Beating cold chain challenges with ambient dairy

Africa’s dairy market is tipped for growth, but first, manufacturers must overcome the spoilage factor to maximise sales.

Extreme heat, poor roads and a shortage of refrigerators cause major distribution challenges for dairy manufacturers in large parts of Africa. Despite this, the market has shown promising growth in recent years and, with the trend set to continue, the business case for overcoming cold chain issues is strong.

While the starting point for growth is relatively modest – per capita consumption is still considerably lower than in other regions – several factors are contributing to the dairy category’s rise.

“If you look at the Nasdaq list of the fastest growing economies, six of the top ten are in Africa, where there is a growing middle class with more disposable income,” says Brett Wordon, who has spent years following the dairy market’s development as innovation group manager for IFF in South Africa.

“The fact that Africa has the world’s youngest population with more mobile phones than people is behind a high exposure to social media coverage about product launches in other markets. The curiosity this generates is creating an exciting foundation for truly African dairy innovation.”

RESTRICTIONS ON GROWTH According to the latest market forecast from Euromonitor, volume sales of dairy products, excluding milk, will grow an average 3.1% yearon-year up to 2025. Fermented milk products such as East African maziwa lala are among the most popular. Wordon attributes this to their lower lactose content, a major concern in a region where some 80% of consumers are lactose intolerant.

Spoilage, however, is a growth-hampering problem. Much of the milk is produced by rural smallholder farmers, who are so spread out that milk may be a day in transit before it arrives at the

“According to the latest market forecast from Euromonitor, volume sales of dairy products, excluding milk, will grow an average 3.1% year-onyear up to 2025”

dairy for processing. Fluctuating temperatures during transport result in considerable milk waste from the outset.

Once products leave the dairy, shelf life is further compromised by breaks in the cold chain during distribution and a lack of refrigerators in consumer homes.

SOLUTIONS IN SIGHT There are solutions on the horizon. One is the rise of new and sophisticated dairies, designed to meet the highest standards of food safety and quality. Another is the development of functional ingredient blends that enable dairies to produce premium ambient yoghurts and other fermented dairy products – similar to the trendy international brands seen on social media. “Ambient dairy products address the need for a longer safe shelf life without a cold chain. That’s not only an efficient way to cut waste. It also gives manufacturers the opportunity to extend their geographical reach. An ambient yoghurt produced in South Africa, for example, can then easily be exported to West Africa,” Wordon explains.

Nigeria is a case in point. A country that traditionally consumes more reconstituted than fresh dairy products, it already imports ambient yoghurts from manufacturers in Europe. In the future, many of these imports could come from African dairies instead.

ADAPTABLE INGREDIENTS Tailored functional ingredients will be essential for success. Dairy manufacturers need solutions that can give ambient products the necessary stability to withstand transport and the spoonable textures that consumers like. Wordon points to affordability, ease of use and improved product quality as other key requirements.

“Manufacturers can thermise yoghurt to extend product shelf life. The drawback is that the combination of a high temperature and low pH denatures milk proteins, causing a gritty texture and separation. From an ingredient perspective, thermisation also destroys texturising ingredients like modified starch, resulting in a runny final product.

“As African consumers prefer a thick yoghurt texture, manufacturers need solutions that both protect the proteins and maintain yoghurt spoonability after the second heat treatment – without adding to the cost.”

As long as food security, a reliable power supply and malnutrition are prime concerns across the African continent, price will remain important. For this reason, the sustainability aspect of ambient dairy production is still a lesser priority. With dairy farmers in South Africa and Kenya already feeling the impact of climate change on yield, it is only a matter of time before the need to avoid milk waste will become a focus of attention. When that happens, the business case for ambient yoghurt production will gain one more salient argument. •

IFF – www.iff.com