Show-stoppers from SIAL: What caught our eye in the Dairy Hall
Clay-aged cheese from L'Antica Cascina
What allows cheese to age safely while also speeding up the maturation process and acting as a unique packaging solution? According to Forli-based Italian cheese company L'Antica Cascina Srl, the answer is clay.
“We decided to try this technique – which hails from Sardinia - as a way to preserve cheese when our city, Forli, got flooded,” said the company’s Simone Gazzoni. “The clay naturally drains the moisture out of the cheese while allowing it to mature inside – we also add hay twigs or olive leaves that add flavor to the cheese and speed up the fermentation.”
On show were three types of matured pecorino (all part of a new range the company calls ‘sei di coccio’, or ‘made of clay’ when translated from Italian) – a one, two and three-month aged cheeses, each with a drier, crumblier and sweeter flavor profile based on the maturation. The company also offered DairyReporter to ‘break’ the terracotta encasement of a 5-month aged pecorino – see how that went in the video below. And the entire process was being demonstrated at the booth.
Besides speedier maturation – pecorino is typically between 8-12 months traditionally – giving its cheese the terracotta treatment has certain storage benefits. “You don’t need to put it in a fridge and this means it can be displayed in places other than the dairy aisle or the deli section,” the company’s Simone Gazzoni told us. Merchants can also leverage the unusual ‘packaging’ to display the cheese in-store before they need to crack a wheel open and place it in the refrigerator.
Kri Kri’s high-protein ice cream
Packing in 7.5g of protein per 100g, Greece dairy major Kri Kri is adding a high-protein ice cream to its Super Spoon range of high-protein dairy products. Available in Chocolate and Peanut butter flavors, the ice cream also carries zero added sugars and high in fiber claims.
“Let’s say it’s a healthier option for those who want to consume extra protein with their dessert,” the company’s Vangelis Fekas told us. But with 139 calories and 6g of fat per 100g, the company isn’t positioning the product as a low-cal alternative to traditional ice cream.
“We’re talking about ice cream at the end of the day – you must give the consumer something that will be nice and tasteful. If you mix all the elements within one product – make it all about low-fat, low-sugar and low calories – most probably the consumer won’t like that. You have to find the correct balance.”
Kri Kri claims to be the only company that’s offering high-protein ice cream in Greece – and the company is gearing towards launching the product in 320g cups in the UK market ‘soon’.
Bel Group’s reformulated Nurishh range of plant-based dairy alternatives
Launching at SIAL Paris 2024, Bel’s plant-based dairy alternatives brand Nurishh had set up a ‘restaurant’ on the company’s booth to demo the various ways in which the reformulated range of products could work in sweet and savoury recipes (including pizza, as shown above). Sylvain Marchesson, the Out of Home Business Unit Director for Bel UK, told DairyReporter that the new recipes were finalized 6 months ago and the company is confident it has ‘best in class’ products in terms of meltability and taste; keep an eye out for our write-up on Nurishh’s strategy in the foodservice space, coming out early next week.
Mlekpol's high-protein UHT milk
Tapping into both the high-protein and low-lactose trend, Polish dairy major Mlekpol has released two new UHT milk SKUs under its Łaciate brand. The standard version (pictured above, right) has a 5-month shelf life and 1% fat and both SKUs have been on the Polish market for around two months now, we were told. Both products contain 20g of protein per glass of milk (250ml) or 8g per 100ml and 80g of protein per carton.
Yogoody Shakes
Portuguese maker of powder-based dairy shake Yogoody claims it’s created a solution that challenges the functional drinking yogurt category while providing a clean-label alternative to powdered shakes for health-conscious consumers.
Yogoody’s Shake doesn’t major on high-protein protein claims; rather, it focuses on gut health by packing 7 probiotic strains, natural flavors and colors, oat fiber and skimmed and fermented milk powder. The probiotics become ‘live’ once the product is prepared with water and contribute to the growth of other beneficial bacteria in the gut, we were told. Due to the clean-label nature of the product, shelf life is limited to 1 year.
“Our focus is clean label,” the company’s Helena Ferreira told us. “It’s difficult [to achieve in a powdered product] but we have done it; adding preservatives can increase shelf life, but we made a conscious decision to keep ours at just 1 year.”
There are also perception barriers linked with ultra-processing when it comes to powdered products; but this is changing, as the company’s brand manager Andreea Mihaescu told us. “Consumers are starting to be more interested in the nutritional properties of this product and they are starting to learn and understand the processes that take place and why. So there’s a combination of health consciousness and the need for nutrition but also sustainability.” The sustainable aspect here is linked with the lack of refrigeration needed and the product being much lighter to transport than water-based shakes.
The main application is shakes but also culinary uses – the company told us they have a recipe for functional pancakes where the shake substitutes milk, for example.
Yogoody first launched the Shake range in 2023 but has since improved branding to better articulate the product's applications. The company is selling the powdered yogurt both D2C and through retail as well as in pharmacies and vending machines. Yogoody’s main market is Portugal but the company also sells the range in the UK (via Amazon), Venezuela, and Angola (in pharmacies, as a solution that improves digestion).
