Lactose-free foods: in the shadow of dairy products

Sándor Szentesi
sales director
Sole-Mizo

The market of lactose-free dairy products has been growing in recent years. Sándor Szentesi, sales director of Sole-Mizo Zrt. informed us that the company has created a lactose-free dairy product selection that not only has basic products such as milk, sour cream, cottage cheese and cheese, but also desserts, yogurts, milk drinks coffees and spreads.

Andrea Gábor
marketing director
Pannontej

Data from Pannontej Zrt. reveal a rise in demand for lactose-free products. This has to do with the fact that if one person is diagnosed as lactose intolerant in a family, other family members often start to follow a lactose-free diet, too – our magazine learned from marketing director Andrea Gábor.

Noémi Papp-Mile, brand manager of Foodnet Zrt. – they are the distributors of ALPRO plant-based products – called attention to the fact that according to research data, 1/3 of Hungary’s population is sensitive to lactose or lactose-intolerant, and more and more people (among them many children) suffer from milk protein allergy. ALPRO products are 100-percent plant-based, so they are completely free from lactose and milk protein.

Éva de Gereczné Rudnai
sales manager
Real Nature

Real Nature Kft. distributes Joya, NÖM and Happy lactose-free products. Sales manager Éva Gereczné Rudnai spoke about how many health-conscious consumers have started eating lactose-free dairy products. The company continues to innovate and to add new-type products to their portfolio; products can be found in the shops of every retail chain.

Katalin Péter 
sales and marketing manager
Naszálytej

Naszálytej Zrt. doubled the size of its lactose-free dairy product portfolio in the last few years. Sales and marketing manager Katalin Péter talked to Trade magazin about their latest innovations: Magic Milk lactose-free fruit yogurts, Magic Milk lactose-free Caucasian kefir and Magic Milk 2in1 lactose-free cream. 2018 brought the debut of Magic Milk lactose-free organic milk (with 0.01g lactose content). The new product targets two segments, consumers who like organic foods and lactose intolerant people who are very sensitive to lactose (most lactose-free products in the domestic market contain 10 mores lactose than this).

Today soy isn’t the No.1 plant-based milk substitute any more. For instance in Hungary products made from rice are the most popular, and Real Nature Kft.’s Joya products have strong positions in this segment. Joya gluten-free oat drinks have been put on the market recently, and in 2018 almond- and coconut-based ice creams will appear on store shelves. In the second quarter of the year 400g Joya coconut-based yogurt with chia seeds will hit the shops, in sour cherry-vanilla flavour. This year 3 new UHT cooking creams will also be introduced to the market, these are coconut-, oat- and soy-based creams.

Pannontej Zrt.’s key product Medve cheese is available in lactose-free version too. This year the company will launch further innovations. Recently Sole-Mizo Zrt. has added 3 new products to the popular Mizo Coffee Selection range: all of them are lactose- and sugar-free coffees. More new lactose-free dairy products will come out in the second half of the year. Foodnet Zrt. keeps launching new Alpro products: organic plant-based drinks to substitute milk and yogurt substitutes too. //