NZMP, Fonterra’s global ingredients and solutions brand, recently announced the launch of Pro-Optima, a Grade A functional whey protein concentrate (fWPC), with Tillamook County Creamery Association and Three Mile Canyon Farms in a joint venture called Columbia River Technologies. This collaboration unifies Fonterra’s dairy expertise with domestic US supply to expand their delivery of ingredients for cultured applications.

According to a company press release, 96% of US consumers will maintain or increase their yogurt consumption over the next 12 months and manufacturers are looking for ways to push the limits of the category to meet the growing consumer demand for high protein food and beverages. Fonterra’s long-standing history of producing dairy proteins and expertise in formulating proteins for cultured products allows for brands to meet several innovation opportunities in the cultured dairy space.

NZMP’s Pro-Optima fWPC is the first Grade A whey protein that enables unrivaled protein enhancement in cultured products, especially yogurt, unlocking a range of textures. Suitable for a variety of applications in cultured products like spoonable yogurt, drinking yogurt, mousses, nutritional yogurt bars, and more, this whey protein concentrate is compatible with many of the brand’s other health and wellness ingredients to deliver multi-functional benefits across many food and drink offerings.

“As one of the world’s leading dairy co-operatives, brands rely on us to supply both the functional ingredients and formulation expertise they need to develop compelling new products that address current and future consumer needs,” said Megan Patterson, Americas marketing communication manager at Fonterra. “Our Pro-Optima Grade A fWPC is a first to market functional whey protein concentrate made with US milk to fuel cultured product innovation. Pro-Optima enables new product formats and adds more nutritional value to existing formats to meet the needs of increasingly health conscious consumers.”