Production of innovative dairy drinks based on co-products of cheese manufacturing
France
Current situation requiring improvements
- Whey, a by-product of cheese production, is not sufficiently exploited.
- Small producers need to generate revenue from whey. However, collection is difficult as they are often isolated
- Small producers cannot afford the installation of bottling lines needed to produce whey-based drinks.
Main activities in FAIRCHAIN
- Use whey to develop valuable products, in particular healthy whey-based drinks.
- Bring a zero-waste aspect to the distribution of fresh/room temperature liquid products.

Second implementation workshop for the French case study
The second implementation workshop took place yesterday for the French case study. The concept of innovative fermented-whey-based drinks selected by consumers was presented, together with the obstacles towards their development and possible solutions .
Focus on whey
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is responsible for the color of whey. Whey is the serum phase of milk, or the liquid remaining after removal of fat and casein, which contains mostly soluble components, including lactose, soluble salts, and globular proteins, among others....
A new co-creation workshop took place last week in the French Case Study.
Experts in consumer science and marketing in the food sector discussed the strategy and actions needed to define the concept and the story of the new-whey based drink developed in the project.
Case study update: Valorisation of whey for small and medium-sized cheese dairies – environmentally friendly innovative solution requires proximity.
By: Caroline Pénicaud, INRAE and Geneviève Gésan-Guiziou The French case study aims to develop and distribute an innovative drink based on the use of whey, a coproduct of cheese dairies. Whey is currently valorized into whey or protein concentrates when produced in...
Co-creation workshop for the French case study
More than 30 participants representing milk, fruit and vegetable producers, processors, distributors, consumers and other stakeholders from eastern France discussed the opportunities and difficulties in using one of the major co-products of small and medium-sized...