Lactalis American Group, Inc. d/b/aLactalis Ingredients has launched its native whey protein, under the brand name Pronativ, to the consumer market. The whey protein has been marketed B2B for some time but this recent move means it will be introduced to consumers as a stand-alone ingredient for the sports nutrition space. Sold as an ingredient, Pronativ brand protein is a protein ingredient in partnering brands such as Cellucor, Rivalus, Designer and Kaizen. It has several potential applications, including powders, ready-to-drink shakes, bars, healthy snacks, drinks, ice cream and yogurts.

The technology used to obtain the protein is what reportedly sets it apart from “regular” whey protein: a cold filtration technique that enables the whey protein present in fresh milk to be directly extracted, as opposed to being collected as a byproduct of dairy processing and manufacturing. The protein is touted as delivering greater results towards muscle protein synthesis, recovery and performance, compared to regular whey protein, according to the company.

“At first sight, Pronativ brand protein and other proteins could look similar, but not all protein is created equal. One gram of Pronativ doesn’t equal one gram of traditional whey protein – its origin and its nutritional values do make a difference. Pronativ brand protein has been clinically proven to deliver greater results towards muscle protein synthesis, muscle recovery, and muscle performance,” says Vice President of Ingredients, Yann Connan.

The continued mainstreaming of the sports nutrition sector is having a profound impact on new product activity and partly spurring recent innovation in protein. Innova Market Insights reports strong growth in sports-related positionings within mainstream food and beverage NPD, such as a 188 percent growth in new products with a high/source of protein positioning.

Cold filtration technology
The difference between regular whey protein and Pronativ brand native whey protein is the method in which the protein is obtained. Traditional whey proteins are a byproduct of cheese production. Cheese manufacturers use milk to make cheese and during this process, enzymes, bacteria and other ingredients are added. Casein protein enters into a series of chain reactions that form the cheese and what is left is the liquid whey, which contains residues of whey protein.

Those residues then go through another process such as a physical or chemical separation, heat treatments or evaporation to obtain the whey protein powder.

The technology that Lactalis Ingredients has developed aims to deliver pure protein powder which skips the process described above. Using cold filtration, the company has been able to get straight to the whey protein naturally present in milk.

Pronativ brand protein is not a by-product of any other food products, avoids heavy processing steps and heat treatments, has no added ingredients and removes the carbs, lactose and fat naturally present in milk – “it is protein in its purest form.”

n one interview, a company spokesperson notes that the main challenge in developing the protein is to have high-tech equipment to gently filter the milk (without using any chemical process, add ingredients and high temperatures) and isolate the protein of the serum naturally present in the environment. fresh milk from the farm. This has taken Lactalis many years to master, they explain.

“The most challenging part was to gently isolate the whey protein from fresh farm milk in a simple way without changing its natural properties and making sure it would be as pure as possible. This was very challenging because milk is a ‘living’ raw material and using gentle technology at cold temperature puts a lot of pressure as you cannot make any mistake or you could risk altering the protein quality and end up with bacteria development.”

“Reaching purity of a specific protein fraction of the milk ‘whey protein’ and removing all other components initially present in the milk such lactose, caseins and fat without touching the natural properties of the whey protein requires precise equipment. Caring on preserving what is originally present in the milk in a simple way, allowed Lactalis to introduce a Native whey protein with new nutritional benefits and new functionalities,” they add.

In a further recent whey protein launch, Arla Foods Ingredients tapped into the growing medical nutrition market with a prototype beverage that packs 10g of protein into a 100ml shot. The company worked with whey by utilizing its Lacprodan DI-7325 ingredient to enhance the beverage's heat stability and maintain proper viscosity.