Dairy-based ingredients

DFA to pay $50m to settle Northeast US milk price lawsuit

16-Jul-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and its marketing arm Dairy Marketing Services (DMS) have agreed to pay a total of US$50m (€37m) to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged a conspiracy to drive down raw milk prices in the Northeast United States.

Trader Joe's 'purposefully railroaded business relationships', alleges lawsuit

Trader Joe’s move to cut out the middlemen in dairy supply chain left key vendor & broker ‘high and dry’, says lawsuit

11-Jul-2014 By Elaine Watson

Trader Joe’s move to ditch a broker and a vendor it had been working with for years and deal directly with key suppliers of ice cream and other dairy products left the pair “high & dry”, says a lawsuit accusing the retailer of “systematically eliminating...

Unilever sells Slim Fast to private equity firm Kainos Capital for undisclosed sum

11-Jul-2014 By Elaine Watson

Unilever has sold its Slim Fast weight management brand to private equity firm Kainos Capital, but will retain a minority stake in the business. 

FDA satisfied with protocols in Chobani’s Greek yogurt plant post moldy yogurt incident

10-Jul-2014 By Elaine Watson

An FDA inspection of Chobani’s yogurt production facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, conducted after it recalled some products last fall, found “minor” deficiencies in good manufacturing practices (GMPs), but nothing to warrant issuing a ‘483’ letter, the...

Chobani blasts “irresponsible” study on moldy yogurt; authors stand by their paper

08-Jul-2014 By Elaine Watson

Dr Alejandro Mazzotta - the microbiologist heading up food safety at Chobani - says he is disappointed by the publication of a “highly irresponsible” paper in the peer-reviewed journal mBio alleging that the fungal contaminant found in some of its yogurts...

Sports nutrition products for women are a huge area of growth: Marketing guru

01-Jul-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Women, protein blends, and the ‘anti-wasting’ market are all areas of significant opportunity in sports nutrition, says Jeff Hilton, co-founder and CMO of BrandHive.

Starbucks tests new ‘Evolution Fresh Cold-Pressed Juice Smoothie inspired by Dannon’ in San Jose & St Louis

24-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

Starbucks-owned brand Evolution Fresh is test marketing a new range of co-branded smoothies made with cold pressed, high pressure processed juice and Dannon Greek yogurt in 200 Starbucks stores in San Jose and St Louis.

DISPATCHES FROM ZENITH GLOBAL DAIRY CONGRESS

Don't get emotional, enter strategic alliances: Dairy Farmers of America

23-Jun-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Strategic alliances have enabled Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) to overcome the “emotion” that comes with attempting to enter emerging markets such as China.

Macho yogurt, nuts & eco-eating: why there’s still growth in protein

19-Jun-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Growing consumer interest in positive nutrition, demographic shifts, new eating patterns, recent scientific findings, and the recommendations from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans all point to a bright future for protein-rich foods and beverages,...

Dannon launches first new brand since Oikos with Dannon Creamery indulgent dessert range

18-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

Dannon is looking to drive incremental growth to the dairy category with the launch of a new indulgent dessert brand called Dannon Creamery that targets a day-part US yogurt marketers have traditionally struggled to corner: the evening.

Trendspotting from Innova Market Insights

Protein, sugar and hybrid products: Innova teases IFT agenda

17-Jun-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Can anything top protein? What’s a “silver consumer” and why should we care? Would salty caramel work in a soft drink? Innova Market Insights teased a very full agenda of trendwatching presentations at next week’s Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT)...

Arla: 1m tons of acid whey waste could be cut

17-Jun-2014 By Rachel Arthur

Greek yogurt manufacturers in the US could cut acid whey output by a collective 1m tons a year, by using this by-product to make additional dairy foods, claims Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI). 

‘Dairy junk foods’ under fire in report highlighting dramatic shift in dairy consumption patterns

12-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

US dairy consumption patterns “have shifted away from plain fluid milk to highly processed forms of dairy that are little more than vessels for salt, sugar, and fat”, while cash from the dairy checkoff scheme is being used to promote ‘junk foods’ such...

6% of US food & beverage launches made protein claims in year to March 31, says Innova

11-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

Nearly 3% of global food and beverage launches and 6% of US food/bev launches were marketed on a ‘high-protein’ or ‘source-of-protein’ positioning in the year ending March 31, 2014, according to data from Innova Market Insights.

FDA publishes safety-driven infant formula manufacturing final rule

10-Jun-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized a set of manufacturing guidelines designed to ensure infant formula products produced for domestic sale are “safe and support healthy growth.”

Noosa co-founder: Greek yogurt isn’t the only game in town

10-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

While Chobani, Dannon and Yoplait have been battling for supremacy in the US yogurt market (and at halftime at the Super Bowl), another equally ambitious player has recently emerged from the leftfield and served as a reminder that Greek isn’t the only...

