Spanish dairy launches Arab milk

Spanish dairy co-op Feiraco has launched a range of fermented milk products specifically targeted at Spain's Muslim community, tapping into a relatively neglected niche market.

Feiraco said its new brand, called Laban and based on native dairy products from Lebanon, had a high nutritional value and a beneficial effect on gastrointestinal health.

The move shows how Western European food companies may find lucrative pockets of untapped sales potential by reaching out to the region's growing number of ethnic minorities.

Feiraco said its Laban range was an essential part of peoples' diets in Arab countries. It has taken the firm two years to develop the products, working with the University of Santiago and leading dairy cultures group Chr Hansen.

"The process of immigration can be full of obstacles, however it also holds a vast number of business opportunities," said Chr Hansen, which supplied Feiraco with its CHN-22 cultures.

Estimates of the Muslim population in Spain range from 700,000 to one million, meaning Muslims make up around two per cent of the total population. Islam is considered to be Europe's fastest growing religion.