Almost anything is possible within the Arla Foods Ingredients application centre in Denmark. All you need is functional milk
proteins, knowledge and a lively imagination
Shaving foam, marshmallows and a moisturising skin cream are not what you might expect a customer to put on the table at the first meeting to discuss the development of a new low-fat yogurt product. But it does give a fairly clear picture of what the customer is looking for a light, creamy texture, full-bodied flavour and white, shiny appearance.
Functional milk protein application manager at Arla Foods Ingredients, Carsten Kirkegaard Jensen expects to see more and more of this kind of untraditional approach to dairy product development. Within the application centre in Denmark, the team are ready with plenty of untraditional, creative ideas of their own.
Today creativity is a product that we have in our bag when we visit customers, he says. Because of our application centre setup, we are able to provide solutions that go beyond standard frameworks.

Endless opportunities
A cream cheese without cream, pizza topping without milk almost anything is possible within the dairy area using functional milk proteins and the extensive knowledge gained from the 5,000 trials conducted within the application centre every year. The understanding of global market preferences and legislation, necessary to meet the needs of international customers, is another key source of inspiration.

The trend is to move away from typical product names such as yogurt or cream cheese to more brand names. For manufacturers willing to work outside recognised product definitions, the opportunities to come up with creative solutions are endless.
While we will continue to see the same types of product, they will be produced in an unconventional way that makes them more cost-efficient, improves their quality or both, Carsten Kirkegaard Jensen adds.
As the trend progresses, he welcomes the more frequent appearance of marketing people at customer meetings, alongside the product developers and purchasers who normally attend - an important addition to explore the market potential of product ideas that break with tradition.

Inspiration days
Creativity set the scene for a series of customer inspiration days during 2007. Here, customers were presented with samples of dairy products where some of the traditional ingredients had been taken out. An internal Crazy Day event also held many surprises for the Arla Foods’ employees who attended, as Carsten Kirkegaard Jensen explains:
It was a big eye-opener for most to realise what is possible when we apply our creativity. At our inspiration days, our customers are introduced to opportunities that they then can pluck from and combine as required.
In 2008 and the years ahead, he anticipates holding many more inspiration days for customers - both proactive and on customer request. Creativity, today, is fast becoming the latest Arla Foods Ingredients’ brand.