Water gets a protein boost

By LIAM DANN

Energy drinks packed with vitamins and minerals are nothing new but Fonterra has developed a novel twist - it has added protein to the humble glass of water.

A breakthrough ingredient called crystal clear whey protein isolate allows whole ranges of juices, sports waters and energy drinks to be created containing many of the nutritional benefits of milk but looking and tasting nothing like it.

The protein ingredient is clear, with virtually no flavour.

The project is the baby of Bsup3 - a new business unit with a mission to develop products that do not fit traditional dairy categories.

Fonterra has already sold the whey-based protein ingredient to a maker of specialist sports supplements.

But the big breakthrough will come when the technology is applied to the mass consumer market for bottled water and energy drinks.

Bsup3 customers project leader Lee Huffman said the translucent dairy beverages represented a major advance in food technology.

They had evolved over the past five years after an initial discovery at the Hautapu research facility in the Waikato, she said.

The biggest hurdle was blending the protein powder into drinks in a way that remained stable and did not separate at high temperatures.

It was fantastic that the market for energy drinks and sports waters had taken off in the past five years making the product even more commercially exciting, she said.

Huffman said the product would allow Fonterra to create markets among people who did not traditionally like dairy products.