Who owns How (and does it Matter)? Chobani on trademark lawsuit: ‘This is all a bit silly’

07-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

Becoming a target of opportunistic lawsuits is the price you pay for being successful, says Chobani’s marketing boss, who says he is “baffled” by a complaint filed by Dov Seidman accusing the yogurt firm of infringing his trademarks with its ‘How Matters’...

Chobani unveils new organizational, operational structure - lays off some temporary workers

06-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

Chobani is laying off a small but undisclosed number of temporary workers at plants in Twin Falls, Idaho and South Edmeston, New York as it harmonizes production between the two facilities after a labor-intensive ramp-up phase, and moves to new shift...

US hospital infant formula sample giveaways 'not violation of WHO Code'

03-Jun-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

The International Formula Council (IFC) has dismissed claims that the US practice of providing free hospital discharge bags containing samples of infant formula is in violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

The changing American diet, 1999-2012: ERS data shows steady decline in consumption of ice cream and corn-based sweeteners

03-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

While data showing that fluid milk consumption has continued to fall in the past 15 years probably won’t shock many readers, they may be more surprised to learn that consumption of caloric sweeteners and ice cream has also dropped substantially since...

NDC slams science behind resurfaced PETA Got Autism? campaign

02-Jun-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

The National Dairy Council (NDC) has rubbished the science behind a resurfaced People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign linking dairy consumption to autism.

Pulling back the lid on the Greek yogurt trend

Dannon: There's almost nowhere Greek yogurt can't go

27-May-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Greek yogurt has long been edging its way beyond the refrigerated aisles and into everything from coated snacks to bars, to baking chips and frozen yogurt. With that, the competitive landscape has grown increasingly crowded, with big names including Chobani,...

USP: Food fraud should get its own class

23-May-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) submitted a public comment letter to the FDA urging it to revisit its strategy for addressing economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of food ingredients, noting that the current framework doesn’t sufficiently address...

Startup uses bioinformatics to pry open the power of waste peptides

16-May-2014 By Hank Schultz

“I am large, I contain multitudes,” poet Walt Whitman famously observed. He could have been talking about the potentially valuable proteins that are lost daily in the waste streams of ingredient operations for want of knowing what they are and what they...

US COMMODITIES CORNER

US dairy industry has 'discovered the power of exports'

08-May-2014 By John Geuss

Now the world's largest exporter of nonfat dry milk (NDM) and skim milk powder (SMP), it is fair to say the US has discovered "the power of exports," says DairyReporter.com's US commodities expert John Geuss. 

Gravity-free probiotics

Space…The final frontier for Yakult probiotics? 6-year study confirmed

22-Apr-2014 By Shane STARLING

Probiotic pioneer Yakult’s little bottles are to feature in a 6-year, gravity-free study at the International Space Station (ISS).

Chobani takes on oatmeal, ice cream and snacks with new summer launches

18-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Chobani has unveiled a raft of new products that will start hitting shelves this summer, including Chobani Oats - yogurt mixed with fruit and oats; Chobani Indulgent - its first desserts; and Chobani Kids - snack packs for kids.

Chobani generates explosive growth in Australia, unveils aggressive expansion plans in Asia, Latin America

16-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Chobani has increased its Australian production from 25,000 cases a week to 25,000 cases a day in the past year, becoming the second best-selling yogurt brand in the nation’s top supermarket chain Woolworths, and announced ambitious expansion plans in...

Protein experts slam ‘biased and flawed’ study linking protein to increased cancer mortality

07-Apr-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

A recent study linking protein intake to an increased risk of cancer death could have detrimental public health implications for adults seeking to maintain muscle health and avoid sarcopenia, says a group of leading protein experts.

Balchem expands specialized ingredients empire with $567m deal to acquire SensoryEffects

03-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Microencapsulation expert Balchem Corporation has unveiled plans to acquire spray-dried ingredients specialist SensoryEffects (Performance Chemicals & Ingredients Company) in a $567m mega-deal it claims will create “one of the most comprehensive food...

AHPA's new protein guidance addresses issue that has been percolating for years

03-Apr-2014 By Hank Schultz

The American Herbal Products Association has set a new policy for how member companies ought to calculate the amount of protein in their products to deal with a situation in which the amount of protein has potentially been overreported in some products...

More than half of US adults say they want more protein in their diets, says NPD Group

03-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

More than half of Americans say they want more protein in their diets, while the percentage that claim to look for protein on the Nutrition Facts panel has increased from 20% in 2009 to 25% in 2013, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Dannon teams up with Partnership for a Healthier America to boost nutrition profile of its yogurt

14-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Dannon has pledged to boost the nutrition profile of its products after striking a deal with non-profit The Partnership for a Healthier America.

