This year’s World Dairy Innovation Awards threw up some interesting new moves in processing, manufacturing, dairy ingredients and dairy packaging.
Entries from over 20 countries in 19 different categories were celebrated at a special gala dinner, held as part of the Global Dairy Congress in Dublin earlier this month.
FoodBev Media marketing director Isabel Sturgess said: “This is the eleventh annual World Dairy Innovation Awards, and once again we are fascinated by the level of innovation that is shown within the entries. We see new flavours, new concepts, clever packaging, state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies and new ground gained towards a more responsible and sustainable dairy industry.”
The crown for best packaging design went to the French dairy producer En Direct Des Èleveurs, with its choice of Ecolean pouches for its sustainable and traceable milk. The pouch also won acclaim in the best new brand or business category.
In the best dairy ingredient category, the victor was Prodiet Fluid from Ingredia, which allows beverage formulators to produce high-in-protein dairy drinks while keeping the consistency smooth and not too thick. Many protein drinks are thick like milkshake, but with the rise of protein water many beverage manufacturers are looking for a solution that enables them to produce smooth and fluid protein beverages.
AstroBaby from Feihe International and DairySource from Kerry were finalists in this category.
Ingredia joins Ecolean as just one of three companies in this year’s awards scheme to win more than one trophy. This really reflects the breadth of innovation and the high level of competition that we regularly see in the World Dairy Innovation Awards.
As well as the best dairy ingredient accolade, Prodiet Fluid triumphed in the best manufacturing process category. It shows how seismic the protein trend is within the global food and beverage industry.
DairySource from Kerry was also a finalist here, alongside iCheck Fluoro from BioAnalyt.
We’ve mentioned that En Direct Des Èleveurs’ Ecolean pouches won the best packaging design category, fending off competition from Früzinga for its Probiotic Drinkable Yogurt bottles and Dairy Farmers of America for the redesign of its ‘scround’ Kemps tubs, but it was dairy giant Le Groupe Bel that won the best dairy packaging innovation award.
This category, distinct from best packaging design, celebrates the novel inventions and new moves in dairy packaging that are helping to increase convenience and improve product protection.
Le Groupe Bel was rewarded for its Babybel Spirolls, which offer a convenient and peelable alternative to Babybel’s traditional wax packaging. And the TrakRap G3 machine from TrakRap was also a finalist in this category.
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