Dairy Processing - April 2021 - 30

FORMULATIONS

Raise a Glass
New styles of dairy drinks hitting the market.

ove over milk and drinkable yogurt. It's time to let
dairy pour in new formats and flavors. Think creamy
coffee and tea lattes, satiating meal replacement
shakes, refueling isotonics. These are just some of the many
new ways to drink dairy.
The pandemic renewed consumers' interest in basic
nutrition, and for the first time in more than a decade, retail
sales of fluid milk increased in 2020. Milk sales grew nearly
$1 billion, according to Chicago-based market research firm
IRI. This figure does not account for all the other beverages
that rely on fluid streams of milk and cream, as well as dairy
ingredients for flavor, function and nourishment.
Some dairy ingredients add richness in the form of creamy
and even frothy textures, while others dissolve into crystal
clear solutions. Most dairy ingredients are embraced for
their protein quality; however, those with fat content often
have notoriety for their essential fatty acids. And do not
discount the vitamins and minerals inherently present in milk.
Advanced processing allows for the isolation and separation
of all these nutrients for application in better-for-you
beverages. Further, dairy's presence is strong and growing in
the sports nutrition sector thanks to specialty ingredients that
excel in delivering pre- and post-workout fuel.
Most dairy ingredients come in a dried, powder format.
They require proper hydration and dissolution to prevent
sedimentation. By using a dried format, rather than fresh milk,
cream or even butter, all types of beverage processors can
add dairy to their formulations without involving oversight by
the US Department of Agriculture.
Each type of beverage formulation has unique

30 APR 2021 | DAIRYPROCESSING.COM

requirements, suggesting that dairy ingredients are not a
one-size-fits-all category. Dairy suppliers offer hundreds of
different dairy ingredients with a range of functionalities,
including clarity, emulsification, flavor, foaming, mouthfeel,
solubility and texture. Dairy-based beverages present an
opportunity to meet growing consumer demands for naturally
functional foods.
A Chicago-based start-up has launched GoodSport, a
sports drink that is 97% dairy and aims to compete nationally
against leading brands. At a glance, you would not know it is
a dairy-based beverage, as GoodSport is a naturally colored,
clear beverage like most isotonics in the marketplace.
GoodSport Nutrition Founder and CEO Michelle McBride
conceived the concept after being frustrated with the sports
drink category options.
" I didn't want my son drinking sports drinks filled with
artificial ingredients that were being offered to him at his
baseball games, " she said. " I gave him chocolate milk as a
healthier alternative after his workouts and it provided the
inspiration to look at milk as a source of hydration during
physical activity. "
Ms. McBride recognized that milk's consistency and
protein content were barriers for athletes before and during
exercise for hydration. She sought out dairy ingredients that
would be a source of the electrolytes and carbohydrates that
are inherent to milk and necessary for effective hydration. In
fact, scientific studies have shown milk hydrates better than
traditional sports drinks and water.
GoodSport is not a fuel or refuel beverage, like other dairybased sports nutrition beverages that contain protein. The

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by Donna Berry | donnaberry@dairy-food.com

http://www.DAIRYPROCESSING.COM

Dairy Processing - April 2021

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