Bo & Pro gung-ho on no-dairy probiotic ice cream
The two Swedish firms have partnered on BoFood’s soy-based Kosher ice cream range called ‘Lovice’ that contains no lactose, milk, eggs, nuts and gluten.
It will be boosted with Probi’s LP299V strain at a level of 10 billion colony forming units (CFU) per serving.
VP of Marketing & Sales Niklas Bjärum told us the probiotic Lovice range will be sold at a premium price compared to normal Lovice products.
"The overall marketing/communication is under development, however the probiotic ingredient will be marketed under the ingredient brand ProbiDigestis," he said.
Probi also launched its iron-probiotic blend Probi FerroSorb into its second market in Austria with pharma player Sanova Pharma GesmbH after debuting in Sweden this year.
It also entered Iceland with its gastro food supplement Probi Digestis.
”There has been strong growth in the North American and Asian probiotic markets the past few years,” said “We now see a growing interest in Europe too, and our new distribution agreements clearly reflect this positive trend.”
The LP299V strain – which the company combines with vitamin C, folic acid and iron – is the subject of an article 13.5 health claim application for increased non-heme iron absorption under the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR).
In April Probi signed an 18-country distribution deal for LP299V with French pharma firm Ipsen.
Probi recently posted net sales of 87 million Swedish Kroner (€9.49m) in what it called "a new record quarter" with 26% growth compared to Q1 in 2015.
