Start-ups scale functional dairy solutions in the Real California Milk Excelerator

02 Aug 2021 --- Twelve start-ups are competing for over US$650,000 in prize funds from the Real California Milk Excelerator to support the development of dairy products that promote personal performance and recovery benefits. The innovation competition is held by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) and consultancy VentureFuel.

“Where once food was considered a source of sustenance and nutrition, now we look to food as medicine to support overall health and also manage disease or address specific desired functions like optimal sleep or energy for sports performance,” John Talbot, CEO of CMAB, tells NutritionInsight.

“This has wide appeal to consumers of all ages – from Boomers who are facing chronic diseases to Millennials who are driving the self-care industry.” 

He argues that dairy is an optimal ingredient for delivering functionality with a clean ingredient label. Proteins for milk are a natural source of all nine essential amino acids and perform well in wellness foods and in the body. 

“Just as our definition of health has evolved, our desire for functional benefits from our food and beverage choices has evolved with it.” The functional foods market is projected to reach over US$275 billion globally by 2025.

Vying for funding
The competition has identified 12 semi-finalists that are early-stage, high-growth companies. They have each developed cow’s milk-based products that play a critical role in personal performance areas like focus, energy, exercise and strength, or recovery benefits such as rejuvenation, relaxation, gut health and sleep.

Each semi-finalist’s product is made with cow’s milk dairy as the first ingredient. The start-ups have committed to producing the product in California, with milk from California dairy farms, should they win the competition. 

Each semi-finalist accepted into the cohort will receive US$10,000 worth of support to develop their product further while receiving a suite of resources including lab or kitchen time, graphic design, consumer insights, and elite mentorship from global marketing, packaging and distribution experts. 

The first-place winner will receive up to $150,000 worth of additional support. The second-place winner will get $100,000 worth of additional support to accelerate the commercialization of their product to market.

Introducing the start-ups
“Start-ups can have an enormous impact on industry – from new entries that seize share, to the creation of previously unthought-of-categories, all the way to total disruption of what currently exists,” says Fred Schonenberg, founder of VentureFuel.

This year’s semi-finalists are: 

• Alexandre Family Farms: Functional brand extensions for liquid milk, powder and yogurt focused on properties for anti-anxiety and gut health.
• Boba Guys: Has 15 brick and mortar locations in California and is developing a bottled milk tea latte with key nutrients, vitamins and caffeine to optimize performance and recovery.
• GoodSport Nutrition: An all-natural sports drink made from milk that delivers hydration with three times the electrolytes and less sugar than traditional sports drinks. 
• Kefir Lab: Makes kefir more effective with organic milk cultured with 24 live and active potent protein strains for a bottled kefir that boosts immunity, metabolism and brain health. 
• Nightfood: Ice cream that features a “sleep-friendly nutritional profile” to help promote quality sleep. 
• Positive Chemistry: A dissolving pouch that melts in the bath, releasing a bubbly, fizzing mixture of milk and recovery salts to promote recovery for the skin and muscles. A hidden exfoliating sponge with a message of positivity is designed to float to the top of the bath.
• Rizo Lopez Foods: Rizo Lopez utilizes traditional techniques for its Ready2Go Whey products derived from a specially processed whey protein concentrate for a creamy and gut-healthy drink. 
• ReThink Ice Cream: Low-sugar, stomach- and diabetic-friendly ice cream that is infused with fiber and sourced from lactose-free A2 dairy.
• Sweetkiwi: Whipped Greek yogurt that is low in calories and high in nutrition. Sweetkiwi pints are under 320 calories and formulated with fiber, protein and probiotics for better gut health with fewer calories. 
• The Indian Milk & Honey Co.: Sugar-free probiotic lassi with Ayurvedic immunity supporting herbs and spices that also support mental clarity, in one environmentally-friendly carton.
• Top O’ the Morn Farms: Top O’ the Morn’s Cow-Pow chocolate milk is a clean-label pre- and post-workout beverage fortified with whey protein isolate and natural caffeine. 
• Wunder Snacks: A 2020 RCM Snackcelerator finalist, Wunder returns with a new protein keto cheesecake snack bar with 10 g of clean protein.

Networking across California
The program received applications from Australia to Austin and from local dairy farmers to PhDs to celebrity chefs. The CMAB explains that some of the semi-finalists are in search of co-manufacturers or co-packers located in California. 

“Their participation in the Excelerator program will enable CMAB to help introduce them to options within California that can support their needs,” it details. “Others have faced challenges in scaling up production to meet demand, especially in terms of expanding into California or more regions within the country.”

This is another area the Excelerator program aims to address for individual companies to help provide the introductions, connections and strategy development for growth.

CMAB also expects that the US$150,000 grand prize will be spent on marketing and promotional support in California with the Real California Milk seal. For many of the semi-finalists, this would include sampling efforts, PR, social media and paid influencers or brand ambassadors.

Eying the next steps
Looking ahead, CMAB shares that the future focus for the larger companies like Nightfood, Boba Guys and Rizo Lopez will be developing, branding and gaining more distribution for new products as part of the program. 

For some of the smaller or newer companies like GoodSport, Top O’ The Morn Farms, Positive Chemistry and Wunder Snacks, their focus is on distribution, retail expansion and general marketing.

Functional F&B has been a massive industry trend over the last year, with lines blurring with supplements. Dairy giants like FrieslandCampina Ingredients, Fonterra and Ingredia have all been developing offerings in this space. 

By Katherine Durrell