Mejeritekniskt Forum

For the third year in a row Arla appoints the Taste of the Year. This year it is Crispy — or Frasigt in Swedish. Crispy is described as a multisensory taste experience that is both heard and felt in the mouth.

The Taste of the Year 2021 is the result of a trend survey conducted by Arla. This year the survey is based on an analysis of 20,000 Instagram posts from chefs and confectioners around the world. The strongest taste trend of the year, crispy, is an appreciated texture that is of great importance for the taste experience, Arla states in a press release.

– Crispy is a multisensory property that is both heard and felt in the mouth. Crispy balances the creamy and creates harmony between different ingredients. When we eat something crispy, our senses are triggered because we associate crispy with positive experiences such as something fresh, freshly baked or butter-fried, sensory researcher Johan Swahn explains.

With Taste of the Year 2021, Arla wants to draw attention to the importance of different textures and encourage chefs and others to work with crispy to enhance the taste experience. There are different kinds of crispiness and crispy foods usually consist of two different textures.

– In a crispy, freshly baked baguette, there are contrasts between a crispy surface and a soft inside, while fruits such as apple and watermelon have a soft and juicy crispiness that gives an initial chewing resistance that then breaks. The crunchiness of dairy products is not as prominent, but there is a kind of compact, crystalline texture that is perceived as crispy in some well-aged cheeses, such as Svecia, Johan Swahn says.

At Arla’s request Isabella Westergren, Pastry chef of the year 2019, chose to work with apple and coffee (photo) as an example on how to combine tastes and textures.

Read more HERE

Tetra Pak will deploy its portfolio of tethered cap solutions.

Tetra Pak’s action means minimising litter, as the cap will stay attached to the package. The carbon footprint can also be reduced because the company’s tethered caps are planned to become available as a plant-based option, therefore increasing the renewable content of the package.

The company is also accelerating the expansion of its paper straws offering to ensure further renewable and low carbon materials across the range of packaging solutions. The aim of this is to address a broad range of customer sustainability needs without compromising on food safety, while still delivering on the end-user drinking experience.

Lars Holmquist, Executive Vice President Packaging Solutions and Commercial Operations, Tetra Pak, says:

– These are key milestones in our journey towards the world’s most sustainable food package: a carton that is fully made from renewable or recycled materials, is fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. We consistently strive to deliver products and services that adds value to food and people while protecting the planet.

These steps are also central to ensuring that Tetra Pak’s customers in Europe will be ready to comply with the Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, an integral part of the wider approach announced in the Plastics Strategy and an important element of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

– The significant challenge of deploying tethered caps is the scale of the change that this brings across the value chain. If we look at Europe alone, more than 1,000 packaging lines supplied by us will be potentially transformed, translating into over 20 billion packages which are expected to be converted. All of that in three years, while minimising impact on our customers’ operations, optimising the consumer experience and contributing to both minimising litter and creating a carton package with increased plant-based and recycled content.

Read more HERE

This year, Skånemejerier actively supports the project Hela Skåne Blommar. The purpose is to help pollinating insects.

Dairy farmers, who supply Skånemejerier with milk, are encouraged to grow flowers in the edge zones of their fields, and at the same time 860 bags of flower seed are distributed to the company’s employees.

The project Hela Skåne Blommar, which now includes the whole of Sweden, is run by Hushållningssällskapet. Last year, 250 farmers I Skåne were involved in growing flowers in the edge zones of their fields. The result was that 600 kilometres of field edges were cultivated, and 200 hectares of flower beds were in bloom. Areas that invite important pollinating insects such as bumblebees and bees.

– 75 percent of the food we eat is dependent on pollinating insects. By creating better conditions for wild pollinators, we can make an important contribution, says Jeanette Flodqvist, Skånemejerier’s sustainability manager.

Skånemejerier will distribute seed bags to all employees, and Jeanette Flodqvist explains:

– This is a way for us to engage the entire company and raise the issue internally. We hope that many will feel a desire to make a contribution. It might seem a little effort to such an important issue as biodiversity. But in addition, everyone gets something beautiful to look at.

Read more HERE

In 2021, Arla will invest SEK 95 million in the dairy plant in Götene. The investment is made to secure safety, efficiency and capacity in the butter production.

At the dairy plant in Götene Arla produce classics such Bregott and Swedish Butter, which are sold all over the country. With a new investment Arla secures the dairy plant for the future and increases efficiency and capacity, Marika Lifbom, senior dairy manager at Arla’s dairy plant in Götene, says in a press release.

Every year, the dairy plant in Götene produces 56,000 tonnes of butter and cooking fat. And Arla is now making a strategic investment of SEK 95 million in parts of the production process e.g., more efficient equipment for churning butter, new silos and more efficient cleaning. The project is expected to continue during 2021-2022.

Read more HERE

The start-up company Noquo Foods changes its name to Stockeld Dreamery and announces that its first product will soon hit the market.

It is two years ago Noquo Foods was established, with the purpose to develop a vegan product, that could be an alternative to cheese. One year ago, the company still did not have a product, but had raised another 34 million SEK to further research. And now the Stockholm based company reveal that its first product soon can be found in restaurants — and later this year also in the shops. It will be a vegan feta-look-alike-product.

At the same time the company changes its name to Stockeld Dreamery.

– Dreamery is an allusion to ”creamery” where cheese is traditionally made and Stockeld is to link the name to Stockholm, Sorosh Tavakoli, founder and CEO, says to Food Supply.

He adds that the company is recruiting more staff.

– We will take in 15-20 people in research and development in the next 18 months, there is a lot that has not been done in this area, he says.

