Introducing Premium Dairy Mix

Operators can use innovative soft-serve and shake mixes to offer craveable menu items. Frozen treats are having a moment! From quick-service favorites to elevated fine-dining menu offerings, dairy-focused desserts and snacks are delighting consumers everywhere. Operators are leveraging their own creativity to respond to the demand, and new, innovative on-trend solutions can help.

Soft serve specifically has been gaining media attention lately. A recent report from Tastewise notes that social conversations about soft serve have increased by 32.5% over the past year. While soft serve makes a great dessert, soft serve as a snack has been trending, according to the report, as more consumers order it as an anytime treat.

Elevating soft serve
Consumers love soft serve’s airy texture, the fun twist shape from the dispenser, and the nostalgia of a treat that one might associate with visits to the boardwalk, carnivals, and other outings. Part of the appeal is that soft serve is not available in consumer packages, and people typically do not have soft-serve machines at home. Soft serve is a special treat to be enjoyed from a foodservice establishment.

Operators have an opportunity to attract these consumers by highlighting the indulgent nature of soft serve, and, by extension, of all frozen dairy treats. “There is an expectation from some operators and their guests who are not lactose intolerant that it’s got to be a full-dairy experience,” says Chef Mario Arena, Senior Culinary Development Manager at Kent® Precision Foods Group. “It’s a treat customers are demanding.” 

However, there are certain challenges to serving frozen dairy treats. Fluctuating dairy prices make it difficult for restaurant owners to manage costs. According to the Outlook for the U.S. Dairy Sector, a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2024 Agricultural Outlook Forum, “Milk prices are expected to be higher in 2024, as modest increases in production, coupled with robust demand for dairy products from both domestic and global markets support the values of most dairy products.”
Liquid dairy products take up refrigerator and freezer space. Liquid is heavy and expensive to ship, and as dairy costs increase, limiting food waste becomes crucial.

Innovative solution
One solution is available from Kent® Precision Foods Group, which has developed the new Frostline® Premium Vanilla or Chocolate Flavored Dairy Based Soft Serve & Shake Mix. The dry mix is compact and shelf stable, can be stored for up to 18 months, and does not leak the way liquid mix can. It is also extremely versatile, and works in any type of equipment the operator is currently using to make frozen treats (from soft serve, hard pack, blenders, and shake machines).

Operators see the value of being able to store product that is easy to handle, does not take up valuable refrigerator space, and has lower shipping costs than liquids. "The first person in the restaurant who is convinced to switch is the supply chain person," Arena says. "Then we have to win over the culinary people, which we do."

To deliver on those attributes, Frostline® uses a proprietary process as other liquid dairy ice cream products but with a dry mix to make the Dairy Based Soft Serve & Shake Mix as creamy and delicious as other ice cream products. “While there is a bit of a stigma around the dry milk powders, we are working to overcome these preconceived notions by showing operators what a delicious outstanding product we have,” says Michael Coladipietro, Research & Development Director for Kent® Precision Foods Group. “Our sampling program encourages tasting and discovering the difference for themselves.”

Frostline®'s innovation was to build a flavor system around the dry powder that recreates that fresh milk experience. The process goes well beyond just dehydrating milk and then rehydrating it. “There are things that happen in that process that alter the taste profile,” Coladipietro says. “We've really done what we think is a great job of building around that and filling in some of those notes that tend to be missing, resulting in an outstanding flavor profile that customers are going to love.”

Frostline® Premium Dairy Based Soft Serve & Shake Mix works not only in a commercial soft serve machine, but in a shake machine and blender. Operators can also use it in a batch machine to make hard-pack ice cream and serve it in bowls.
Restaurants with cocktail programs can use the mix with alcoholic beverages for the over-21 crowd.

Whether consumers are craving nostalgic frozen desserts or looking for a fun, new treat, Frostline® Premium Vanilla or Chocolate Flavored Dairy Based Soft Serve & Shake Mix can help, with dry mixes that are easy to prepare, shelf stable, and most importantly, satisfy consumer demand for creamy, indulgent frozen treats.
“When you see their faces when they eat this, it's the 'wow' factor,” Arena says. “It’s not what they were expecting.”