Dairy

With over 300 patents, Valio can provide commercial advantages for dairy food manufacturers around the world. We will enable our customers to increase their competitiveness with value-adding products. Our modern and market-proven technologies help you reduce sugar, manufacture protein-rich dairy products, improve nutritional values or start the production of free from lactose dairy products.

The business possibilities of our ingredients and expertise include value-added items such as ageing nutrition and sports nutrition. Moreover, by responding to digestive wellness, dairies can expand their customer base by producing lactose free milk or yogurt.

Valio’s high-quality industrial dairy food ingredients are made from high-quality and sustainable fresh Finnish milk that is pure and clean. Our operations and products conform to or exceed international and regional food standards, regulations, and nutritional recommendations.

Digestive wellness and gut-friendly foods offer new business and growth opportunities for dairies. More consumers are seeking convenience and are aware of the effect of diet on digestive health. This makes digestive wellness one of the key food trends. Other major food trends, such as protein and low sugar together with lactose free are driving growth and opening up new business possibilities for dairies.

Lactose intolerant or not, people are not willing to compromise on either flavour or nutrition. You can develop new products for gut-friendly and easy-to-digest food categories with our lactose free ingredients and patented food solutions.

In 2001, Valio launched the world’s first totally lactose free milk made with our unique patented technology – and it was an immediate hit. Since then, we have grown lactose free dairy into a significant business internationally. We currently have over 100 lactose free products sold in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. We continue to develop the market by creating new lactose free solutions every year across all dairy segments.

Valio’s market-tested innovations and know-how enable dairy companies to meet the market demands. With our high-quality ingredients and patented food innovations, we have the means to bring your dairy products to the next level.

Avoiding sugar is a clear trend among all consumers, and they are increasingly conscious of sugar levels in different food products. They also seek naturality, which means that they are reluctant to consume artificial sweeteners. At the same time, they want to enjoy the taste and texture of food.

Sugar makes flavoured dairy drinks, spoonable products, and ice cream taste sweet. Sugar also affects the mouthfeel, texture, colour, and viscosity of the products. The challenge for dairy manufacturers is how to balance the customer’s need for sugar reduction, naturality, and indulgence.

Valio has developed solutions for sugar reduction. With Valio ingredients and process know-how, dairy food manufacturers can reduce sugar levels without having to use artificial sweeteners.

Reduced sugar and great taste without artificial sweeteners

The carbohydrate content in dairy products is the sum of added sugar and lactose. Valio’s solution for dairy processing reduces sugar levels in a way that does not compromise other important product qualities, like texture or taste. Valio’s experts help dairy manufacturers design the recipes and processes so that they can manufacture desirable lower-sugar dairy products with great taste and texture.

Valio dairy ingredients for sugar reduction:

• Valio Eila® PRO lactose free milk powder allows you to reduce the carbohydrate content in your dairy products. It contains less carbohydrates than standard skimmed milk powder. Thus, it enables achieving the same sweetness with a lower level of carbohydrates. It also offers the option to use a higher sucrose level while reducing the total sugar level.
• Valio Eila® SWEET lactose free milk powder, which is available in skimmed milk (SMP) and whole milk powder (WMP) versions, allows you to increase the sweetness in your dairy products. You reach additional sweetness with the same carbohydrate content as compared to standard skimmed milk powder.

Protein is an essential nutrient in the human diet. High-protein foods are gaining in popularity among mainstream consumers because of their health benefits. Thus, they offer new commercial potential for dairy manufacturers.

Dairy products, in particular, are considered to be a natural and effective source of protein. However, high-protein dairy goods are challenging to manufacture, because added protein often gives dairy products an undesirable taste and a grainy texture. Valio has overcome this problem, and we can offer dairy manufacturers solutions that produce high-protein dairy products with excellent texture and taste.

High-protein dairy products that taste good and have excellent sensory properties

Our solution can easily be incorporated into your current dairy production processes and does not compromise the sensory properties of the products. We can help you in designing recipes and processes, so that you can manufacture high-protein dairy products efficiently and accurately with the optimal composition of ingredients.

Valio milk powders for high-protein dairy production:

• Valio Eila® lactose free milk powders are perfect for producing high protein dairy goods with excellent taste, texture, and stability. They give a rich and milky taste to dairy products such as puddings, dairy drinks or spoonable high-protein yoghurt. Products contain nutritionally high-quality milk proteins and minerals.
• Valio Eila® PRO lactose free milk powder makes it possible to also have a low carbohydrate content. It is an excellent ingredient for protein-enriched applications, including a variety of nutritional supplements and dietary products, such as powders and drinks. The powders are lecithinated so that they dissolve quickly and are enriched with vitamin D.