Valio Zero Lactose™ success for ten years
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| Lactose free foods are a familiar sight for many of today’s consumers but have been with us for just 10 years. Here’s the extraordinary story of their success
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| Valio lactose free milk drink containing less than 0.01% lactose was the world’s first dairy product to give people who cannot tolerate lactose the chance to enjoy the taste of fresh milk again, and reap the nutritional benefits that come with it. The Valio Laktoositon™ brand has become a firm favourite in Valio’s domestic market, the source of any number of novel innovations, and the launch pad for the development of Valio Zero Lactose™ products, ingredients and technology.
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| First in every way |
| The initiative to apply this advanced technology to the production of lactose free milk drink got Valio to market first and has combined with the swift extension of the product range to deliver success to Valio and its licensing partners. The extra value added for the consumer is the real milk taste which has none of the slight sweetness associated with the low lactose HYLA® products that still remain popular.
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| Consumers continue to play their part |
| Consumer enthusiasm was immense from the moment the product hit the shelves. Pent up demand had gone unrecognised because people suffering from lactose intolerance simply hadn’t expected to be able to drink milk again. Early feedback revealed a wish list expressing latent demand for a lactose free alternative for any and all dairy products. This has played a considerable part in the rapid growth and diversification of Valio’s lactose free portfolio, which contains around 30 items under the Valio Laktoositon™ brand alone.
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| A few figures to consider |
Just over ten years ago, with many low lactose products available to sufferers of lactose intolerance, it seemed unlikely there would be much demand for lactose free dairy. In fact, the historic emergence of lactose free products has not cannibalised sales of existing low lactose items.
Valio launched the world’s first lactose free milk drink for test marketing in Finland in 2001, targeting first year sales of one million litres which were satisfied in the first two months. Sales hit 12 million litres in 2002 and with little short of phenomenal growth stood at almost 70 million litres in 2010.
Valio Laktoositon™ lactose free milk drink is now one of Valio’s most popular domestic products with net sales for the lactose free range amounting to 124 million euros in 2010.
Valio’s entire lactose free product range includes as many as 90 items, the newest of which are Valio Laktoositon™ set yoghurts and a 3% fat ESL milk drink for cooking and baking.
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| Research and development |
| 10% of Valio’s annual R&D budget is spent on the development of new technologies. There are a number of extremely interesting projects in the pipeline including new kinds of milk drink. Work on lactose free technology is far from over as the manufacturing technique is subject to continuous development and Valio currently holds dozens of patents related to lactose free production.
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| Exports & licensing |
The world’s first lactose free milk drink is still the market leader in Europe and Valio exports a selection of its lactose free products to Sweden, Russia, Belgium, the Baltic States and France. Valio started lactose free technology sales in 2003 and licensees are currently active in Switzerland, Spain, South Korea and Norway.
The first lactose free milk powder ingredient for the food industry was launched in 2007.
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| What’s cooking in the food service sector |
Valio lactose free milk drink is used in cooking in staff canteens as well as at home. If just one family member or employee is lactose intolerant, there’s always a need for a lactose free alternative, which the whole family or other staff at work will often eat, too.
Valio is a key supplier to the Food Service sector in Finland, for which product range development and delivery is predominantly customer driven. Lactose free cooking products make it easier for institutional kitchens to satisfy all their customers’ needs, saving both time and money throughout the supply chain.
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| Recognized for innovation |
| Lactose free low fat milk drink picked up the Finnish Food and Drinks Industries’ Federation Star Product of the Year award in 2002, and in 2006 Valio’s lactose removal method received the gold European Food Tech award followed in 2008 by the Finnish Engineering Award.
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