PLANT BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES 2022
January/February 2022 ¦ international-dairy.com · 21
Savvy about sedimentation
Creating a beverage, yoghurt or ice cream without
using dairy can be a complex process. The wide range
of protein sources and raw materials available, and
differences in manufacturing processes, mean texture
and creaminess can vary dramatically.
Connected to this is the issue of sedimentation,
an issue high on the consumer radar (70%). When
asked, consumers how they think plant-based beverages
could be improved, “reducing the amount of
sedimentation” was highlighted as their top priority.
This visible separation of liquids and particles
within the beverage can be off-putting for consumers,
especially those buying into the market for the
first time. It can also influence the taste and mouthfeel
of a product.
Spotlight on shelf-life
A total of 5.5% of consumers were not happy with the
amount of time plant-based milks could be used after
opening. If we consider that 51.1% like to consume
these products as a substitute for milk in their teas
and coffees (and therefore will only be using a small
amount at a time), this is clearly an area where manufacturers
should be looking to make improvements.
Texture and creaminess
When asked to choose the top three ‘areas for improvement’,
texture was chosen by 32% and creaminess
by 29% of respondents.
A useful contrast can be drawn with attitudes
to taste. If we take plant-based frozen desserts for
example, 91.7% of survey respondents said they are
happy or ‘very happy’ with the taste of existing products
on the market. When asked what they thought
about the creaminess or texture of these ice-cream
alternatives, however, the figures dropped a little,
to 82.5% and 88.8% respectively, indicating there is
room for improvement here.
Zoning in on those who said they were unhappy,
the area where this is most noticeable is creaminess.
If we look first at plant-based yoghurts, 2% said they
were not happy with the creaminess of plant-based
yoghurts, compared with just 1.1% who were unhappy
with the taste.
Perfecting dairy-free yoghurts
The survey also indicated water separation within
plant-based yoghurts as a point of concern. More
than seven in ten respondents (71.8%) said they had
noticed water on the surface of their plant-based
yoghurt products.
This is another area where Palsgaard has expertise.
Clean-label stabiliser blends can help to minimize
this effect, thereby improving the visual quality
– and the mouthfeel – of the plant-based yoghurt
once opened.
A range of solutions for plant-based
The plant-based market is thriving, but it is still relatively
new and therefore manufacturers are continuously
learning about the challenges raw materials
can present when creating alternatives to dairy.
Palsgaard can help with these challenges and assist
manufacturers in developing products tailored
for their particular markets.
Palsgaard has six global Application Centres, and
several start-up tried-and-tested recipes can be
shared.
The full report is available for download via www.
palsgaard.com/plant-based-potential
1 Nielsen MarketTrack, Sept/Oct 2018 to 2020
2 Allied Market Research, June 2020
3 Kantar, year to January 2020
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