10 Nov 2023 — Arla Foods Ingredients is launching three newly formulated powder recipes for senior nutrition. It aims to demonstrate how its private label partner expertise can help Chinese manufacturers meet the demand for convenient natural dairy nutrient sources.

The three new milk and whey formulations comply with Chinese regulations and are enriched with vitamins, minerals and probiotics. 

“For manufacturers seeking to meet this growing need, private-label is often the most convenient, least resource-intensive way to bring new products to market,” says Steen Lyck, director of advanced nutrition manufacturing at Arla Foods Ingredients. 

Senior formulations
The new products include the “Healthy Ageing Balanced Nutrition” formulation, which promises to deliver high-quality protein, milk minerals and probiotics. The “Healthy Ageing Digestive Focus” is made of partially hydrolyzed lactose and a synbiotic blend of probiotics and prebiotics, while the “Healthy Ageing Low Fat” is the low-fat option. Innova Market Insights shows that between 2018 and 2022, 85% of new nutrition product launches with senior positioning took place in China.

The formulations aim to boost calcium delivery by offering the natural milk mineral concentrate Capolac and protein delivery with the whey protein concentrate Lacprodan DI-8090.

Although Arla Foods Ingredients is primarily known as a third-party provider of infant nutrition products, it now also asserts its capacity to produce formulated milk powders for adults on the same private-label basis. 

“Our manufacturing division is well known for its infant nutrition expertise, but as these new recipes demonstrate, it also has fantastic capabilities in the healthy aging space. Arla Foods Ingredients’ partners benefit not just from high quality milk ingredients but also our strong supply chain and years of expertise in formulating for both powder and liquid formats.” 

Chinese market expansion 
According to Innova Market Insights, between 2018 and 2022, 85% of new nutrition product launches with senior positioning took place in China, with the vast majority of products being formulated as milk powders. Currently, the country is home to a quarter of a billion people over 60 years. Meanwhile, research suggests a growing awareness of the importance of nutrition for healthy aging among this group. 

“Tens of millions of senior consumers in China are looking for nutrition solutions that can help them stay active for longer, ” Lyck points out. 

Earlier this year, Arla Foods Ingredients signed a distribution treaty focused on infant nutrition formulations with Zhongbai Xingye Food Technology, a subsidiary of the Brenntag Group. 

Last year, the company asserted its interest in China’s growing organic food market. 

This reflects the up-to-date expert opinion that opportunities for milk powder formulations remain on the Chinese market despite the nation’s dwindling population and birth rate.

By Milana Nikolova

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