USA – fairlife, an American dairy beverage brand wholly owned by The Coca-Cola Company has launched new variants of fairlife Light Ice Cream, which the company said will be available in select grocery and retail stores in 14-oz. packages.
The new range includes seven flavours of fairlife Light Ice Cream; Vanilla, Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Double Fudge Brownie, Java Chip and Mint Chip.
The dairy processor said that all varieties are made with ultra-filtered milk for a “creamy texture and delicious taste” and depending on the flavor, fairlife Light Ice Cream packs 8 or 9 grams of high-quality protein, with half the fat, 40% less sugar and 40% less calories than traditional ice cream.
In addition, all variants are lactose-free and are crafted with natural flavors and sweeteners with no artificial preservatives, colors or growth hormones, the company noted.
Tim Doelman, CEO, fairlife said that the launch brings a differentiated offering to the US$14 billion ice cream category and meets growing demand for “better-for-you” dairy desserts.
“We saw a big opportunity to take our dairy nutrition credentials from the fridge to the freezer,” said Doelman. “We’re excited to apply our proprietary cold filtration process – which delivers the fairlife fundamentals of high-quality milk – to frozen treats.”
Doelman – an ice cream industry veteran – notes that while the “healthier” ice cream segment is crowded with products with less sugar and more protein than traditional offerings, the missing ingredient until now has been taste.
“Repeat purchase rate with many of these competitive products is low due to disappointing taste,” he said. “fairlife stands for great nutrition and great taste, and our milk production process allows us to do things others can’t. Both our consumers and our retail customers are incredibly excited about what we’re bringing to market.”
To help bring the new brand to market, fairlife has partnered with Boardwalk Frozen Treats, a sales and marketing company which will handle distribution of the ice cream brand.
“The Boardwalk team knows the ice cream route to market and how to sell in and promote a new brand like ours better than anyone in the business,” said Bill Kelly, chief marketing officer, fairlife. “Distribution and insights-driven marketing are critical in this category, and we couldn’t have found a better partner.”
Doelman noted that the partnership will be similar to the collaboration between The Coca-Cola Company and its network of independent bottling partners. “We’ll provide the base formulation to Boardwalk, who will complete the freezing and production process before packaging the ice cream and delivering it to retail customers across the country,” he said.
The company also unveiled that the line could eventually extend to novelties – popsicles, cones, ice cream sandwiches and the like – which continue to grow in popularity as consumers reach for single-serve, portion-controlled indulgences.
The launch of fairlife Light Ice Cream is the latest in a series of category-crossing innovations for the brand. The fairlife portfolio recently welcomed fairlife creamer and fairlife nutrition plan, both made with ultra-filtered milk.
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