Kerry recently released new dairy-free flavors in its Big Train product family of hot and cold beverage mixes for use by foodservice operators. Fortified with Kerry’s GanedenBC³⁰ — a probiotic ingredient that Kerry says helps support digestive and immune health — the four appealing new non-dairy flavors are horchata, caramel latte, latte and mocha. Consumers are becoming increasingly proactive in their efforts to manage their personal health by seeking to support immune function with beverages that offer health benefits, the company says. However, Kerry’s proprietary consumer research has highlighted a gap in the foodservice industry’s offerings: 78% of those surveyed by Kerry think that restaurants are failing to offer enough menu choices that feature functional benefits. In addition, the research shows 70% or more of these consumers are actively concerned about their digestive health. The Big Train range of new dairy-free beverage mixes addresses these findings through a collection of blended ice coffees, coffee-free blended creamers, chai teas, protein coffee mixes and the company’s new dairy-free mixes, it says. GanedenBC³⁰ is backed by more than 25 published scientific papers demonstrating its safety and efficacy as a spore-forming probiotic, giving it better survivability in production and after consumption, the company says. 

Kerry Ingredients, 3400 Millington Road, Beloit, Wis. 53511; 608/363-1200; www.kerry.com.