About Land O’Lakes:
Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s premier agribusiness and food companies, is a member-owned cooperative with industry-leading operations that span the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. With 2018 annual sales of $15 billion, Land O’Lakes is one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, ranking 216 on the Fortune 500. Building on a legacy of more than 97 years of operation, Land O’Lakes today operates some of the most respected brands in agribusiness and food production including LAND O LAKES® Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition, WinField United and Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN.
Open Innovation Challenge:
Edible chips/pieces/inclusions that maintain integrity in high-temperature and high-moisture refrigerated dairy dessert (such as pudding) manufacturing systems.
Reason for Seeking External Partnership:
Consumers like dual textures in products. We would like to add food particulates or discrete pieces to our pudding during the cooking phase that maintain their integrity and a “crunchy” texture until consumption. These inclusions would provide texture but could also provide flavor. All currently known inclusions either melt during the cooking phase or absorb too much moisture so that any texture becomes soft and mushy and nearly indistinguishable from the base pudding.
This market opportunity is evidenced by the number of products in the market that now have toppers or sidecars with crunchy additions. Adding inclusions with texture during the cook phase would allow for a similar type of consumer eating experience with dramatically reduced, packaging, logistics and manufacturing cost providing both a value and sustainability benefit to consumers.
Scope of Solution Space:
- What is in: Particulates that will not melt or get soft in a 200F high-moisture environment and can withstand months in high-moisture refrigerated pudding on shelf.
- Must-haves: Product must be commercially available and have GRAS status. If not commercially available, we will need line of sight to consistent supply.
- Nice-to-haves: Ideal product would be Kosher dairy and contain only dairy and milk allergens. Prefer the product be gluten-free.
Innovation Solutions Not of Interest:
- Non-food items
Proposal Response Date Deadline:
April 30, 2019
Contact:
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Open Innovation Submission Form
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