Arla Foods Ingredients has developed a single whey protein solution to address the problem of textural deterioration in protein bars: Lacprodan TexturePro. The technology is said to deliver high amino acid content and should be easily incorporated into existing protein bar recipes.

The company touts the technology as retaining a “superior texture” in the protein bars and ensuring a softer bite for longer. It states that there is a risk with protein bars that they will become “unpleasantly hard” which could result in consumer complaints to retailers and the potential that they will swap to different brands.

With TexturePro in shelf-life tests, a protein bar containing 5 % of this new ingredient delivered 45 % improved texture and 60 % reduced hardness after 15 to 18 months, compared to a bar made with standard whey protein.