Arla Foods Ingredients unveils food innovation toolbox to help craft indulgent high-protein desserts

Arla Foods Ingredients has launched a toolbox to assist South American food brands in creating indulgent, high-protein desserts.

The company highlights Latin America accounted for 10% of global dessert launches in 2024, with retail sales reaching US$12.7 billion. In Brazil, the region’s largest market, value growth in the sector is rising by 9% CAGR.

However, in a 2024 survey cited by Arla, 18% of Latin American consumers said they had decreased their consumption of desserts over the past year. Among this group, nearly four in ten (39%) overall, and over half in Brazil, cited “because it’s unhealthy” as a reason for cutting down. Furthermore, 79% of Latin American consumers say they wish healthier options were available to them in indulgent food categories.

“Winning back health-conscious consumers by reformulating to combine sensory pleasure with a healthy positioning has therefore become a common strategy, with the permissive indulgence trend now apparent across a range of categories,” says Arla Foods Ingredients.

Increasingly, balancing indulgence with health means adding functional ingredients such as protein rather than just reducing fat, sugar or salt. Research by Arla Foods Ingredients has found that 38% of consumers in Brazil want to see high-protein dessert options in supermarkets.

New toolkit functionalities

The toolbox is available in Portuguese and Spanish. It features 12 recipes to inspire dairy, health, and performance brands to create indulgent, high-protein desserts. The recipe showcases ingredients from the Nutrilac ProteinBoost range, which delivers a creamier, smoother texture, even in low-fat products.

Most of the recipes are rich in whey protein and therefore deliver high levels of branched-chain amino acids. Nutrilac ProteinBoost ingredients also provide functional benefits, improving shelf life and stability in fruity desserts, ice cream, and sorbet.

Next to recipes for ready-to-eat desserts, such as ice cream, puddings and cheesecakes, the toolkit includes ready-to-mix solutions designed for health and performance brands.Next to recipes for ready-to-eat desserts, such as ice cream, puddings and cheesecakes, the toolkit includes ready-to-mix solutions designed for health and performance brands. A low-fat instant pudding mix offers 20 g of protein per portion, while a clear, gelatine solution features Lacprodan whey protein isolate, which offers a range of benefits for active and performance nutrition.

Most of the recipes can be reproduced with a standard yogurt production line without the need for UHT technology or additional machinery.

“As elsewhere, dessert consumers in South America are increasingly health-conscious,” says Ignacio Estevez, application manager, South America at Arla Foods Ingredients.

“However, that doesn’t mean they want to give up on indulgence or that they only want options with reduced sugar or fat. They’re increasingly aware of the many benefits of high-quality protein, and they want to see it in their favorite products — especially if it gives them permission to indulge.”

“We hope our toolbox will inspire innovative manufacturers to meet this need by creating high-protein desserts that don’t compromise on the all-important qualities of delicious taste and indulgent texture.”