Strive Nutrition allies with Perfect Day to scale animal-free whey in alt-milks

03 Jun 2022 --- A partnership has formed in the alternative milk space as Strive Nutrition is innovating with Perfect Day’s animal-free whey. “Nutritionally speaking, whey protein is one of the highest value proteins in our food system,” comments Dennis Cohlmia, co-founder and CEO of Strive, noting that the cow-free protein contains all nine essential amino acids.

“And our animal-free whey protein is bio-identical to the whey proteins made by cows. Essentially you get real dairy goodness without the dairy.”

“We’ve enriched each of our products with 10 g of animal-free protein per eight ounce serving which is a real advantage versus a serving of cow’s milk which contains about 8 g,” he notes.

The final product will offer 25% more protein and less saturated fat than regular milk, he claims.The star product, Strive Freemilk whole will contain 25% more protein and 75% less sugar. 

The whey protein from Perfect Day is free of lactose, hormones, antibiotics and cholesterol.

Competitive advantage of easy supply chain
Alternative dairy producers could benefit from simpler supply chains as they do not rely on feeding animals and having to move the milk to the manufacturing plants, Cohlmia points out.

“We will take out the inefficiencies of the raw milk supply chain. We are seeing so many issues with grain supply in the coming years that having products that can avoid cattle use and still provide a healthy, dairy comparable product to cow’s milk is a great advantage for Strive moving forward,” he adds.

Companies simplifying their supply chains could be an ongoing trend in the following years. More and more companies opt to source their products locally and avoid uncertain sea lines, which can leave their products marooned.

Ecotone, a French manufacturer company, is an example of this. It chose Italy for its new plant due to its closeness to the organic raw materials to manufacture its products, avoiding long supply chains in the current uncertain logistics environment.

Whole, chocolate, oat and almond milk
Strive will be launching five different kinds of milk, with the flagship being Strive Freemilk, says Cohlmia. The flagship will contain 25% more protein and 75% less sugar. Its other products will include a chocolate milk alternative with less sugar and more protein than regular chocolate milk and oat and almond milk with 10 grams of Perfect Day whey per serving. 

Strive will introduce protein shakes and sports hydration protein beverages later this year, with some launches planned as well for 2023, but the specifics have not yet been disclosed.

Consumers demand better-for-you product
Strive’s whole milk will offer 75% less sugar than cow’s milk, and Cohlmia admits that this has an impact, a needed one, on the product's sweetness.

“There has been a reduction in the desired sweetness of beverages in the USA. People are aware of sweetness levels and do not want overly sweet products. The sweetness level in our Freemilk’s matches desired levels of sweetness for today’s consumer.” 

Consumers not only desire less sweetness due to its more natural taste, notes Cohlmia.“We will take out the inefficiencies of the raw milk supply chain,” says Cohlmia. 

“Consumers are starting to understand the levels of Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes in the USA are at alarming levels and need to be reduced.” 

Whey protein was found recently to be able to help people with Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar. 

Excessive sugar consumption is a problem that has been flagged in Europe as well, where most European countries exceed the recommended intake limits.

Cargill is another company that has underscored that the demand for sugar-reduced products continues to rise, evidenced by recent launches such as Premier Foods’ new range of better-for-you fibrous-full cakes and pies with 30% less sugar and increased natural fruit, under the Mr Kipling brand.

Perfect Day’s production process is not only animal-free, it also reduces water use by up to 99%, emits up to 97% less greenhouse gas emissions and uses up to 60% less non-renewable energy compared to conventional production methods, according to the company.

By Marc Cervera