MilkyMist, a renowned dairy innovator from South India, has teamed up with SIG and AnaBio Technologies to introduce the world’s first long-life probiotic buttermilk in aseptic carton packs. This groundbreaking development, showcased at Gulfood Manufacturing 2024 in Dubai, represents a major breakthrough in the beverage industry, allowing probiotics to be incorporated into shelf-stable drinks in aseptic cartons for the first time.

Probiotics are valued for their gut health and immunity-boosting benefits, but until now, incorporating live probiotics into long-life beverages has been hindered by the heat treatments used in Ultra-High-Temperature (UHT) processing, which compromised probiotic viability. The combination of AnaBio Technologies’ patented encapsulation technology and SIG’s gentle aseptic filling technology has overcome this challenge, enabling MilkyMist to offer probiotic buttermilk that remains shelf-stable and does not require refrigeration.

"We are thrilled to offer our probiotic buttermilk, a groundbreaking product that combines health and convenience, reduces energy consumption and food waste thus helping us bringing the goodness of probiotics to the people. This game-changing product not only offers consumers a healthy and nutritious option but also ensures long shelf-life without the need for refrigeration. We look forward to seeing this product make a positive difference in the lives of consumers," said Dr. K Rathnam, chief executive officer of MilkyMist.

Christoph Wegener, chief markets officer of SIG, said, “We are proud to display an ingenious example of a new product category expansion: long-life probiotic buttermilk in an aseptic carton pack. It has health benefits and overcomes the limitations of fresh probiotic drinks. With a longer shelf life and no need for refrigeration, we significantly increase the reach and can bring the goodness of probiotics to the people. The way is paved for many more amazing long-life probiotic products in our aseptic packaging solutions.”

Dr. Aidan Fitzsimons, chief executive officer of AnaBio Technologies, said, “We are truly excited to partner with MilkyMist and SIG to bring the health benefits of live probiotics to the consumer in a long life aseptic dairy drink incorporating encapsulated probiotics. Through the collaboration of the three companies' expert teams, MilkyMist will offer consumers a great tasting product, delivering the health benefits of live probiotics, in a convenient long shelf-life format. This is a real step forward in innovation in the field of probiotic beverage products and represents a significant contribution to consumer health.”

AnaBio’s patented encapsulation technology protects the probiotics with a protein coat, ensuring they withstand high temperatures during buttermilk processing, and remain stable throughout the shelf life of the product. Once consumed, enzymes naturally present in the intestine break down the protein coat, releasing the probiotics to colonize the intestine and deliver their gut and immune health benefits. The encapsulation technology along with SIG's aseptic filling technology, which ensures a homogeneous suspension of probiotic cells per pack and thus the safe filling of probiotics into SIG's aseptic cartons, will enable MilkyMist to offer a breakthrough innovation in shelf-stable probiotic beverages.

The innovation offers numerous advantages:

Extended shelf life without refrigeration: The product remains stable for long periods at room temperature, reducing food waste and energy consumption during storage and transport.

Proven health benefits: Encapsulated probiotic cultures are released during digestion, providing the gut health and immune system benefits that consumers value.

Wider market reach: By eliminating refrigeration requirements, MilkyMist can distribute its probiotic beverages more widely and at lower costs, making healthy nutritious products more accessible.

MilkyMist’s beverage innovation, delivered in SIG XSlimBloc 200mL aseptic carton packs, will ensure that probiotic cultures remain effective without requiring refrigeration or sacrificing taste and quality. This opens a new category world for probiotic beverages, traditionally confined to the chilled section, offering a more convenient option.

SIG offers a wide range of different packaging formats and volumes to deliver the perfect packaging solution for long-life probiotic beverages. From ambient yogurt and buttermilk to flavored milk or plant-based drinks – SIG’s filling and packaging solutions are ideally suited to give innovative products the perfect performance and to make the goodness of probiotic cultures accessible to a wide audience.

Vandana Tandan, head of Market India & Bangladesh at SIG, said, “The pioneering launch will highlight the commitment to bringing health and sustainability to the forefront of the Indian beverage industry. With this cutting-edge innovation, we are set to further develop the probiotic dairy market, providing a long-lasting, gut-healthy product that meets the evolving needs of today’s health-conscious consumers. We are thrilled to see MilkyMist launching the very first probiotic buttermilk drink in our SIG XSlimBloc carton pack. A true step-change innovation in the Indian dairy market.”