Read more HERE.

The company Glada bonden will start producing cheese in Boxholm in April. In August, the cheese will be available in the Swedish stores, the agricultural media Atl.se writes.

In the long run Glada bonden has plans that require both more milk and money. But for a start, the company has made a new emission to strengthen the cash by SEK 15 million.

The cheese production in Boxholm will start April. And the first cheeses will be ready to sell in august.

– Then the annual production will be 1,000 tonnes of cheese, says Anders Birgersson, one of Glada’s founder, to atl.se

The first products will be a cream cheese and a number of hard cheeses with different fat contents and storage time. The name is still a secret, but the hope is to sell all over the country.

The plan is to raise more money at the end of the year through another new emission. Then the idea is that a wider circle than just the current owners should be able to buy shares.

– In the long run, it will hopefully be a significantly larger production, which also means a need for more milk suppliers in the future, Anders Birgersson says.

The ongoing inventory conflict with Arla, does not worry him.

– Arla has no case and will not win, he says to atl.dk

Read more HERE.

Every month Arla reaches half of Sweden’s population with messages on the milk packages. In March they encourage children to more physical activity.

During the month of March, 4.2 million people are expected to read the text pieces on be on the back of the milk packages. This time it is a list of fun activities that make it easy for children and young people to get a lot of movement into everyday life. The messages are the result of a collaboration between Arla and Generation Pep.

Generation Pep works to ensure that all children and young people in Sweden have the opportunity and desire to live a healthy life with more physical activity and better eating habits.

— For children who are growing up, milk and exercise are a good combination. That is why  the collaboration with Generation Pep is so important. We know that our milk backs reach hundreds of thousands of children every month and we hope to inspire and motivate them to healthier lives, Åsa Scherman says. She is editor and responsible for the messages on the backside of the packages.

The milk packages have been used to spread information since 1975 and today the massages reach almost half of Sweden’s population – every month. By using the milk packages for communication Arla wants to inspire and increase knowledge about food health, sustainability and animal care to the young generation.

Read more HERE

Växa Sverige shows a strong result of SEK 14.7 million after financial items and provides a dividend of SEK 9 million.

Växa has just published its annual report. It shows a sales increase by SEK 14 million to SEK 442 million in 2020, and a profit after financial items on SEK 14.7 million.

SEK 9 million will be refunded to the members. That is the highest dividend in Wäxa’s ten-year long history.

2020 has been marked by corona , but Växa Sverige has managed to achieve record results thanks to digital working methods, flexibility and committed staff. Sales of semen doses have also developed positively by 2020.

– Great commitment in combination with initiative, creativity and digital customer meetings has meant that we have been able to keep customer contact and deliver the advice and service our customers want, Dorit Greve, CEO of Växa Sverige, says.

– I believe that the result in 2020 is proof that Växa is stronger than ever, thanks to the proactive attitude of our staff, through the services we have developed and not least the collaborations we are involved in in our industry. We are well equipped for the future; she concludes in a press release.

In an interview in ATL Dorit Greve comments on the development on the dairy side of the organisation.

– We see a more positive attitude among the milk producers. We have also seen a better economic for many farmers and more milk have been produced. It is great to see that there is a stronger belief in the future, Dorit Greve said.

Read more HERE (behind subscription)

Norrmejerier annual report was revealed yesterday, the 8th of March. It showed a positive result, despite reduced sales. After financial items, the result landed at SEK 63 million.

– A turbulent year in which the Corona pandemic has affected our operations and tested the organization’s ability to adapt to new conditions, Anders Fredriksson, Norrmejerier’s CEO, sums up the year 2020 in a press release.

– Our business has a great habit of adjusting and being flexible, but this year has been exceptional from that point of view. I therefore want to give a big compliment to all our employees who have contributed to Norrmejerier being able to leave 2020 with a strong balance sheet and strong finances, he adds.

Among the positive elements in the annual report is, that the dairy has received about two million kilos of more milk than in 2019. A fact that pleases the chairman of the board, Ulla Bergström:

– We see that investments are being made on the farms and that new generations want to take over and it feels good. But the payment for the milk raw material needs to be strengthened in the future, it is a prerequisite for continued sustainable milk production in Norrland, she states.

The board proposes that 36 million of the profit for 2020 be distributed to the dairy farmers, which gives an average of 17 öre per kilo of milk. The general meeting will be held on the 5^th of May.

Facts on Norrmejerier 2020 (figures in the parentheses refer to 2019)

Profit after financial items: SEK 63 million (SEK -0.260 million)

Turnover: SEK 2,023 million (SEK 2,075 million)

Milk Weight: 207 million kg (205 million kg)

Number of active dairy farmers in December 2020: 330 (354)

Read more HERE

The Swedish start-up company Havredals is launching a new product: Hädde Matlagning, which is sold as an oat-based alternative to cooking cream.

Havredals entered the marked a year ago with an oat drink, branded as 100 pct. Swedish, based on very few and pure ingredients. Now next step is revealed: Hädde Matlagning, produced in Sweden from Swedish oats and rapeseed oil.

– We want to show that it is possible to make good plant-based products without a range of emulsifiers and stabilizers. With Hädde, we hope to inspire more people to start cooking plant-based, says the company’s founder Per-Johan Thörn in a press release.

The name Hädde is a new word inspired by the way people talk about the product (Havre + grädde = Hädde). At the same time the company must comply with the rules on how plant-based dairy alternatives may be marketed in Sweden and the EU — rules that may become even stricter in the future. The new product can be purchased in ICA, selected Coop stores and Bergendahls.

Read more HERE