Flavored milk drinks

The flavored milk drinks arena is witnessing somewhat of a revival after the Covid slump that hit most of the food & beverage sector in previous years.

Traditionally a staple in many households – these – often chocolate-flavored – milk drinks are purchased for affordability and taste, while still delivering some of that “goodness” that the broader dairy category is known for.

While the category has jumped aboard the protein bandwagon, and fat & sugars content is being reduced, the revival is especially happening through sensorial innovation.

Some key statistics on flavored milk drinks, indicating room for growth:

Europe represents only 10% of global flavored milk drinks volumes.¹
Germany and the UK are the Top 2 markets.¹
1.2% CAGR til 2030* (dairy only flavored milk drinks).
+19% growth in product launches.²
Cost is the number one product attribute influencing purchase.³

The flavored milks market has witnessed a strong growth in new product launches over the last 3 years. These products are especially positioned around ethics & sustainability, active & passive health, and other premium positionings such as seasonal/limited editions, and co-branding.

A “flavored milk drinks” definition

The flavored milk drinks category includes cocoa milks and flavored dairy milks:

Cocoa milks are sweetened milks containing various amounts of chocolate and/or cocoa powder and that are stabilized to varying degrees depending on regional/local preference.
Flavored dairy milks are sweetened and flavored milks e.g. strawberry or banana flavor. A small portion of these are flavored through the inclusion of fruit juices.

Out of scope for the “flavored milk drinks” sector are recombined chocolate dairy drinks. These are products that are sweetened with cocoa but made with milk ingredients instead of liquid milk.

Key challenges

The key challenges manufacturers face in creating delightful flavored milk drinks can be summarized as four-fold.

1. Stabilize emulsion at low viscosity
2. Limit particles sedimentation (i.e. cocoa)
3. Enhance body/mouthfeel
4. Bring indulgence (taste & intensity of flavor, sweetness, color, mouthfeel)

The good news is that in Cargill you can find a one-stop-shop to address all these challenges.

Solutions

With these star ingredients as core building blocks, Cargill experts can help you design the most suitable solution for the type of drink and texture you’re creating.

Cargill offers a broad range of texturizers, sweeteners and cocoa powders that are tailored to the sub-application and processing conditions.

Cocoa powder

In neutral dairy drinks, cocoa powders bring indulgence through taste, color & mouthfeel, and the desired intensity of flavor.

Our Gerkens® cocoa powders offer endless possibilities to achieve alluring colors, stand-out signature tastes, different fat options, and consistency.

For example, Gerkens^® Sweety SRB 200 helps to reduce sugar by up to 30% thanks to its mild flavor profile and strong creaminess. This solution won the FiE Sensory Innovation Award 2022. It’s a real testament to our expertise in spotlighting the role that cocoa can play in natural sugar reduction while keeping sensory delight front and center.

Carrageenan & seaweed derivatives

Carrageenan is an attractive cost-in-use texturizing solution with thickening and stabilizing properties for neutral dairy products. This is thanks to its strong synergy with proteins.

WavePure^® is our latest innovation. This label-friendly, unique ingredient based on seaweed that can be labeled⁴ as “(Red) Gracilaria Seaweed Powder” or “(Whole) Gracilaria Seaweed” can contribute to mouthfeel without impact on the indulgence. And at a low dosage, ABN 8140 – designed for use in protein drinks based on dairy or plant-based ingredients – offers suspending and stabilizing properties that help to prevent phase separation over the course of the product’s shelf-life.

Stevia sweetener

Stevia is used in dairy drinks that are minimally 30% calorie reduced for its ability to sweeten drinks and offer manufacturers a nature-derived solution to reduce sugars.

EverSweet^®^* is our next-generation stevia sweetener produced by fermentation, that helps to deliver a sweet taste with minimal off-notes. It enables deeper sugar reduction than previously possible with leaf-based stevia sweeteners.

*EverSweet® is a product of Avansya, a joint venture between Cargill and dsm-firmenich.

Insights and technical background

Insights Report: The state of flavored milk drinks

Discover your next opportunity for growth by exploring insights into the flavored dairy drinks market, consumer preferences and how Cargill can help you innovate for balanced yet indulgent success.

Technical white paper: Creating delightful cocoa milk drinks

Overcome formulation challenges and design cocoa drinks for permissible indulgence, by leveraging our expertise and ingredient solutions such as stabilizers, stevia sweeteners and our vast range of cocoa powders.

Applications: Delivering dairy joy for everyone!

Stevia sweetened cocoa milk

Sugar reduction achieved using Gerkens^® Sweety (a mild cocoa powder low in bitterness) and EverSweet^®* (steviol glycosides from fermentation) to allow for deeper sugar reduction while delivering desired sweetness.

CHECK OUT THIS SOLUTION

*EverSweet® is a product of Avansya, a joint venture between Cargill and dsm-firmenich.

Dairy Joy for Everyone!