range is now offering high protein options; for example, we have high protein milk. If you go around all our booths, there is always one high protein offering,” she asserts. 

“We do have products based on vegetable sources, but Lactalis is a dairy company, so this segment will remain small for us. In terms of ingredients, it’s not that relevant.” 

The Lactalis Ingredients booth at Anuga 2021.“We do not see plant-based alternative products as a threat to dairy products. Nobody buys vegan milk powder, and we don’t see this changing in the future. Maybe we do not see it because the general consumption of dairy products is actually increasing, and so we do not see that there is some market share grab by vegan products.” 

“We have not lost business due to this trend,” she says. 

Plant forward 
Lactalis Ingredients stresses that despite the “media hype” surrounding plant-based alternative products seen in the dairy sector, the reality is that the traditional dairy segment is as strong as ever. 

“Despite an impressive percentage increase in plant-based alternatives, it’s still a very niche market,” Schneider explains.

Innova Market Insights highlighted the surge in plant-based consumption, spurred on by dietary concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Listing “Plant Forward,” a top trend for 2021, the market researcher’s Innova Consumer Survey 2020 indicated that the top four reasons for considering plant-based alternatives were health, diet variety, sustainability and taste. 

“On the other hand, we are not sure that plant-based proteins are more sustainable than animal-based production,” says Schneider. Milk whey powder consumption is on the rise as its cheaper and more highly concentrated, according to the company.

Carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from soy production, for example, could be more environmentally harmful than traditional milk, according to 2020 research. 

Quality for a good price
Improving dairy industry production is essential in maintaining milk protein’s market leadership, Schneider continues. However, she emphasizes consumers are often not willing to pay for the quality standards they demand. 

“We are constantly challenged by consumers for higher standards of animal welfare,” she notes. People are becoming more conscious about this, but at the end of the day, customers don’t actually want to pay for this.” 

Very often, progress in this area is initiated by supermarkets for marketing reasons, she says, which has a positive impact on farming standards. 

“What we see is a lot of discussions about regulations, but at the moment, the farmers are blamed for things that are not their fault.” 

Even while the apparent boom in plant-based popularity may pose no real threat to dairy, government regulation has to take action here. 

“If we see that some water bottles are more expensive than milk, we know something is wrong,” Schneider concludes.