Most people are familiar with a hybrid car, but hybrid dairy? With a hybrid dairy product, the consumer opts for dairy, in which the raw materials (often protein, but sometimes also fat) partly have a vegetable origin. What is the perspective of hybrid dairy and what does it mean for the producer of authentic milk, the dairy farmer?
The demand for this type of food is mainly driven by sustainability considerations. The Society for the Promotion of Milk Science organized an (online) symposium on hybrid dairy this spring. "Whether you agree with it or not, the protein transition is a trend that will continue. We are part of a worldwide feeling to partially replace animal protein with vegetable protein. Talk to young people and you will be amazed at how aware they are. choose for their food. There is a generation coming that considers the supply of dairy products with vegetable ingredients in the supermarket as a given. They ultimately determine what they serve their children," explains René Floris the reason for the symposium's approach. As a researcher, he is involved in NIZO food research.
Change in small steps
The introduction of hybrid dairy raises the question of whether customers are interested in a product that is neither meat nor fish. The die-hard dairy lover has no appetite for plant material in his dairy and a real vegan is not interested in a product that contains traces of animal origin. According to Floris, hybrid dairy is gaining ground because consumers do not like too much change at once: "Producers are responding to this by making variants, where part of the real dairy protein has been omitted in small steps. A good example is the introduction of a hybrid meat substitute in Germany. Vegetarians did not buy this product, but flexitarians, on the other hand, did."
A vegan who chooses very consciously makes concessions more quickly on the experience in taste and texture than an average consumer. But in the end, the hybrid products must be good enough and can compete with dairy made from real milk. If that doesn't work, an introduction is doomed to fail. "For example, I don't see a fully vegetable cheese coming soon that is equivalent to real cheese. The concentration of protein is much too high for that," says Floris. And with yogurt, as a dairy lover, you don't want a rough feeling in your mouth and a bony aftertaste.
Really superior milk protein
The dairy researcher can reassure dairy farmers that the functionality of real milk protein is superior to that of plant-based alternatives. "Of course the smart minds in the food industry are looking for the possibility to get this far, but the nutritional value of a milk protein is so high and unique that it is technically impossible to imitate. The question is whether milk protein can ever be exchanged and right now it isn't."
In addition, the world population continues to grow and consumers in fast-growing regions of the world – such as India – want to consume more meat and dairy. Also the characteristic of naturalness, unprocessed, is an asset of cow's milk.
Very modest volumes
Dairy analyst Mark Voorbergen largely shares Floris's explanation. He sees 3 dimensions that determine the market opportunities of hybrid dairy. The functionality of the product is the first: can it add or mean something, for example in counterfeiting breast milk. Secondly, the price of the product: vegetable ingredients often make a product cheaper. Voorbergen: 'When milk fat became too expensive for sales in Africa, you saw that milk powder variants were introduced for that destination with vegetable replacements for milk fat. And it has been customary for years to use analog cheese on pizzas, also mainly driven by price.' The third dimension comes from a growing group of consumers who take the dark side of livestock farming as an argument to use less or no animal products.
Voorbergen sees the arrival of hybrid products as a diversification of the portfolio of food companies. "I advise dairy farmers not to be too principled. Do not see it as a threat. Do not overestimate the volumes involved, they are still very modest. In addition, dairy can be a good substitute for meat for vegetarians. "
Redeemability
Back to that hybrid car. Is it justified to suggest that dairy is just as bad or unhealthy as fossil fuel? Floris doesn't say yes or no: 'Toyota was the first to launch a hybrid car, the Prius. Hardly any hybrid models are currently being sold. This is because there are Teslas with a sufficiently large battery and therefore range. You don't buy a Tesla with a gas tank. The raison d'être of a hybrid is therefore related to the interchangeability of the original.'
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