Omira Milch discussed a lactose-free Cappuccino Powder in a 350g pack, and two pizzas made with lactose-free cheese and a lactose-free crust.
“We’re looking for partners with expertise to produce these products.” said Sabine Kramer, marketing, Omira Milch. “We can deliver the lactose-free ingredients such as the cheese topping, and an ingredient that allows you to make a crust without lactose.”
The company draws on a technology based on the natural lactase enzyme process in the body to break down the lactose in the milk. It produces ingredients for industrial use and a wide product range under its own label in Germany.
A similar set-up works for the Irish Dairy Board, which has an industrial division and a branded division. The company recently appointed innovation & strategy manager Karen Thompson, whose role is to help coordinated developments in all areas of the global business. She walked me through many of the interesting branded highlights on the stand. These included an attractive, spreadable butter made from pure olive oil, rapeseed oil and butter that taps into the prevailing health trend, and a sweet honey spread in a 250g tub.
Designed to appeal to families and for spreading on toast for those in a rush in the morning, the pure butter & honey spread looks just like a spread, yet contains a healthy ‘dollop’ of real honey homogenised into it.
Sticking to the dairy theme was AB Technologies, which specialises in functional ingredients derived from dairy, including liquid cheese, which is mixable in cold conditions, cheeses that brown in the microwave oven (ideal for the ready meal manufacturer), vegan cheeses for niche market products, and refrigerated chocolate cheese for creating sticks or shapes.
“At the moment, Bechamel sauce, for example, needs to be heated in order to cook the roux, but with our ‘liquidy custard-like’ cheese can be blended easily into the product without heating,” said Bertrand Joualt of AB Technologies, who also highlighted the company’s acid stable cheese as a useful tool for formulators of creamy salad dressings, and confirmed that its chocolate cheese innovation has already been taken up by a manufacturer in Spain, where it sells 20g sticks of chocolate cheese in six-packs.
After all those wonderful dairy products, I was happy to grab a healthy almond snack on the Blue Diamond stand in the hall (10.2) above. Newly appointed, Jeff Smith, director of marketing for the company’s industrial arm, generously offered coated & flavoured almonds and demonstrated the wealth of formats the product comes in (different sizes, shapes, slices, grades etc).
Meanwhile, Christine Lott, marketing manager, export retail, let me taste the company’s branded snack made from almond flour, rice flour and corn starch – very healthy and low in calories.
There’s no escaping the innovations at the show, and even on the train in to the exhibition hall this morning, Claire Phoenix and I chatted to Dinesh Maheshwary, president & CEO of Yummy Chef, about his brand new range of heat & serve, 1kg family & party packs of delicious Indian specialities.
With exotic fresh ingredients such as ginger and coriander providing a fresh ‘bite’, the pouched products are made from pure virgin olive oil and can be heated in the microwave or boiled-in-the-bag in a saucepan, or heated directly in a casserole dish to provide a ‘home-cooked’ style meal for up to four people.
The Yummy Chef range is endorsed by famous Bollywood star Dharmendra, and Mr Maheshwary is actively looking for distributors in the UK. Now, I am off to taste some more!
Claire Rowan is managing editor of Food & Beverage International magazine. Subscribe here.
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