Touting itself as the “brand behind the brands,” Milk Specialties Global aims to take advantage of a growing number of consumers looking to boost their protein intake and pay closer attention to their dietary choices.
The company is a provider of protein and nutritional supplements to food and beverage companies.
CEO David Lenzmeier told Food Dive he has seen the gamut of ebbs and flows in the dairy space and beyond, but that taste is always the most important factor when it comes to purchasing decisions.
“Over the years we have seen dynamic changes in consumer preferences and advancements in technology. Taste has played a primary role with new trendy foods being in the focus one day and forgotten the next. Advancements in refrigeration and filtration among others have also made our ingredients and end-products more favorable for consumers,” he said.
The sweet spot to delivering this trend, he said, is products with high protein and low sugar.
“One prevailing theme that is not going anywhere is consumers want more out of their products. They want foods and supplements that deliver benefits beyond satisfying their hunger, and they want to feel better about what they’re eating without feeling guilty. They want to know their choices to help build muscle, fight infection, cure ailments, improve well-being and much more.”
One key product category fitting the bill is protein bars. The category is growing rapidly, projected to be worth $7 billion by 2030, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% according to Market Research Future.
“Previously, consumers believed protein-based products were only geared towards the sports nutrition category. However, with protein fortification, protein has gone well beyond this niche,” said Lenzmeirer.
Protein fortification refers to the process of adding protein sources to products that don’t naturally contain them. This involves using isolated protein from a single source and adding this to any number of products, from dairy alternative drinks to snacks to ready meals.
Though trends and fads with consumer eating behaviors always ebb and flow, Lenzmeier believes that what won’t go away is consumers seeking high quality food with nutritious ingredients.
“Savvy business people know that abandoning their core products and the company vision for fads are recipes for disaster. To be successful, a company needs to leverage its core products and what helped build it to begin with, while doing so in a way that is relevant for what consumers want right now. At the same time, companies also need to evolve with the market,” he said.
At Milk Specialties Global, Lenzmeier aims to achieve this by applying an 80/20 rule.
“80 percent of the time we are working on our customers’ innovation and products to keep them happy and successful,” the CEO said. “The other 20 percent of the time, we are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Innovation always needs to be rooted in a business plan, but we also don’t want to stifle creativity.”
