Novozymes Dairy Lab

The podcast Dairy Dialog from Dairy Reporter takes a closer look at the new Sweetness Calculator for sugar reduction in dairy. Dr. Craig Sherwin, Technical Services Manager at Novozymes, explains that dairies are under increased pressure to find innovative ways of reducing sugar in their products - without compromising on the taste and texture. 

The Sweetness Calculator helps product developers predict the potential sugar reduction in yogurt and flavored milk when using lactase. 

Sugar refers to a variety of ingredients — lactose and glucose, to name two. But the truth is that these carbohydrates are quite different from one another, and each has their own relative sweetness. Typically, we measure this sweetness against the standard of sucrose, or common table sugar.

For dairy  producers, taking sweetness into account is especially important when reformulating products. Lactose, for instance, is not particularly sweet on its own. But, when broken down with the lactase Saphera into glucose and galactose, the resulting sugars become almost 50% sweeter.

With the help of lactases, dairy producers can reduce added sugar while taking advantage of consumer trends — trends that are making sales of low-lactose dairy the fastest-growing segment in the dairy market worldwide.

Download our application sheets for Novozymes Saphera to get a closer look at the technical specifications in a variety of applications.

According to Natasha Kumar, Food & Drink Analyst for market intelligence agency Mintel, India's retail yogurt market is set to be one of the fastest growing in the category. And that means significant opportunities for those who can capture consumer interest with value-added products.

Clean label, high protein, dairy alternatives, low sugar and lactose-free are just some of the important trends in dairy. 

So which ones should companies be concentrating on when it comes to NPD? How do companies develop new products to meet these trends? And how do they find markets for these products, both domestically and beyond?

While the hour-long webinar is more than worth a listen, let’s recap a few of highlights of the conversation.

Check out the Dairy Lab podcast from Novozymes, the show dedicated to all things dairy. In the first episode, dairy industry experts Mary Wilcox and Craig Sherwin zoom in on lactose reduction.