Expert insights into bakery industry trends – nutritional awareness, natural ingredients and premium taste

Enhancing bake color with milk powders

“A lesser-known benefit of Valio’s specialty powders is their performance during baking. Using milk powders in recipes can achieve a desirable golden-brown color more quickly, allowing for reduced baking times and lower temperatures. This method also helps the product retain moisture and remain tender and flavorful, potentially leading to cost savings”, Parviainen continues.

Health and well-being call for nutritious solutions

In addition to the improved taste, bakery products can also address the growing awareness of wellness and digestive health.

Valio’s solutions allow for a healthier balance between ingredients, such as using functional powders to reduce butter, incorporating lactose free ingredients with naturally sweet flavours to reduce sugar, or achieving extra sweetness without increasing carbohydrate levels. Through recipe testing, Aaltonen and Parviainen have been able to create prototype bakery products like cookies, bars, and muffins that enable, for example, a high-protein claim.

“We help our customers develop products with nutritional benefits – less sugar, less carbs or fat, and more protein – without compromising the taste”, says Senior Research Scientist Terhi Aaltonen.

Lactose free ingredients answer growing dietary requirements

Beyond these benefits, the ability to create lactose free or low lactose products for digestive wellness and for those with dietary restrictions is crucial. Lactose free butter and milk powders have long been a staple in Valio’s offerings. The demand for such ingredients is now rapidly growing across the company’s global customer base as lactose has been recognized as a cause of some of these gut health issues.

“Developing lactose free Valio Eila® milk powders and butters has long been a point of pride for us. Now, we are delighted to provide these solutions, such as the new lactose free MPC 65, to our customers worldwide”, adds Parviainen.

Sustainable solutions redefine baking industry practices

Valio’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond product performance. Their range has expanded to include Valio Carbo® milk powders and butter with reduced carbon footprints. “We’re committed to investing in sustainable solutions, ingredients, and processes, enabling us to increasingly offer these benefits to our customers”, notes Aaltonen.

Valio’s know-how and experts drive customer success

Aaltonen and Parviainen are both often hands-on help, working closely with clients to tailor solutions to their specific needs in applications and recipe development, addressing production challenges with their extensive know-how, and providing support in recipe optimization.

“Our customers approach us with a vision, and we bring our expertise to the table”, says Aaltonen.

Valio is committed to supporting customers’ processes and sharing its knowledge to achieve excellent quality, consistency, and taste results. The team’s comprehensive know-how enables it to pioneer innovative applications of specialty powders and butters and sustainable solutions that align with current consumer trends.

“I believe Terhi and I are both driven by passion! It’s a pleasure to work with our quality ingredients and explore emerging trends and techniques alongside our clients”, Parviainen remarks.