1-2-Taste Talks Food Ingredients: Dairy - Challenges & Opportunities in Dairy. In this series of podcasts, 1-2-Taste’s Jasper Schouten speaks with ingredients suppliers about market trends, product innovation, best practices, supplier challenges, and more.

Dairy products have been part of the human experience for thousands of years. In this industry you might think that everything that can be done, has been done. But obviously that’s not the case! I spoke with Floris Combes of NeonWhale, Shari de Wit of SVZ, Steve Baxter of HE Stringer Flavours, Gerrit van Santen of Wollenhaupt Vanilla, and Pieter Schulting of JS COCOA, about how dairy companies can use innovation to differentiate themselves in this challenging market space.

Consumers today are looking for ‘sustainability’ and ‘health’ when they make choices about what foods to buy. Luckily, these are areas where the dairy industry can shine, especially with a little bit of innovation. Plant-based alternatives such as vegan cheeses or ice creams, for example, are raising a lot of interest. And the trend for Clean Label products (using fewer ‘undesirable’ ingredients) gives you the potential to make even traditional dairy products ‘new’.

But to create, produce and launch a hit dairy product – whether milk-based or plant-based – you need the right ingredients, ideas and expertise as well as the right ingredient suppliers: For example,  

1. Did you know a new black cocoa powder has been developed using less than 7% alkali?
2. You can give your product that lovely dark chocolate colour, in a more Clean Label product.
3. Or that nearly 100% of Bourbon vanilla is produced in Madagascar and Comoros, making supply quite vulnerable?
4. So, ask yourself whether you want to ‘lock yourself in’ to a single source by specifying ‘Bourbon vanilla’ for your product.

This is the kind of practical insights the ingredient suppliers on 1-2-Taste can share with you, to help your product stand out. I sat down with five suppliers in our podcast, who revealed some key elements you should consider when developing a new dairy product.

In this podcast, Jasper and the suppliers discuss the SME dairy’s journey to a successful new product, following five steps: 

1. . Developing the concept 
2. Creating a winning protype
3. Going to market
4. Getting the best supplier contracts
5. Ensuring a robust supply chain

1-2-Taste can help you overcome your supply challenges, with a wide portfolio of ingredients; transparent, competitive pricing; an interface that makes it easy to find suppliers and order; minimal order quantities; and technical product development support.