Chr. Hansen launches ProKids culture solution for kids’ probiotic market

07 Nov 2017 --- Chr. Hansen has today globally launched a culture solution for kids’ drinking yogurt with the probiotic strain L. rhamnosus, LGG. ProKids is Chr. Hansen’s newly developed freeze-dried DVS culture, nu-trish GY-1. It contains the LGG probiotic strain together with a compatible yogurt culture and a proven recipe.

The market for children’s products is increasing rapidly with the trend toward smaller families, combined with higher disposable incomes, and parents are looking for foods that are healthy as well as tasty and convenient, Chr. Hansen notes.

At the same time, the company notes that the awareness of probiotics – good bacteria – is increasing, as more and more scientific data on the correlation between digestive health and overall health are published, creating new opportunities for the innovative dairy producer.

Since Chr. Hansen acquired the strain named LGG a year ago, its scientists have spent time on integrating the unique strain into its dairy cultures. The company notes that they have been identifying the best matches and looking into new product ideas to benefit the global dairy industry and consumers worldwide.

Filling a gap in the market
“We have brought out the best of the LGG probiotic strain by combining it with a carefully compounded yogurt culture. The result is a very mild, tasty yogurt drink with a high cell count of live probiotic bacteria that will appeal to young taste buds and health-conscious parents,” says Dorte Eskesen, Chr. Hansen’s Global Marketing Manager, Fresh Dairy.

“With the ProKids concept, which is available worldwide and can be merged into the dairy’s own brand portfolio, we are filling a hole in the dairy market,” Eskesen notes. “We believe there is an untapped potential for functional dairy products specifically for children.”

“The LGG strain has been studied in more than 300 clinical studies and described in more than 1,100 scientific publications. A strong research focus on children and their health makes the LGG probiotic strain the natural choice for a kid’s product,” Eskesen adds.

Renewed awareness and perception of probiotics
“We like to see ourselves as drivers of innovation in the dairy industry and with this concept we believe to have a created a new opportunity in the dairy market at a time when the relationship between our gut flora and general health is resonating with more and more health-conscious consumers and renewing the awareness and perception of probiotics,” concludes Eskesen.

“We are proud to have thoroughly studied and integrated the probiotic strain LGG into our culture collection, which holds more than 30,000 strains and keeps growing,” comments Lars Bredmose, Chr. Hansen’s Senior Director, Fresh Dairy. “We believe that there are vast opportunities for the LGG brand going forward considering Chr. Hansen’s wide geographic reach and deep technical knowledge and look forward to bringing other exciting concepts to the market in due course.”