Senators object to EU claim on cheese names

14-Mar-2014 By Rachel Arthur

US senators have objected to an ‘absurd’ European initiative to protect local cheese names, which would force changes to common names in the States.

Chobani Simply 100 Greek yogurt snags 1.3% share of US yogurt market just six weeks after launch

12-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

New data from Nielsen reveals that Chobani’s Simply 100 Greek yogurt already has a 1.3% dollar share of all refrigerated yogurt, just six weeks after its national launch, with distribution still cranking up.

Chobani to launch organic Greek yogurt: ‘There was a gap in the market and we decided to act on it’

08-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Chobani will make its first foray into the organic market later this year with the introduction of 32oz grass-fed multi-serve packs of its Greek yogurt.

GMO Inside calls on Starbucks to source organic milk from cows not fed GM feed

05-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Activist group GMO Inside has turned its attention towards Starbucks in the latest phase of its campaign to persuade big brands to move away from GMOs.

Chobani donates blocked Sochi Olympics shipment to food banks

14-Feb-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Chobani has donated more than 5,000 pots of Greek yogurt originally intended for US athletes at the Winter Olympics in Sochi to food banks in New York and New Jersey.

60-second interview: Barb Yehling, Chief Marketing Officer, Muller Quaker Dairy

In conversation with Muller Quaker Dairy as Müller brand approaches $100m in US: 'Yogurt should be fun'

10-Feb-2014 By Elaine Watson

"Until now, Americans have been eating yogurt more because they ought to instead of because they want to," claims Barb Yehling, chief marketing officer at Muller Quaker Dairy (MQD) the joint venture between PepsiCo and Theo Müller Group.  In...

Dairy Farmers of America acquires Oakhurst Dairy

04-Feb-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the largest dairy cooperative in the US, has acquired Oakhurst Dairy, a family-owned, New England dairy processor, for an undisclosed sum.

LIVE FROM DAIRY FORUM 2014

The new got milk? MilkPEP unveils ‘next 20 year campaign’

03-Feb-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), the organization behind the famous got milk? campaign, has unveiled two new national marketing programs, including one it believes will become its “next 20 year campaign.”

Greek yogurt waste 'acid whey' a concern for USDA: Jones Laffin

30-Jan-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Greek yogurt byproduct acid whey has become a significant concern for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), says a company tasked by the agency to complete the development of technology to alleviate the issue.

Special Edition: Plant-based diets

Beyond meat substitutes: What’s hot in vegetarian food?

30-Jan-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Vegetarians aren’t necessarily looking for alternative proteins or meat analogues, and makers of meat-free meals are embracing a range of trendy flavours and ingredients, says Classic Cuisine’s new product development manager Paul Hunt.

Calcium absorption theory 'insufficient' to explain milk tolerance: Study

23-Jan-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

Analysis of DNA data from the 5,000-year old skeletal remains of eight Iberian farmers suggests that the widely cited theory of calcium absorption was not the only reason Europeans evolved a tolerance for milk.

Savory yogurt gamble pays off for Blue Hill: ‘We didn’t want to bring out another Greek or fruit yogurt; we wanted to be different’

20-Jan-2014 By Elaine WATSON

With every man and his dog bringing out a Greek yogurt to cash in on the sector’s meteoric growth, Blue Hill president David Barber wanted to do something a bit different, and three months after launching his savory yogurts on an unsuspecting market,...

Hilmar moves into milk powders market with $75-100m investment in Turlock, CA

17-Jan-2014 By Elaine WATSON

California-based cheese, whey and lactose maker Hilmar Cheese Company has unveiled plans to move into the milk powders market with a new processing facility in Turlock, CA - its third manufacturing site.

USP proposes monograph on specific bacillus coagulans probiotic strain

10-Jan-2014 By Hank Schultz

For the first time, the United States Pharmacopoeia is proposing a monograph on a probiotic organism as a food ingredient in the latest series of draft monographs put forward for inclusion in the Food Chemicals Codex.

Dean Foods, DFA facing alleged 'conspiracy not to compete' lawsuit

07-Jan-2014 By Mark ASTLEY

A dismissed antitrust lawsuit alleging a “conspiracy not to compete” between Dean Foods, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and National Dairy Holdings (NDH) has been reinstated by a US federal appeals court.

Land O’Lakes dairy seasoning targets Tex-Mex trend

18-Dec-2013

Land O’Lakes has launched a cheese-based seasoning that it says is a perfect fusion for the popular Tex-Mex flavor profile.

Euromonitor beverage industry outlook: Declines in carbonates, the promise of 'natural' and the war on caffeine

16-Dec-2013 By Maggie Hennessy

From declining interest in soft drinks to the ongoing war on caffeine and the explosion of raw juices and functional beverages, 2013 has certainly been an eventful one for the beverage category. Count on another strong year for premium juices, coconut...